The 2020 American League Championship Series was the best-of-seven series between the two American League Division Series winners, the defending American League Champion Houston Astros and the Tampa Bay Rays, for the American League (AL) pennant and the right to play in the 2020 World Series. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, all games for the series were held behind closed doors at a neutral site at Petco Park in San Diego. The games were televised nationally by TBS.
The Rays won the series and their second American League pennant after defeating the Astros, 4–3. In this series, the Astros became just the second team to force a Game 7 in MLB postseason history after trailing a best-of-seven series 3–0, after the 2004 Red Sox.
The Rays would go on to lose to the Los Angeles Dodgers in the World Series in six games.
Background
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the MLB season was reduced to 60 games. As part of a special postseason format, playoff berths were made available for eight teams in each league: three division winners, three division runners-up, and two wild card teams. With no first-round byes for division winners, all teams were required to play in a Wild Card series.
The Rays made their first ALCS appearance since 2008, where they defeated the Boston Red Sox in seven games. On September 23, the Rays clinched their third AL East division title and their first since 2010. They swept the Toronto Blue Jays in the 2020 American League Wild Card Series and beat the New York Yankees in the 2020 American League Division Series.
On September 25, by virtue of a Dodgers win over the Angels, the Astros clinched a playoff berth, making it their fourth consecutive postseason appearance, as well as their fifth in six years. The Astros finished the regular season at , becoming the second American League team to reach the playoffs with a losing record, the first being the 1981 Kansas City Royals. On September 30, the Astros became the first sub-.500 team to win a playoff series, eliminating the Minnesota Twins in a two-game sweep in the 2020 American League Wild Card Series after holding the typically potent Twins bats to zero home runs across the entire series. The Astros' win in Game 2 handed the Twins their 18th consecutive postseason loss, a drought dating back to 2004, and the longest such streak in all of North America's major professional sports. The Astros advanced to the ALDS where they defeated the Oakland Athletics in a four-game upset, scoring a historic 33 runs (and 12 home runs) across 35 innings, and advancing to their fourth straight ALCS. The Astros became the first team to participate in an LCS with a losing record. This was the Astros' eighth overall LCS appearance (four each in the NL and AL).
This was the second postseason meeting between the Rays and Astros, a rematch of the 2019 ALDS, which Houston won, 3–2. As part of the terms set for the postseason, all games of the series were played at Petco Park in San Diego, California, a neutral site. This was the first ALCS to take place exclusively at a neutral site. Tampa Bay as the higher seed served as the home team (batting last each inning) for Games 1, 2, 6, and 7, while Houston as the lower seed was the home team for Games 3, 4, and 5, mirroring the 2–3–2 format typically used in the LCS.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Rays and Astros had not played each other during the regular season. Also due to the pandemic, the ALCS was played without fans in attendance. Both teams stayed at the Park Hyatt Resort Aviara as the designated bubble hotel.
Summary
Game summaries
Game 1
The Tampa Bay Rays held off the Houston Astros, 2–1, in a nail-biter to take Game 1 of the 2020 American League Championship Series on Sunday night in San Diego. Blake Snell gave up six hits and two walks in five innings, while Valdez allowed just two runs on four hits in six innings. The difference in the game was a well placed two-out RBI single from Mike Zunino in the fifth inning to give the Rays a 2–1 lead. Diego Castillo earned the five-out save to preserve the Rays victory.