The Yankees have been too smart and too respectful of the Minnesota Twins to state the obvious about their American League division series: So far, it has just been calisthenics for the showdown everyone has been waiting for since opening day.

But in a quiet moment in September, it was Aaron Judge who captured the mood in the clubhouse when he said, “Facing the Astros would be the World Series.” He meant no insult to the other postseason qualifiers, but the sentiment was clear. Come October, there’s the Yankees and the Houston Astros, and then there’s everyone else.

With Luis Severino on the mound in Game 3 against the Twins on Monday night, and a chance to complete a sweep in the best-of-five-game series, the Yankees are just nine innings away from a more dangerous opponent and a fundamental clash of tactics: It would be the Astros’ elite pitching against the Yankees’ run-scoring machine.

Nothing so far has changed that calculus. Both A.L. superpowers are flattening their respective opponents, playing to their strengths in the process. The Astros’ Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole have combined to shut out the Tampa Bay Rays over 14⅔ innings, allowing just five hits while striking out 23.