Fall 4 tangle in ALCS-NLCS doubleheader

Dallas Keuchel did his thing in his house and the Yankees couldn't get their bats rolling until it was too late, while Carlos Correa and Yuli Gurriel hit huge run-scoring singles as the Astros scored the first punch in their pursuit of a pennant.
• ALCS Game 2: 4 p.m. ET on FOX; NLCS Game 1: 8 p.m. ET on TBS
Houston beat New York, 2-1, Friday to take a 1-0 lead in the best-of-seven bout known as the American League Championship Series presented by Camping World.
:: ALCS schedule and coverage ::
Keuchel pitched seven shutout innings, Jose Altuve stole a huge base to set up the Astros doing just enough against Yankees starter Masahiro Tanaka, Marwin Gonzalez threw Greg Bird out at home and the Houston bullpen survived a ninth-inning home run by Bird.
"What started out as an incredibly tight pitchers' duel, we felt like we had a huge lead at 2-0, even though we know it's very, very small," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "So not a surprise that Jose is involved and doing instinctual things on the bases, and also not a surprise that Dallas responded by continuing to pitch well."
But that was just Friday.
Saturday brings even more excitement in the form of a doubleheader that features all four of the big leagues' last clubs standing. In addition to Game 2 of the ALCS at Minute Maid Park in Houston (4 p.m. ET on FOX), fans will be treated to the opening game of the National League Championship Series presented by Camping World, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and defending World Series-champion Chicago Cubs (8 p.m. ET on TBS) in a rematch of last year's NLCS won by Chicago in six games.
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This time around, however, the NLCS will begin in Los Angeles, the result of the Dodgers finishing the regular season at 104-58, the best record in the Major Leagues.

The Yankees and Astros will get things going first, and it's shaping up to be one of the better pitchers' duels this October.
Hard-throwing young Yankees right-hander Luis Severino was brilliant all year, going 14-6 with a 2.98 ERA and 230 strikeouts in 193 1/3 innings. He rebounded from a first-inning exit in the AL Wild Card Game to sparkle in the must-win Game 4 of the AL Division Series presented by Doosan vs. Cleveland, in which he gave up three runs in seven innings while striking out nine.

Now he and the Yankees are up against an Astros team with a 1-0 lead and one of the better postseason pitchers in recent memory, late-season acquisition Justin Verlander.
"He's a fierce competitor," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said of Verlander. "He's got great stuff. He's got four pitches, throws hard and they've got great movement. But he's going to fight and fight and fight. And that's who he is."
Verlander was 10-8 with a 3.82 ERA with the Tigers before coming to Houston in an Aug. 31 trade. All he did was go 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA down the stretch for the Astros and then win his first postseason start -- and first relief outing -- for the club.
"His production speaks for itself," Hinch said. "I think what he's done on the field for us, he's been one of the hottest pitchers on the planet. So that's been nice to see. Behind the scenes, he's obviously a difference-maker. He's just an attractive personality and players really do flock to him for anything from banter to tips on how they can get better."

The same could be said for the Dodgers' legend in the making, left-hander Clayton Kershaw, who's once again front and center as the man to stride atop the Dodger Stadium mound for the opener of a huge series.
:: NLCS schedule and coverage ::
Kershaw, who will be opposed by left-hander José Quintana, is on regular rest and is ready to put any notions that he's not quite an ace in the postseason to rest.
Last year, Kershaw beat the Cubs in Game 2 of the NLCS in Chicago, pitching two-hit, shutout ball for seven innings. Then he lost to Chicago in the clincher in Game 6, giving up five runs (four earned) on seven hits in five innings.
"One was good, one was bad," Kershaw said. "I mean, they have a very similar team to what they did last year. I think other than [Dexter] Fowler, they have everybody they had from last year back. So … great team. A lot of familiarities with both of us. There are not going to be any secrets. And just try to make less mistakes than I did in Game 6, I guess."

The Dodgers, who swept the Arizona Diamondbacks out of the NL Division Series presented by T-Mobile and watched the Cubs sweat out a five-game thriller over the Washington Nationals that didn't end until late Thursday, have been waiting for this rematch.
They will have to play without star shortstop Corey Seager, who had a back flare-up that kept him off the team's NLCS roster.

Meanwhile, the Cubs are the champs, they're back after a trying season that saw them 5 1/2 games out of first place at the All-Star break, and they like the way they're playing right now.
"Well, we wanted to be here," Cubs manager Joe Maddon said. "Honestly, you know all the talk all season long -- not easy to get there, probably a little bit more difficult to get to this point than it was last year, obviously.
"I thought we caught our stride at the right part of the season, meaning August, September, it really came together for us."

And now it all comes together on a stellar Saturday for MLB's fantastic foursome of 2017.