Unexpected Matchup in ALCS

Few people expected to see the Toronto Blue Jays and the Cleveland Indians face off in the American League Championship Series ALCS, which begins on Friday in Cleveland at 8:08 PM ET.

The Blue Jays have won all four of their playoff games so far, defeating the Baltimore Orioles in the wild card game and then sweeping the Texas Rangers in the Division Series. After averaging just 3.7 runs per game from September to the end of the regular season, their offense has come to life in the playoffs. Their 22 runs scored versus Texas were the fourth-most by a team in a sweep. They produced eight home runs from seven different players, which tied a divisional series record.

As for the Indians, they were equally impressive in their sweep of the Boston Red Sox, but for different reasons. Their pitching stood out despite the absence of injured starters Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar. They also held the most productive offense in the American League to just seven runs in three games.

The Jays and Indians teams met seven times in the regular season, and the Indians won four of the seven games.