The Houston Astros must be viewed as the favorite to win Game 1 of the American League Championship Series.
Despite dealing with Lance McCullers' injury, the Astros are in much better shape than the Boston Red Sox when it comes to their starting rotation.
Houston is sending Framber Valdez to the hill on Friday night to oppose Chris Sale. Valdez struck out 18 Boston batters in back-to-back starts back in June.
Additionally, Valdez had a much better ALDS start than Sale. The left-handed pitcher struck out six and conceded four earned runs over 4.1 innings in Game 2 versus the Chicago White Sox.