That would be more of an A.J. Kind of Sunday lineup Dusty has been much more likely to sit one guy a day for a 4-5 game stretch
Astros bullpen has basically been okay in April, and good so far in June (a few too many walks, but not a lot of great contact). I like that the Astros are using Javier as basically an off day for most/all of the pen once every 5 days as it gives Astros a good bullpen arm, keeps him somewhat stretched out, and limits his innings while still getting him a decent amount of innings.
Framber and Garcia being very very (very) consistent in each start has also gone a long way to stabilizing the pen. Urquiddy has also held his own there. I like that they have Javier/Odorizzi paired up with the guys who remain the most likely candidates to go 5 innings or less (Greinke/LMJ) even though Greinke has been one of the few pitchers in baseball all year to pitch 8 innings or more in a start. Typical Zack.... quirky AF.
Valdez, Urquidy and Garcia pitching like TOR starters well into June is about as welcome a development as the Astros could have possibly hoped for this season. We are witnessing in real time the window being extended 2 or 3 years.
I’m afraid slotting Chaz in the 2nd spot is going to bite us sooner rather than later. He’s having a fine rookie campaign but he needs to move down in the order.
I was just going to ****ing post the same, lol. Goddamnit Dusty. Do you not like sweeping teams and oh I don't know ... gaining ground in your division?!
Maybe one day Jones can be a platoon bat, it is just rough right now. Probably an unpopular opinion, but would prefer Toro at 1st, Garcia at 3rd for defense over Jones at 1st. I'd prefer keeping the 4 plus bats together. Considering how bad Gurriel is when he's worn out, I don't have an issue with him getting a rest day.
Sigh. Why can't Dusty give Yuli rest against the Orioles and when Tucker comes back? Seriously. It's just one more day.
Nobody here can really argue with the results they've seen this season, especially from the offense. And if part of that is due to players being well-rested, so be it. If guys were getting out of rhythm or this offense was floundering, you wouldn't see it being employed. Its obviously working.
Gurriel probably told Dusty he was spent. The biggest problem with rest days lately is the big bats that played acted like they needed rest. Astros should win if LMJ pitches well, and the top half of the order performs.
