Astros 2017 World Series Victory Over Dodgers Lands in Top 5 of ESPN Ranking

The Houston Astros were unfortunately eliminated early on in the 2026 MLB playoffs as they were swept by the Chicago White Sox in the American League Wild Card round. However, the Astros have been a part of some memorable World Series since 2000.

On that note, ESPN MLB writer David Schoenfield did a piece on where 2026 ranks among best World Series matchups since 2000, and in that ranking, the 2017 matchup between the Astros and the Los Angeles Dodgers actually ranked No. 4, meaning one of Houston's World Series appearances landed in the top five. With that said, let's take a look at where the rest of the matchups landed for the Astros.

At No. 21 was the Astros' 2021 matchup against the Atlanta Braves, where the Braves won the series 4-2. The next series was at No. 17, which was the 2005 series between the Astros and the White Sox, which resulted in the White Sox coming out victorious in a 4-0 sweep.

Next up at No. 14 was the 2022 series between the Astros and the Philadelphia Phillies where the Houston able to come out on top 4-2. Then at No. 10 it was the 2019 series with the Astros going up against the Washington Nationals, where the Nationals were able to win 4-3 in a solid seven-game duel.

Then, a few spots down the list, it was the Astros coming in at No. 4 in their classic seven-game series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, which gave Houston their first championship in franchise history and, in a way, jump-started what was a very consistent stretch for the Astros as they appeared in three World Series over the next five years.

Diving deeper into that 2017 World Series, the Astros defeating the Dodgers 4-3 was very impressive, and there were actually a few interesting storylines that Schoenfield noted: at that point, the Dodgers had not won a World Series since 1988, the Astros had never won one, and it was also the first matchup between 100-win teams in the World Series since 1970.

Additionally, there was some controversy surrounding the Astros after the World Series concluded, and some reports came out, but regardless, Houston was able to win their first World Series in franchise history.

In terms of the actual series, Schoenfield graded it as an A- and it was very entertaining overall as each the teams traded games with Los Angeles taking games 1, 4, and 6, while Houston was able to take games 2, 3, 5, and 7. Unfortunately, Game 7 was a little bit of a letdown as the Astros put up five runs in the first two innings off Yu Darvish and the Dodgers were only able to put up one run for the whole game.

While Game 7 may not have been what fans wanted, there is no question that Houston enjoyed their 2017 World Series victory and over the next few years they got to a few more World Series which proves the Astros were not one hit wonder but instead a team that could perform consistently and moving forward the Astros will be hoping to find similar success.