New York Yankees vs. Houston Astros: MLB's Best Teams Meet In Possible 2017 ALCS Preview

It’s probably not one that baseball fans circled on their calendars at the start of the 2017 MLB season, but the upcoming four-game set between the New York Yankees and Houston Astros is the year’s most intriguing series, thus far. They are the league’s two best teams with just about one-fifth of the regular season completed, looking like legitimate World Series contenders.

For two teams that didn’t reach the playoffs in 2016, the weekend series in the Bronx should be a good litmus test. Houston sits atop the AL West with an MLB-high 23 wins, and New York has MLB’s best winning percentage as they narrowly lead the Baltimore Orioles in the AL East.

The fast start isn’t exactly unexpected for Houston. One of MLB’s best young teams, the Astros were picked by some experts to be the best team in the American League. That certainly wasn’t the case for the Yankees, who weren’t expected to compete for a title for at least another year.

New York began their retooling process at last year’s trade deadline, selling off some of their best and most expensive players. Two-fifths of the team’s rotation has never pitched a full season in the big leagues, and the Yankees left spring training with three hitters in the starting lineup that hadn’t played more than 55 MLB games apiece.

Despite their impressive numbers and sweeps over teams like the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs, it’s still unknown if the Yankees can maintain their position as MLB’s best team. Taking three out of four against the first-place Astros would certainly go a long way in proving that their hot start will continue.

The Yankees will start the four pitchers that they would want to take the hill in an important series. C.C. Sabathia has been a major disappointment in 2017, pitching to a 5.77 ERA after putting together a more than respectable 2016 campaign. He gave up five runs Tuesday night to end the team’s six-game winning streak, and he’s the only member of the rotation that won’t face the Astros at Yankee Stadium.

The series opens with a matchup of the starting pitchers that have been each of the team’s standout performers in 2017. Michael Pineda is finally looking like the pitcher the Yankees thought they traded for a few years ago, leading the team with a 3.12 ERA and 11.16 strikeouts per nine innings. He’ll take on Houston’s Dallas Keuchel, who is once again a Cy Young candidate after winning the award in 2015. The left-hander is tied for the AL lead in wins (five), second in innings pitched (52.2) and fifth in ERA (1.88).

Houston’s pitching staff has been their strength through the first six weeks of the season. Their 3.42 team ERA is the AL’s best, and they rank in the top five in ERA for both starters and relievers.

The Astros don’t exactly have a hard time scoring runs, ranking third in that category. Second baseman Jose Altuve remains among the sport’s best hitters, and first baseman Marwin Gonzalez leads the team with a 1.037 OPS. Houston's lineup, however, has paled in comparison to what New York has done this season.

The Yankees have had the AL’s best lineup, leading the league in most major categories. Second baseman Starlin Castro is third in the AL with a .354 batting average, and four other players have either a .300 batting average or a .400 on-base percentage. Rookie Aaron Judge is tied for the MLB lead with 13 home runs and the early-season MVP.

Will it be the AL’s No.1 offense or the No.1 pitching staff that comes out on top? Let’s take a look at the schedule and starting pitching matchups for the upcoming series between the Yankees and Astros.

Thursday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

Michael Pineda (3-1, 3.12 ERA) vs. Dallas Keuchel (5-0, 1.88 ERA)

Friday, 7:05 p.m. EDT

Jordan Montgomery (2-1, 3.81 ERA) vs. Lance McCullers Jr. (2-1, 3.41 ERA)

Saturday, 1:05 p.m. EDT

Luis Severino (2-2, 3.40 ERA) vs. Mike Fiers (1-1, 5.64 ERA)

Sunday, 7:30 p.m. EDT

Masahiro Tanaka (5-1, 4.36 ERA) vs. Charlie Morton (4-2, 3.63 ERA)