They’re the best two teams in baseball, but only one of them will make it into the 2018 World Series. The Boston Red Sox (108-54, plus-31.11 betting units) host the defending champion Houston Astros (103-59, minus-1.81 units) this Saturday in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series; first pitch is at 8:09 PM ET on TBS.
The Red Sox have tabbed Chris Sale (2.11 ERA) to start the opener of this seven-game series. Sale has pitched incredibly well for Boston, but he’s one of the few Sox starters to post a deficit this year, dropping 1.59 units on a team record of 18-9. The southpaw’s innings have also been limited since coming off the DL in early September with an inflamed left shoulder.
Justin Verlander (2.52 ERA) hasn’t had any issues in his first full season with the Astros. However, big chalk has been even more of a problem for Verlander than it has for Sale. Houston is down 9.28 units behind their ace despite a record of 21-13. The ‘Stros provided Verlander 4.37 runs per game in support, down from their usual average of 4.92 runs; the Under went 19-15 in his 34 starts.
