PLAYING THE PONIES

Sam Houston Race Park selections for Saturday, March 21

Fred Faour
Mar 21, 2020, 6:06 am
Courtesy photo

Here are my selections for Saturday night at Sam Houston Race Park. These are not meant to be in exact order, but merely the four horses I think have the best chance to win. For beginners, I suggest exacta boxes with three horses, using two of mine and one of your own. And you can always pick up a copy of Acing Racing 2016 to learn everything you need to know. (These are the picks and format that are available on the free tip sheet at SHRP).

FIRST
4-6-1-3
BIG EM C is a win machine and should be tough


SECOND
6-8-7-3
PADDLE WHEEL should get a nice trip behind the dueling front-runners


THIRD
4-6-1-3
LETHAL MOVE is consistent and fits well in this spot


FOURTH
6-1-2-3
GOLD PILOT is in sharp form and beat many of these in last


FIFTH
1-4-7-6
GEE SHE SPARKLES needed last and should take a step forward

SIXTH
5-2-4-6
REDATORY thrives in these Texas bred stakes races


SEVENTH
10-4-5-9
SUGAR FOOTIN BLING has some sharp efforts coming into this


EIGHTH
7-8-4-3
TEXAS BELLE romped in last; fits well here


NINTH
8-7-5-1
HES OUR FASTEST has been knocking heads with some tough runners


TENTH
11-7-9-5
XINGFU should be better with return to the turf course

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Despite Astros struggles, this surprising postseason advantage is flying under the radar

When we look back at last year's championship roster, we remember the big home runs from Yordan Alvarez and the combined no-hitter against the Phillies. But we often forget the total lack of production from the DH position throughout the postseason.

Whether it was Trey Mancini, David Hensley, or Aledyms Diaz, the Astros couldn't find anyone to consistently produce in that role.

In the ALCS against the Yankees, Yordan only hit as the DH in 1 of 4 games. In the other three games, the DH spot in the lineup went hitless.

In the World Series, Alvarez was only used as a DH twice. And when that happened, Aledmys Diaz started in left field. In his two starts in left, he went 0-7 with 4 strikeouts.

It wasn't until Game 6 when Dusty Baker finally started Christian Vazquez, that the club finally got some production out of the DH spot.

So why bring this up? When looking at the 2023 version of the Astros, they have a rookie phenom in Yainer Diaz and a quality left-handed bat in Michael Brantley (health pending). If Yordan continues to play primarily in left field throughout the postseason, Yainer can give the Astros all the thump they need at DH.

And the Astros are going to need it. They've fallen to 21st in team ERA over the last 30 games. But on the bright side, they're No. 1 in team OPS over that same time period.

Of course, to make this work, the club may have to add another catcher to the postseason roster for Dusty Baker to feel comfortable starting both Diaz and Maldonado in case an injury should occur. When Vazquez finally started at DH in Game 6 last season, the team added another catcher after Yuli Gurriel went down with a knee injury.

But if this plan is put into place, the 2023 Astros offense should be even more potent than last year's version. The only question is, will Dusty use it to his advantage?

Be sure to watch the video above for the full discussion.

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