The Toronto Blue Jays are ready to take on the Cleveland Indians after beating the Baltimore Orioles in the American League Wild Card Game and sweeping number-one seeds Texas Rangers 3-0 in the American League Division Series (ALDS) 2016.
While the Jays may be well positioned coming into the American League Championship Series (ALCS), so are the Indians, having also knocked out their opponents, the Boston Red Sox, in a three-game sweep.
The ALCS is a best-of-seven series and will begin in Cleveland with a home field advantage for the Indians. The Blue Jays, on the other hand, have history on their side since they’ll be heading into the ALCS for the second season in a row.
Having both shown strong performances in the regular season and ALDS, neither team has emerged as the clear favorites to win the ALCS.
In addition to a similar performance record (94-67 Cleveland v. 89-73 Toronto), neither team has won the World Series in over twenty years, making it hard to predict who has the best odds for winning the Series if they do advance (although the Jays and Cubs are the favorites as of Thursday).
The Jays last made it to the “Fall Classic”—and won back-to-back titles—in 1992 and 1993, but haven’t been since.
The Indians are in the ALCS for the first time since 2007 and winning the championship series would take them to their first World Series since 1997, where the last time they were victorious was 1948.
Although only four teams remain in the running for two World Series spots—the L.A. Dodgers, Chicago Cubs, Cleveland Indians, and Toronto Blue Jays—things are very much up in the air as the National League Championship Series (NLCS) and ALCS kick off October 14th and 15th.
How to Watch the American League Championship Series 2016:
The first American League Championship Game will take place on Friday, October 14th, at 8:00 p.m. ET in Cleveland, Ohio.
In order to watch the games online, fans can use the Fox Sports GO website (or app for mobile viewing), but access requires a valid login through a cable provider. Games are also available for streaming on TBS Sports and you can find even more ways to watch without a cable login from Cut Cable Today.
You can also find the full postseason schedule, along with the latest baseball news at MLB.com.
And, just a reminder, the NLCS playoffs begin on Saturday, October 15th 8:00 p.m. ET in Chicago and the first game of the 2016 World Series is set for October 25th.
ALCS Schedule
Game 1: 8:00 p.m. ET, Friday October 14
Game 2: 4:00 p.m. ET, Saturday, October 15
Game 3: 8:00 p.m. ET, Monday, October 17
Game 4: 4:00 p.m. ET, Tuesday, October 18
Game 5*: 4:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, October 19
Game 6*: 8:00 p.m. ET, Friday, October 21
Game 7*: TBD, Saturday, October 22