Houston Astros: What you need to know as the Astros prepare for their sixth straight ALCS

HOUSTON, TX (KTRK) — After a thrilling win that sent the Astros into the American League Championship Series for the sixth straight season, Houston Chronicle sports columnist Brian T. Smith said the winning streak was unprecedented.

“Baseball’s been around for 130, 150 years if you want to go back to the early days of Major League Baseball,” Smith said. “That’s never happened — especially in Houston.”

While the Astros had a day of relaxation on Monday, the team they will ultimately play against in the ALCS still has work to do.

The Guardians and the Yankees play in Game 5 of the American League Division Series Monday night in New York.

The winner gets the opportunity to play the Astros with a trip to the World Series on the line.

“If you want to guarantee that you’re going to be in the World Series, theoretically you want to play the Cleveland Guardians. You are a good team. They’re not a great team,” Smith said. “What you really want is to beat the New York Yankees. The Yankees have become the Astro’s biggest rival.”

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The ALCS is a best-of-seven series, and the Astros would play four of those games at Minute Maid Park should it go the distance.

That’s a result of their better regular-season record than Cleveland and New York.

At the end of the day, Smith said this postseason success for the Astros is an exciting time for the city as a whole.

“It has the effect of bringing this sprawling, diverse city together at the same time. There’s no buzz in the city of Houston like the Houston Astros did in the playoffs,” he said. “It makes Houston feel like the center of America.”

Game 1 of the ALCS is scheduled for Wednesday at 6:37 p.m. at Minute Maid Park.

2022 AL Championship Series: Astros have home field advantage

• game 1: in Houston, Wednesday, 6:37 p.m
• game 2: in Houston, Thursday, 6:37 p.m
• game 3: at TBD, Saturday 4:07 p.m
• game 4: at TBD, Sunday 23 October 18:07
• Game 5*: at TBD, Monday 24 October 15:07 or 16:07
• Game 6*: in Houston, Tuesday, October 25, 5:07 p.m. or 6:37 p.m
• Game 7*: in Houston, Wednesday, October 26, 6:37 p.m

All times listed are CDT. Games 5-7 may be*.

If the NL Champion Series is over after October 23, ALCS Game 5 will be rescheduled to 4:07pm CDT. If the NLCS is over after October 24th, ALCS Game 6 will be rescheduled to 6:37pm CDT.

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