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The 2021 MLB playoffs head into the championship series this weekend. The American League Championship Series will feature two familiar teams. The Boston Red Sox will travel to face the Houston Astros in the ALCS this year. The Red Sox defeated the Tampa Bay Rays in four games in the ALDS while the Astros beat the Chicago White Sox in four games as well. Let’s go over the two teams and how they got here.
Red Sox vs. Astros ALCS matchup
The Red Sox entered the ALDS as the wild card team going up against their AL East rival. The Rays went into the series after winning the AL East and having the best record in the American League with 100 wins. The Red Sox defeated the Rays on back-to-back walk-off wins to take the series 3-1. Christian Vazquez hit a walk-off 2-run HR in the bottom of the 13th inning in Game 3. Kike Hernandez hit a walk-off sac fly in the bottom of the 9th in Game 4 to clinch the series win.
As for the Astros, they won the first two games of their series against the White Sox by a combined score of 15-5. After taking the first two games in Houston, the ‘Stros went into Chicago in Game 3, losing 12-6 after the game was tied 6-6 in the 3rd inning. In Game 4, the Astros and White Sox were supposed to play Monday, but the game got moved a day. This allowed Lance McCullers Jr. to start, helping the Astros clinch the series with a 7-1 win.