Athletics finally have a chance to put the Astros in their place

The ALDS will now feature two heated rivalries, as the Oakland Athletics now face the rival Houston Astros.

The AL Wild Card Round has officially reached its conclusion on Thursday, and the Oakland Athletics took the final spot in the field. Oakland was on the ropes following a Game 1 defeat, but they bounced back in the series with a 5-3 Game 2 victory, while securing the ALDS berth by winning 6-4 on Thursday.

Now, the Athletics will look to reach their first ALCS appearance since 2006, but one team stands in their way. Of course, that’s their division rival and the most hated team in MLB: the Houston Astros.

Astros embraced the role of MLB heels

The Astros embraced their new roles as MLB’s villains after being found guilty of illegally stealing signs by way of cameras in 2017, the very year they won their first-ever World Series. Instead of being apologetic for cheating, they seemed like they were more sorry for getting caught. That not only angered baseball fans, but the 29 other teams, one of them being the Athletics.

Earlier this year, the Athletics and Astros engaged in a benches-clearing brawl after Houston bench coach Alex Cintron instigated Oakland outfielder Ramon Laureano to fight him. Cintron was suspended for 20 games, while Laureano earned a four-game ban. The battle lines were drawn for the two rivals, but Oakland has gotten the better of them in the regular-season. Oakland holds a 7-3 record over Houston in their 10 meetings this season, which did play a role in them winning their first AL West title since 2013.

Even though the Astros finished their campaign with a 29-31 record, they managed to clinch the sixth seed in the expanded MLB postseason and the right to face off against the snake-bitten Minnesota Twins. Sure enough, Minnesota failed to show up when it matters most and allowed Houston to sweep them in two games.

After the game, Astros shortstop Carlos Correa portrayed the role of a wrestling heel, cockily bragging about defeating a team that has lost 18 consecutive postseason games while telling their haters to “stay mad.” Those comments were bulletin board material for any team that faced the Astros in the playoffs, let alone the Athletics!

Baseball fans thought the New York Yankees-Tampa Bay Rays ALDS matchup would be filled with bad blood. The Athletics-Astros series is going to be an absolute war. If Oakland can defeat and more importantly silence Houston, they’ll earn the respect of the other 28 MLB fan bases.