The Houston Astros closed out the regular season by taking three of four against the Boston Red Sox here at Minute Maid Park, and I like them to clinch the opener of this ALDS Wednesday afternoon.

The Astros hand the ball to veteran right-hander Justin Verlander (15-8, 3.36 ERA) who is 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts since coming over from Detroit. Verlander has plenty of postseason experience and he has this Red Sox roster limited to a .211 batting average through 180 at bats.

The Red Sox turn to left-hander Chris Sale (17-8, 2.90 ERA) who will make his first postseason appearance ever. He's 5-1 with a 1.31 ERA in six career starts against Houston, but this will be the first meeting of the season and he'll face an Astros team that led the American League in team batting average at .282 during the regular season. We can also note that Sale has struggled somewhat lately going 3-4 with a 4.30 ERA through his last eight starts.

The Astros have won 11 of their last 13 home games, and I don't see them losing this game.

My MLB Game of the Week is a 10* play on Houston Astros.