It’s a travel day for the teams in the National League Division Series, so the American League again takes center stage. And there could be one ticket punched to the ALCS by the end of the night.
The Game: Kansas City Royals vs. Houston Astros
The Time: 4:10 p.m. ET
The Place: Minute Maid Park
The Channel: MLB Network
The Starters: Edinson Volquez vs. Dallas Keuchel
The Upshot: It’s a good thing the Royals managed that comeback win on Friday night in Kansas City because they’ve got a beast to tangle with as this best-of-five series moves to Houston for Game 3. Keuchel struck out seven batters and yielded just three hits over six scoreless innings in last week’s American League Wild Card Game victory at Yankee Stadium. He threw only 87 pitches in that outing, so his arm should feel great heading into this one. Colby Rasmus has home runs in each of the Astros’ first three postseason games. The impending free agent outfielder will try to make it loud in the first playoff action at Minute Maid Park since the 2005 World Series.
The Game: Toronto Blue Jays vs. Texas Rangers
The Time: 8:10 p.m. ET
The Place: Globe Life Park
The Channel: FOX Sports 1
The Starters: Marco Estrada vs. Martin Perez
The Upshot: Texas wasn’t getting much love heading into this best-of-five, but postseason baseball rarely follows the script. After two big wins at Rogers Centre, the underdog Rangers are at home and one victory away from the American League Championship Series. Toronto will be hoping for a barrage from its power-packed lineup. Edwin Encarnacion went 0-for-5 in Saturday’s 14-inning game. Troy Tulowitzki, who has acknowledged he’s not 100 percent recovered from a fractured scapula, is 0-for-10 with four strikeouts.