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BALTIMORE (AP) — The Houston Astros aren’t going to simply go through the motions while closing out the regular season.Houston’s game against the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday night was postponed by rain Jose Iglesias Jersey , meaning the Astros will squeeze in four games over the final three days, including a doubleheader on Saturday.The 54 postponements in the major leagues this year are the most since 58 in 1989, the commissioner’s office said.Houston will squeeze in four games over the final three days, including a doubleheader on Saturday.Not a problem for the AL West champions, who open the Division Series on Oct. 5 at home against Cleveland.Gerritt Cole (15-5), who was slated to start Thursday, will instead pitch Friday night. Justin Verlander (16-9) will start the opener on Saturday (the makeup of Thursday’s rainout) and Dallas Keuchel (12-11) will pitch in the nightcap.“It’s important to them to get their regular work because we’ll have a week off,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “There are also personal goals. Gerrit is trying to get 200 innings and Justin is still in consideration for the Cy Young.”The Astros have already clinched the second seed in the AL, already have 100 wins and need only to avoid injury through the weekend.But they can’t afford to lose their focus, even against the worst team in the major leagues.“I have stressed to them not to get sloppy,” Hinch said. “You don’t want to play like it’s spring training, then go have to go back into playoff mode.”Simply put Denny McLain Jersey , winning is still important.“I don’t want them to get into bad habits,” Hinch said. “We have to play the games and you have to keep your edge. You can’t not compete.”Hinch said his starters will continue to see action, even if it’s for just part of the game.Josh Reddick, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa were among those in the starting lineup Thursday.The Orioles, meanwhile, are just striving to reach the finish line of the worst season in franchise history. Baltimore 46-112.TRAINER’S ROOMAstros: The wife of RHP Charlie Morton gave birth to a girl on Thursday. Morton could pitch the regular-season finale on Sunday.Orioles: RHP Miguel Castro (knee) remains sidelined. His status for this series is uncertain.UP NEXTAstros: Cole is 5-0 over his last seven starts. He stands 5 2/3 innings short of reaching 200 for the season.Orioles: Rookie David Hess (3-10, 5.14 ERA) starts Friday night. He has one victory since May 25. Just when thought we knew who would advance to the 2018 World Series, the Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers flipped their respective league championship series on their heads Tuesday.Entering Wednesday's action, the Dodgers are tied 2-2 with the Milwaukee Brewers in the NLCS, while the Red Sox hold a 2-1 ALCS advantage over the Houston Astros.The direction of the series can change in an instant, which makes predicting the two World Series participants a difficult task.Although a World Series rematch between the Astros and Dodgers is still in play http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-daniel-norris-jersey , it's far from a guarantee with less than a week before the start of the Fall Classic.2018 World Series ScheduleGame 1:Tuesday, October 23 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 2:Wednesday, October 24 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 3:Friday, October 26 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 4:Saturday, October 27 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 5:Sunday, October 28 (Time TBD, Fox)Game 6:Tuesday, October 30 (Time TBD http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-kirk-gibson-jersey , Fox)Game 7:Wednesday, October 31 (Time TBD, Fox)LCS PredictionsDodgers in 6The Dodgers carry a few valuable things heading into Wednesday's Game 5, including home-field advantage and the momentum gained from Tuesday's 13-inning victory.Matt Slocum/Associated PressThe quick turnaround to Game 5 won't be kind to either side, but the Dodgers appear to have a distinct advantage with Clayton Kershaw toeing the rubber.Neither lineup has been particularly impressive, as the Brewers are hitting .231 and the Dodgers have a .201 series average, which leads us to believe another low-scoring affair is in the cards for at least Game 5.In his first start of the NLCS, Kershaw gave up four earned runs in three innings, but the Brewers haven't been able to score five runs in a game since their opening triumph at Miller Park.Milwaukee has received some unlikely production from Orlando Arcia while Ryan Braun is continuing his strong postseason with five hits and three RBI, but for the most part, the Brewers lineup hasn't done much.The same can be said about the Los Angeles lineup with the exception of Manny Machado, who leads the series with six hits.With Los Angeles' starters and Milwaukee's bullpen keeping hitters off-balance Willie Horton Jersey , neither lineup will put up astronomical numbers for the remainder of the season.The NLCS will come down to pitching, where the Dodgers have an upper hand with three reliable starters available in Kershaw, Hyun-Jin Ryu and Walker Buehler.Milwaukee's bullpen-first strategy has produced mixed results, but even with a day off between Games 5 and 6, the volume of innings pitched will weigh them down.Expect to see two tight games to finish off the series, with the Dodgers emerging victorious thanks to clutch hits from Machado and Justin Turner, who will shine in Game 6 just like he did during Game 2 in Milwaukee. Red Sox in 7No one knows which direction the ALCS will turn after Boston took control of the series with an 8-2 victory in Game 3.Frank Franklin II/Associated PressThe series we thought would be dominated by pitching has seen 31 runs cross the plate in 27 innings, and it looks like the bats on both sides are just getting warmed up.Seven of the nine players who started Game 3 in Boston's lineup recorded a hit, including Jackie Bradley Jr., who busted the contest open with an eighth-inning grand slam.Although the Astros only recorded two runs on seven hits in their first home game of the ALCS, the production from the top of the lineup showed promise.George Springer, who extended his postseason hitting streak to 12 games http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-victor-martinez-jersey , Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman combined for five of Houston's seven hits in Game 3, but now the other two-thirds of the order have to break through at the plate.If the Astros are able to get production up and down the lineup, like the Red Sox did in Game 3, the series will continue to be dominated by the bats.While Game 4 may witness another winner scoring seven or more runs, the experienced starters in both rotations will emerge as the dominant figures of the series, starting in Game 5.Surprising performances from David Price and Nathan Eovaldi, combined with some type of Chris Sale relief appearance in Game 7, will hand the Red Sox the slightest of edges over the experienced Astros.Although the Red Sox will close out the series at Fenway Park, it could come down to the final inning of Game 7, which is why Sale will be available in some capacity. 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