Championship Series Breakdown

TB vs HOU

Pitching is what got Tampa Bay to the ALCS, stifling the powerful New York Yankees lineup. Thanks to their "opener" style and electric bullpen, Tampa secured the series win. Houston, on the other hand, relied on their offense to secure their spot in the ALCS, scoring 35 runs in four games.

Who to watch: Brandon Lowe (TB) and the Astros Pitching

The main thump in Tampa's lineup, Brandon Lowe, did not get a single hit in the ALDS. As statheads always say, numbers always regress/progress to a mean. In order for the Astros to secure this series, they need to have a better pitching performance than they did in the previous series. Tampa's offense was statistically better in every category than the Athletics.

Vegas: TB -190

LAD vs ATL

Almost the entire Braves offense went cold against the Marlins, except for two players; Travis d'Arnaud and Dansby Swanson. d'Arnaud batted .600 with two homers and seven RBI's and Swanson also hit two homers and batted .400. Sadly for Marlins fans, this series wasn't much of a fight. For the Dodgers, other than a bases loaded save by Joe Kelly, the other two games weren't much of a match. You can thank that to the young guns, Dustin May and Julio Urias, pitching a combined eight IP while only allowing one hit and striking out ten.

Who to watch: Dustin May (LAD) and Marcell Ozuna (ATL)

I'm eager to see the continued pitching success of Dustin May. This rookie pitcher has already shown veteran poise in the playoffs. If he continues, he may become one of the best pitchers LA has. Ozuna has had his best statistical year this season, and needs to continue that in this series. You could thank this success to the players that he bats around, most notably Acuna and Freeman. While those two players are better, Ozuna seems to be the catalyst to this offense.

Vegas: LAD -230