Two teams that combined for 211 wins in the regular season, 2nd most for a playoff series behind the 1998 World Series matchup between the Yankees and Padres (212), will face off with the American League pennant on the line.

To begin their quest at back-to-back World Championships, the Houston Astros took care of business against the Cleveland Indians in the previous round, showing no signs of a World Series hangover. The Astros proved why they are the most complete team in the playoffs by easily sweeping the Indians behind strong pitching and a balanced lineup. A pitching staff anchored by Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, followed up by a strong bullpen, make it difficult to score runs against this team. However, opposing teams may have an even harder time keeping the Astros lineup from pushing multiple runs across the plate. At the center of the Houston lineup is Alex Bregman, who put together an MVP worthy performance in the regular season (.286 AVG 31 HR 103 RBI) and continued to prove to be a tough out in the division series. This lineup also features reigning AL MVP Jose Altuve and 2017 World Series MVP George Springer, so one can imagine that they will put the Boston pitching staff to the test in this 7 game series.

The Boston Red Sox finished the regular season with an MLB best 108 wins and are fresh off of a 3-1 series victory over the New York Yankees in their division series contest. Boasting the most wins in a season since the 2001 Seattle Mariners (116), the expectations are high for the Red Sox this postseason. Getting past the Yankees wasn’t easy for Boston, as their pitching was suspect throughout the series. David Price and Craig Kimbrel both struggled against the Bronx Bombers, the former having several subpar performances in his postseason career. However, Chris Sale and Nathan Eovaldi did have great success in the previous round which offers bright spots for their pitching in this series. The Red Sox are powered by a lineup that features not one but two MVP candidates. Mookie Betts had a stellar regular season in which he hit .346 with 32 homers and 80 RBIs, to go along with 30 stolen bases. Betts, however, did struggle in the first round and hopes to right the ship against the Astros. Boston’s other MVP candidate, J.D. Martinez, finished his regular season with a .330 batting average and 43 home runs with 130 RBIs and also played quite well in the series against New York. The Red Sox will have to rely on their starting rotation to pitch well and count on Betts to turn around subpar performance if they want to win the pennant this year.

POSITIONAL COMPARISON

CATCHER (Maldonado vs. Vasquez/Leon)

The Astros and Red Sox have both used a platoon when it comes to catcher, though the Astros do lean more towards Maldonado at the current stage. Maldonado and McCann get this one because of slightly better offensive production through the year and superior defense to go along with experience.

Advantage: Astros (Maldonado)

1ST BASE (Gurriel vs. Pearce)

The normal 1st baseman for Boston, Mitch Moreland, is currently dealing with a hamstring injury and might not be ready for the ALCS. Pearce served as more of a platoon to face left handed pitchers this year. Gurriel enjoyed a successful year hitting .291 with 85 RBIs and hit .403 with runner in scoring position. While also playing good defense at first, Gurriel gets the nod here.

Advantage: Astros (Gurriel)

2ND BASE (Altuve vs. Kinsler)

No offense to Ian Kinsler, but this was a very easy decision. Altuve is the reigning AL MVP and arguably the best 2nd baseman in MLB. Even though he battled injuries this year, Altuve is fully healthy an still one of the best in the game. While Kinsler does have more experience, Altuve is simply the better all around player of the two.

Advantage: Astros (Altuve)

3RD BASE (Bregman vs. Nunez)

This one has to go to Bregman, who had a breakout season worthy of MVP consideration. He carried the offense on his back while Altuve, Springer and Correa were sidelined with injuries. Nunez is a quality player for the Red Sox, but with Bregman coming off of the best campaign of his short career, the Astros have the advantage here.

Advantage: Astros (Bregman)

SHORTSTOP (Correa vs. Bogaerts)

The first position to go in Boston’s favor, Bogaerts had a very good year hitting .288 with 23 homers and 103 runs batted in. Correa battled back issues this season and only hit .194 with 1 home run in the month of September. Based on that, Bogaerts has been playing better and gets the better of Correa here.

Advantage: Red Sox (Bogaerts)

LEFT FIELD (Gonzalez vs. Benintendi)

This one is extremely close and if we were basing it off of regular season, Benintendi would get it as he hit .290 with 87 RBIs compared to Gonzalez’s .247 and 68 RBIs. But in the postseason, Gonzalez has hit .538 with 5 RBIs, while Benintendi has hit .286 with 3 RBIs. Gonzalez’s surge in the postseason has made it close and with both players ability to play quality defense, this comparison goes as a tie.

Advantage: PUSH

CENTER FIELD (Springer vs. Bradley Jr.)

Springer missed several games this year due to injury but was still able to hit .265 with 22 home runs and 71 RBIs. He also was able to continue his postseason surge from 2017 by hitting 3 home runs against the Indians. Bradley struggle offensively this year, only hitting .234 on the year. While Bradley does play exceptional defense, Springer is also above average defensively and his offense gives him the edge.

Advantage: Astros (Springer)

RIGHT FIELD (Reddick vs. Betts)

Betts easily gets the advantage as he is a front-runner for the 2018 AL MVP award. Reddick struggled at the plate this year, but did have a good division series at the plate and still plays above average defense. But Betts does all of that and better than Reddick at this stage, so Boston gets their second position advantage.

Advantage: Red Sox (Betts)

DESIGNATED HITTER (White vs. Martinez)

Another easy one for Boston as Martinez is also an MVP front-runner in the American League. He has absolutely crushed the ball this year and while White played well for the Astros down the stretch, Martinez has done it all year and has continued to do so in the postseason.

Advantage: Red Sox (Martinez)

STARTING PITCHING

The Boston Red Sox rotation contains two power lefties in Chris Sale and David Price, but both come with postseason questions. Last year the Astros fared very well against Chris Sale, including Alex Bregmans homer in Game 4 to help clinch the series. David Price’s posteseason struggles are well documented. On the other side, the Astros rotation is extremely strong, as they finished the regular season with an MLB best 3.16 ERA. Led by Cy Young Award candidate Justin Verlander, the Houston rotation sets the tone for the offense to succeed.

Advantage: Astros

BULLPEN

Unlike last year’s postseason, the Astros came into this year’s playoffs with a very strong and deep bullpen. The mid-season acquisitions of Roberto Osuna and Ryan Pressly have made relief pitching a strength for the defending champs. Just like the starting rotation, the bullpen for the ‘Stros finished with the top ERA in the majors (3.03). The Red Sox’ bullpen has been a weakness this year. If you need evidence, look no further than the Red Sox bringing in ace starter Chris Sale to pitch the 8th inning of Game 4 against the Yankees.

Advantage: Astros

BENCH

Though the Red Sox have Brock Holt on their bench, who recorded the first cycle in postseason history, the Astros bench is more well rounded. Myles Straw brings speed for pinch running purposes, Tony Kemp brings pinch-hitting with great contact, Jake Marisnick brings great defense and above average speed, and Brian McCann bring experience and power to the table. Boston has power in Rafael Devers on their bench, he has had his struggles this year.

Advantage: Astros

PREDICTION

Astros win series 4-2

The Astros lineup proves too strong for Boston’s pitching staff, while Houston’s pitching will get the job done to help the team advance to the World Series and attempt to become the first team to win back-to-back championships since the Yankees won three in a row between 1998-2000.