ALDS PREVIEW
Astros vs. A's series breakdown: Attention to detail
Oct 5, 2020, 9:25 am
ALDS PREVIEW
PROBABLE STARTERS
Mon, Oct. 5 - HOU: Lance McCullers Jr. vs. OAK: Chris Bassitt
Tue, Oct. 6 - HOU: Framber Valdez vs. OAK: Sean Manaea
Rest of Series TBD
STORYLINES
Ridin' high- The Astros swiftly took care of business against the Minnesota Twins, sweeping the best-of-three series from the Twinkies. Houston will look to ride that momentum into their series against Oakland. Oakland required three games to beat the White Sox at home, and Oakland was on the ropes in game three before coming back to win it. One of these teams clearly played better baseball in the wild card round.
Win the Details - Houston won their series because of small details. Jorge Polanco's error in game one cost Minnesota. Walks and grinded-out at-bats were the edge in game two. Oakland is a better team than Minnesota, so that attention to detail needs to stick. While the Astros won the details, they weren't perfect, as Kyle Tucker and Josh Reddick both had misplayed balls off the wall in Minnesota.
Neutral sites & warm weather - The weather in Minnesota was the worst the Astros have had to play in all year, as they faced cool temperatures and rainy weather. Combine that with the spacious Target Field, and it quickly became a suppressed offensive environment. Dodger Stadium is equally cavernous, but the warm weather will help the offensive environment. Plus, neither of these teams are at home. The Astros road woes are seemingly behind them.
Fabulous Framber- Framber Valdez has earned the start in game two following his magnificent relief outing in game one. Valdez became the first pitcher since Madison Bumgarner in 2014 to pitch five scoreless relief innings in the postseason. Yes, Bumgarner's team won the World Series that year.
Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.
The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.
The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.
On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.
Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.
It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs
Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.
The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.
How the mighty have fallen.
Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.
Screenshot via: MLB.com
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