Major pitching duel. Framber Valdez takes on the Rangers’ Jacob DeGrom
A few thoughts on yesterday’s game:
- It was too much to expect the Astros to continue with their hot streak with a current roster that looks more like 2013 than 2017. Let’s hope the injured cavalry arrive soon because a six game lead with about 70 games left is far from insurmountable.
- When/if Arrighetti/Garcia/Javier arrive, will the Astros continue to throw Lance McCullers out there just because he happens to be the highest paid starter on the staff? Right now,d I’d call him the sixth starter based on performance. I feel more confident with Ryan Gusto, Brandon Walter, or Colton Gordon on the mound, much less those stars of AStros past.
- It’s just one game, but Brice Mathews, in his debut, fulfilled the worst fears about him. He struck out in three of his four at bats, swinging and missing at an inordinate number of hittable pitches in the strike zone.
Here are tonight’s lineups.
