Astros beat Yankees in ALCS, to face Dodgers in World Series

HOUSTON (KABC) -- The Dodgers will face the Astros in this year's World Series, after Houston took down the New York Yankees in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.

The Astros' 4-0 victory Saturday sets up a World Series between one team, Los Angeles, looking to take its seventh championship title and another still yearning for its first.

The Astros have only played in one World Series previously, losing to the Chicago White Sox in 2005. For that matter, no team from Texas has ever won baseball's ultimate prize.

"This city man, they deserve this," said Houston pitcher Lance McCullers, Jr. shortly after the last inning. "This is awesome."

The Dodgers are looking forward to the matchup.

"I just want to win a World Series," pitcher Clayton Kershaw said after the Dodgers dethroned the Chicago Cubs in Game 5 of the NL Championship Series. "I know more than anybody how hard it is to get there. So, I'm definitely not taking this one for granted."

Said outfielder Yasiel Puig: "The trophy's coming soon."

The Dodgers' six titles date back to their Brooklyn days in 1955, with the most recent coming in 1988.

This is the first time since 1970 that two teams with more than 100 wins in a season have met in the World Series. The Dodgers won 104 this year, and Houston took 101.

The Dodgers and Astros last met in 2015, when Houston swept a three-game series at home.

Overall, the Dodgers are 388-323 vs. the Astros. Houston debuted as the Colt .45s as a National League expansion team in 1962 and eventually moved to the AL in 2013.

That first year in the AL, the young Astros got pounded and lost 111 times. But with smart drafts and player development, Houston emerged as a power. Manager A.J. Hinch's club capped its rise by beating Boston in the AL Division Series, then stopping the Yankees 4-0 Saturday night in Game 7 of the ALCS.

The Dodgers, with a major league-high $226 million payroll, won their fifth straight NL West title this year, then went 7-1 in the playoffs against the Diamondbacks and Cubs under manager Dave Roberts.

The result? Their first pennant since 1988 - the year Kershaw was born.

The Dodgers will enter the World Series on four days' rest, thanks to finishing the National League Championship Series over the Chicago Cubs in just five games.

Roberts said the extra rest is a nice advantage.

"It's crucial, not only in setting the rotation," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said Saturday before the Yankees-Astros Game 7. "Knowing what goes into the (playoffs), to come back home and reset mentally and physically has been a huge benefit to us."

It might even be enough time for All-Star shortstop Corey Seager to return from the back injury that kept him out of the NLCS. Roberts said he is "very optimistic" Seager will be available for Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night, but the Dodgers are unlikely to make their final decision for a few days.

"I know Corey doesn't want to be denied," Roberts said.

Game 1 of the World Series starts 5:09 p.m. Tuesday at Dodger Stadium.

This year's Fall Classic will start out feeling a lot more like summer, with Los Angeles temperatures for Tuesday forecast to hit a high of 101 degrees.

That could make it the hottest World Series game on record, according to The Weather Channel. The current record is believed to be 94 degrees, set on Oct. 27, 2001 in Phoenix between the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Yankees.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.