The 2023 ALCS features two teams, the Astros and Rangers, that couldn’t be more equally matched on paper. Both had identical season records. According to wRC+, the two teams were fourth and fifth in MLB, the Rangers at 114, the Astros at 112. Pitching-wise, the Astros held an edge in terms of ERA, ranked eighth to the Rangers’ eighteenth, but that gap narrowed with a second-half slump by Astros starters.
The Astros did not hold court at home in the ALCS, going 0-2, but they have a losing record at home overall this year, whereas their road record is 51-30.