10* Houston (8:37 ET): Though I’m personally not a big believer in the concept of “momentum,” there is no denying that this ALCS has taken a dramatic swing with the Astros winning three straight to force a Game 7. This is only the 2nd time in MLB playoff history that a team that this has happened. The other occasion was the ‘04 Red Sox, who of course made history by winning Game 7 (against the Yankees) and then went on to win the World Series. My feeling is that the Astros have outplayed the Rays in this series and they will make history again.

Even when they lost the first three games, Houston was hitting the ball better than Tampa Bay. They now have 52 hits in the series, compared to only 38 for the Rays. We finally got an Over last night (that was my play!) and it’s become patently obvious that TB struggles to score when they’re not hitting home runs. Keep in mind that the Rays only managed three hits in each of their L2 games of the Yankees series. Collectively, they are hitting below .200 the L8 games.

The same starters that were on the mound in Game 2 will be called up on here in Game 7. While Charlie Morton and the Rays emerged victorious in that game, 4-2, let’s not understate how well Lance McCullers pitched for Houston. He had 11 strikeouts in 7 IP, only to be foiled by giving up 2 HR’s. McCullers will heavily be leaned on here by manager Dusty Baker while Morton likely won’t go more than five innings for the Rays. It comes down to McCullers and the Astros’ offense against the Rays bullpen and I choose the former as this time I think Houston can get to Morton. They’ve been the better team in the series and deserve to win no matter what you think of them (because of the cheating scandal). 10* Houston