Thursday, October 8, 2020

Braves & Dodgers Face Off in NLCS; Astros Advance to Fourth Straight ALCS

The MLB post-season picture became clearer today with three of the four division series being decided today.

The Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers will face off in the 2020 NLCS having swept the Miami Marlins and the San Diego Padres, respectively, thus ending the Cinderella dreams of two teams that had not played in the post-season since 2003 and 2006. This will be the Braves' first appearance in the NLCS since 2001 when they fell to the Arizona Diamondbacks. Meanwhile, the Dodgers will be playing in the fourth NLCS in the past five years. The NLCS will commence on Monday night in Globe Life Park and shall be played in front of fans. This strikes me as an unwise decision. Although only 11,500 tickets will be issued it is most likely that fans wanting to attend the NLCS (and the World Series) will come from out of state thus increasing the likelihood of a COVID spike

Over in the American League, the Houston Astros have reached their fourth straight ALCS having defeated the AL West champion Oakland A's in three out of four games. Although the Astros finished the regular season with a sub .500 record their post-season experience helped them outlast the Twins and now the A's. The Astros will found out who they play tomorrow night when the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays play the fifth and deciding game of their ALDS. Should the Yankees prevail then it will the third New York-Houston ALCS in four years. Should the Rays prevail, it will their first ALCS since winning their lone AL pennant in 2008. The ALCS will commence on Sunday in Los Angeles.

It's really weird that the Dodgers will be playing the NLCS in Texas while Dodger Stadium will host the ALCS. That's 2020 for you.

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