Houston Astros to wait for ALCS opponent for 1 more day as Guardians-Yankees game postponed

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- On the heels of a thrilling victory that sent the Astros to their sixth-straight American League Championship Series, Houston Chronicle Sports Columnist Brian T. Smith said this run of success is unprecedented.

"Baseball's been going on for 130, 150 years if you want to go back to the start of Major League Baseball," Smith said. "This has never happened before - especially in Houston."

While the Astros got a day to relax on Monday, the team they'll ultimately be playing in the ALCS still has some work to do.

The Guardians and Yankees' winner-takes-all American League Division Series Game 5 got postponed from Monday night to Tuesday afternoon. Rain is the reason.

This implies that the Astros' upcoming opponent would have to likely skip any champagne celebrations and hop on a flight to Houston after the game to be ready to play a different opponent the next day.

This also implies that the Astros won't get a lot of time to game plan due to not knowing their opponent until the day before Game 1.

Still, the Astros' faithful can certainly pick who they prefer to face in the next round.

"If you want to guarantee you're going to be in the World Series, theoretically, you want to play the Cleveland Guardians. They're a good team. They're not a great team," Smith said. "What you really want to do is beat the New York Yankees. The Yankees have become the Astros' biggest rival."

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The ALCS is a best-of-seven series, and the Astros would play four of those games at Minute Maid Park should it go the distance.

That's a result of their better regular season record than Cleveland and New York.

At the end of the day, Smith said this postseason success for the Astros is an exciting time for the city as a whole.

"It's what this does to bring this sprawling, diverse city together at the same time. There's no buzz in the City of Houston like the Houston Astros being in the playoffs," he said. "It makes Houston feel like the center of America."

Game 1 of the ALCS is scheduled for 6:37 p.m. at Minute Maid Park on Wednesday.

2022 AL Championship Series: Astros have homefield advantage

• Game 1: at Houston, Wednesday, 6:37 p.m.
• Game 2: at Houston, Thursday, 6:37 p.m.
• Game 3: at TBD, Saturday, 4:07 p.m.
• Game 4: at TBD, Sunday, Oct. 23, 6:07 p.m.
• Game 5*: at TBD, Monday, Oct. 24, 3:07 p.m. or 4:07 p.m.
• Game 6*: at Houston, Tuesday, Oct. 25, 5:07 p.m. or 6:37 p.m.
• Game 7*: at Houston, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 6:37 p.m.

All times listed are CDT. Games 5-7 are if necessary*.

If the NL Championship Series is over after Oct. 23rd, then ALCS Game 5 will move to 4:07 PM CDT. If the NLCS is over after Oct. 24th, then ALCS Game 6 will move to 6:37 PM CDT.

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