CHARLIE PALLILO
Astros-Indians series will be no walk in the park for the champs
Sep 28, 2018, 6:58 am
Carlos Correa has struggled of late, and did poorly against the Indians even when he was hitting. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images
A week from the start of the Astros-Indians American League Division Series let’s cover some pertinent points. The reigning World Series Champions have a serious challenge on their hands. Anyone thinking the Astros are vastly better than the Tribe is nuts. The Astros are the rightful favorites, but not by much.
If we had a draft today of the starting pitchers available for the series, Indians would be four of the top six choices. The game one matchup of Justin Verlander vs. Cory Kluber is fantastic. Gerrit Cole is a rock solid game two choice for A.J. Hinch, Terry Francona answers with Trevor Bauer or Carlos Carrasco. Both have nasty stuff. While whichever guy doesn’t start game two for the Indians is an easy pick for game three, Hinch will be hoping for the best. What is Charlie Morton’s health? Dallas Keuchel has not been good down the stretch. Josh James has looked good, but would you roll the dice on the road with a guy who has made all of three big league starts going into this weekend?
The Astros rate a clear edge in the bullpen. It’s the biggest gap between the two teams. Even though the Astros have been mediocre at best in close games (losing record in one-run games, losing record in games tied after six innings, tied after seven innings, tied after eight innings, and in extra innings!) they do have the best bullpen earned run average in MLB this season. The Indians rank in the bottom 10. Even if not scoring a lot of runs against the Indians’ starters, it will be extremely helpful for the Astros if they at least have good at bats and drive up pitch counts to where the Indians are going to that pen by the sixth inning.
The Indians have scored more runs than the Astros have this season. A notable part of that is the Indians getting to face four lousy AL Central teams for nearly half their schedule. Also a notable part is that Cleveland has some studs. Jose Ramirez has been as good as Alex Bregman this season. Forget Carlos Correa, Francisco Lindor has been as good or better than Jose Altuve. Michael Brantley better than George Springer. Ramirez, Lindor, and Edwin Encarnacion all have hit more home runs this season than any Astro.
In the end, for all study of the tale of the tape (and all my trenchant analysis), it’s a best of five series. Short stretches of games draw guesses not meaningful predictions. A lousy baseball team can beat an excellent team three out of five. The far from lousy Indians winning would be a very mild upset.
Whither Correa?
I’d be surprised if the move is made, but the Astro brain trust isn’t doing its job if it doesn’t consider sitting Carlos Correa against the Indians. He has been sub-awful at the plate for a month and a half and shown basically no signs of coming out of it. In limited sample size, Correa is a career .170 hitter against the Indians’ four possible ALDS starters. Against Kluber and Bauer he has 16 strikeouts in 31 at bats, and none of those ABs came during this extended horror stretch. Expecting Correa to deliver against them now would be silly. Playing Correa and hoping for him to deliver is defensible, in part because Correa’s defense has value.
Correa is no egomaniac, but he has an abundance of pride which would no doubt be hurt by any benching. A reminder that the Astros’ slogan this season is “Never Settle.” They are striving for greatness and back-to-back World Series titles. Decisions in the best interest of the 2018 Astros are what should carry the day right now.
In case you missed it...
Hope you clicked my quickie SportsMap video about Jameson Taillon earlier this week. The SportsMap big cheeses love clicks.
Just passing through
I won’t fake any enthusiasm for Sunday’s Texans-Colts matchup. I’ll certainly watch, though not live for three hours. The internet is the invention that trumps all others when thinking of those impacting our lives in the last 20, 25 years, but how fantastic is the DVR? Most youngsters probably have no idea that with a VCR we couldn’t start watching a recording until the event was complete and the recording halted. Texans-Colts is meant to be watched starting 1, 1:15 our time. Skimming through the commercials and halftime you get caught up somewhere in the fourth quarter to watch what remains live. Unless the Texans are just remains at that point.
Buzzer Beaters
1. Watching the first half of Rams-Vikings Thursday it was as if Bill O’Brien was the offensive coordinator for both teams. 2. For those with low-caliber sarcasm detectors, #1 was sarcasm. 3. American League MVP: Bronze-Alex Bregman (Jose Ramirez if SportsMap was Cleveland-based) Silver-Mike Trout Gold-Mookie Betts
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday!
*ChatGPT assisted.
___________________________
Looking to get the word out about your business, products, or services? Consider advertising on SportsMap! It's a great way to get in front of Houston sports fans. Click the link below for more information!