One of the area's of frustration all season long for Astros fans has been Yainer Diaz's lack of playing time. While we expected manager Dusty Baker to start Martin Maldonado at catcher, we were hoping that Diaz would be used as a pinch hitter in critical situations.

In the 5th inning of Game 2 down 5-0, Dusty opted not to bat Diaz for Maldy after a lead off double. To be fair, this decision did not cost the Astros a win, and Diaz did bat later in the game. But this is just another example of Baker's hesitance to go away from Maldonado, especially early in the game.

Yainer is reportedly slated to start at DH in Game 3, but when that happens, Yordan has to play left field which will leave Michael Brantley out of the lineup against Sonny Gray.

Will the Astros be able to score enough runs against Gray with Javier on the mound?

Series deciding factors

Plus, whether Diaz or Maldy swing the bats well or not, the outcome of this series is going to depend on the success of the heart of the order from an offensive perspective. If Bregman, Tucker, and company don't get going, it's hard to imagine the team will advance past the Twins.

Be sure to watch the video above as we look ahead at Game 3 and much more!

And watch Stone Cold 'Stros (an Astros podcast) every Monday on SportsMapHouston's YouTube channel!