Astro Wars Episode CXXXVII: The Beard Awakens

A short time from now, in a baseball stadium in Houston, Texas...

The playoffs quickly approach. Some teams cling to their thrones atop the division by a thread while others fight desperately to keep their playoffs hopes alive. Two such teams meet for battle in Houston. Both vying for a chance at the most coveted prize in all of baseball: THE WORLD SERIES.

After being banished to the AL West system by the sinister Darth Selig, the Houston Astros have risen to the top of the division. The wise Lord Jeff Luhnow activated his ultimate weapon in May, unleashing his most powerful prospects unto the league. However injuries, and an offensive slump put them only two games ahead of the Texas Rangers.

Once doubted by the weak-minded for being merely "average" in the Force, Jedi Master Dallas Keuchel takes the mound today, a favorite for the AL Cy Young Award. Master Keuchel has mastered the art of inducing weak contact and leads the league in groundball percentage at 62.5%. He has lead the Astros to victory sixteen times and is second in the league among pitchers in fWar with 5.6.

On the offensive attack the Astros bring out "El Wookie Blanco" Evan Gattis. Sporting a scraggly beard and a choked grip on his hilt, Gattis has been known to pull people's arms out of their sockets with his immense strength when he becomes upset. Eleven games since his last home run, time will only tell if the Twins will let the Wookie win.

By his side the young Jedi Knight Carlos Correa comes in as the front-runner in the AL Rookie of the Year race. In only 73 games he is first among rookie Jedis in the American League in both home runs (16) and fWar (2.8). Prophesied to become the most powerful shortstop in all the league, his ascendancy to ROTY has been recently challenged by an upstart from the AL Central system.

The Minnesota Twins have fought valiantly against the dreaded Yost Empire, but are far out of the race for the division crown. Their playoff hopes lie within the second Wild Card spot 1.5 games away. The rag tag team is lead by the cantankerous Jedi Elder Torii Hunter and the young and talented Jedi Knight Miguel Sano, who holds a sizable lead over all rookies with a 170 WRC+.

Trained in the Jedi temple at Rice, Tyler Duffey returns home on the mound to face his childhood team. He hopes to take the game and the series for the Twins. With October baseball a month away, the fate of the Rookie of the Year and the playoffs hang in the balance...

Time: 1:10 PM CDT
TV:Root Sports SW, MLB.TV
Radio: KBME 790 AM, KLAT 1010 AM
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