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Astros vs. Royals: Keys for Each Team to Win ALDS Game 1

You get that with two underdog playoff teams. You get it more when those teams were expected to be on the outside looking in by the time their seasons ended, and you get it when both teams showed a penchant for contending but were still expected to fall back and be nonfactors in the race to a World Series.

The similarities start to pour out even more when both teams survive the American League Wild Card play-in round to advance to the AL Division Series as the Kansas City Royals did last season and the Houston Astros did Tuesday.