AMERICAN LEAGUE DIVISION SERIES No. 6 Houston Astros vs. No. 2Oakland A’s

BEST- OF-5 SERIES SCHEDULE (all games at Dodger Stadium): Game 1, Monday; Game 2, Tuesday; Game 3, Wednesday; Game 4, Thursday (if nec.); Game 5, Friday (if nec.). Times: TBA

SEASON SERIES: A’s won season series 7-3

TV/RADIO: TBS/960-AM

POSSIBLE STARTERS (regular-season stats): Astros: Zack Greinke (3-3, 4.03), Cristian Javier (5-2, 3.48), Lance McCullers Jr. (3-3, 3.93), Framber Valdéz (5-3, 3.57), José Urquidy (1-1, 2.73); A’s: Sean Manaea (4-3, 4.50), Chris Bassitt (5-2, 2.29), Jesús Luzardo (3-2, 4.12); Frankie Montas (3-5, 5.60), Mike Fiers (6-3, 4.58).

HOW THEY GOT HERE: The Astros, the No. 6 seed for the playoffs, swept the Minnesota Twins in their opening round best-of-three series. Houston won the first game 4-1 and the second game 3-1. The second-seeded A’s beat the No. 7 Chicago White Sox in three games, winning the decisive Game 3 on Thursday 6-4 for their first playoff series victory since 2006.

WHO’S HOT: Astros: McCullers went 3-3with a 3.93 ERA in 11 starts this year, but had a 2.18 ERA and an 0.94 WHIP in his final eight starts; Carlos Correa went 3 for 6 in two games with the Twins, including a solo home run in Game 2. Correa’s .995 fielding percentage was also the best in club history at shortstop. A’s: Bassitt remains on a torrid pace. In his final four regular-season starts, he was 3-0 with a 0.34 ERA with 25 strikeouts. In Game 2 vs. the White Sox, Bassitt allowed one earned run and struck out five in seven innings in the A’s 5-3 win.

ASTROS TEAM HITTING (regular season): Batting average — .240 (20th in MLB); OPS — .720 (16th); Home runs — 69 (19th); Total bases — 812 (17th).

A’s TEAM HITTING (regular season): Batting average — 224 (26th in MLB); OPS — .714(19th); Home runs — 70 (18th); Total bases — 739 (22nd).

ASTROS TEAM PITCHING (regular season): ERA — 4.31 (13th in MLB); Strikeouts — 526 (12th); Opponents’ batting average — 239 (13th); WHIP — 1.25 (12th).

A’S TEAM PITCHING (regular season): ERA — 3.84 (6th in MLB); Strikeouts — 490 (22nd); Opponents’ batting average — .242 (15th); WHIP — 1.31 (14th).

ALL-TIME PLAYOFF SERIES: This will be the first time the Astros and the A’s will meet in a playoff series. This was the third straight year the two teams finished one-two in the AL West, and they’ve developed an intense rivalry in that time. There was a benches-clearing melee in August between the two teams, and there’s also the matter of Fiers saying in November 2019 that Astros’ hitters stole signs on their way to the 2017World Series. Fiers pitched for the Astros from 2015-17.