All series talk goes in here. Non series talk goes somewhere else. No PBP, that can be found from other sources if you need it. All games are broadcast on TBS. 10-11 Logan Gilbert (R) vs. Justin Verlander (R) 2:37 10-13 Luis Castillo (R) vs. TBD 2:37 10-15TBD vs. Robbie Ray (L) vs. TBD 10-16 TBD vs TBD If needed 10-17 TBD vs TBD If needed
Is Dusty waiting to see how game 1 materializes before deciding who pitches in game 2? Ie if Astros win, McCullers Game 2, if they lose , Framber Game 2? Other than Verlander, if your looking for a shutdown start, you probably go with Framber - but he’s also decent on the road, hence I like playing him in Seattle. I could see McCullers getting rattled there
Because of all the off days, they can pretty much use whoever they want in the first game. Verlander will be able to pitch games 1 and 4/5, and anybody they use in game 1 will also be available for game 4 and 5. If Verlander doesn't have it for whatever reason, I think they may be prepared to yank him early and go with one of the 3 other starters. So everybody may be "on call" for game one.
McCullers has been a total stud in the playoffs for his entire career. Famber has been shaky as recently as last year. McCullers is going in GM 2 with Valdez hopefully closing it out in Game 3.
I would go with this prediction too. I say history repeats itself and we do it similar to the CHW series last year.
Seems weird to ignore Framber's body of work this season but I have no arguments with lining up LMJ to throw at home.
Seattle has come a long way. They have built a talented and gritty team. I did not think that they’d sweep the Blue Jays, so they are playing top notch baseball right now. Perhaps playing so many games against the Astros each regular season, has shown them how to compete with the cream of the cream…. So it will be a series the Astros have all the tools to win, but Seattle is patiently building themselves up into a formidable team, and cannot be taken lightly. It’s baseball but it’s also only a 5 game series, but I think Astros have the horses to win it 3-1.
Tomorrow is the day. The day our Astros second season (playoffs) begins. The days where everything counts the most and everything will matter. Good luck boys! We got 11 more wins to get!
Framber was excellent in last year's ALCS and in the 2020 covid version. They're both expected to be good and be able to handle the pressure. I do think Framber has a higher ceiling/lower floor... definitely a chance to throw a complete game gem while LMJ can go 5-6 quality high K innings, but will likely run up the pitch count.
Man, playoff baseball is intense for the fans like none other. I remember in 2015 how amped up I was making it back to the playoffs after 10 years, how happy I was just to see my team playing October baseball. I never thought it would be the yearly thing the way it has been, here we are, 7 years later and the October butterflies and nerves are still as intense as ever. I don't ever want to take this run for granted, but at the same time, I wish I was able to enjoy the playoffs more but I become an damned nutcase, it drains me. I saw a tweet from a Mets fan yesterday that said something like "my coworkers told me to have a good evening, and I said I can't, the Mets are playing. Coworker goes oh are they having a bad season. I said no, they are having the best season of my lifetime." .....I really felt that. Eff Scott Servais I hope we smack these fools.
Are we going to pretend we don't see the day off between games #1 and #2 (as well as today a day off)? I thought playing in the Wild Card game was supposed to be a detriment but instead they're giving the Mariners plenty of rest time to set up their rotation while the Astros haven't played in a week.
They normally stagger the LDS game/league... but since they wanted to give a universal off day today, they decided to try and keep it as even as possible with all teams starting tomorrow, then the stagger begins on Wednesday. Sure, it may give them a little more rest (not that one off day today wouldn't have done that already)... but if you think about it, the Astros have by far the stronger top to bottom pitching staff, and pitching always gets benefitted with extra rest. The Astros can now throw JV games 1/4. Framber or LMJ games 2/5. Have Javier piggy-back game 1 and start game 4/5, or start game 3. Have LMJ piggy-back game 1 and start game 4/5, or start game 3. They can also use Montero/Nerris/Stanek/Pressly every game for games 1-3. They were going to see Luis Castillo regardless. Instead of seeing him games 1/4, they'll see him only game 2 and game 5 on short rest. That's the biggest advantage the wild card round has given them.
I think Framber has been a stud this season, but LMJ has just proven it at the highest level for a long time. He's a gamer and loves the competition. I just think he would be better for game 2 and have Framber hopefully finish the Mariners off in Seattle with a series lead. I would go ahead and slate Javier to finish the LMJ game and Brown finish off the Verlander game.
