Major League Baseball’s Final Four begins tonight. In the American League Championship Series, we have two teams from the AL West, as the Astros (90-72) will take on the Rangers (90-72).
The Astros are the favorites to win this series, as FanGraphs gives them a 59.0% chance of advancing to the World Series. This is the seventh consecutive year that the Astros have made it this far. Especially given the unpredictability of the postseason, that is an incredible streak. Today, Justin Verlander will start for Houston on the mound. Verlander, 40, is a right-handed pitcher who will surely be in the Hall of Fame.