Houston has been waiting since Saturday to figure out who was going to face them in the AL Championship Series. That means the Astros have their rotation lined up perfectly, their bullpen is rested and the bats have had time to burn some sage to get the bad vibes of needing 18 innings to score a single run in Game 3 of the set with the Mariners. Meanwhile, the Yankees needed to win Game 4 Sunday, survive a rainout Monday and then beat Cleveland in Game 5 Tuesday afternoon. Just over 24 hours from the end of that Game 5, the Bronx Bombers have to play Game 1 in Houston. The Yankees bullpen is in tatters and they had to burn their top two starters (Gerrit Cole and Nestor Cortes) just to get here. Meanwhile, the Astros start the series with Justin Verlander, the frontrunner for AL Comeback Player of the Year and the AL Cy Young. Houston is tremendous at home and the Yankees are going to be fatigued after that set with the Guardians. The Astros should win this one by a couple of runs as they open the series on a positive note.