Already 2 1⁄2 games back in the AL West, Houston has a chance to make all of it up against the Mallcops.
Houston visits Arlington for four matchups between the last two World Champs.
The Astros and Rangers will play four games starting tonight. It’s the first series between the two teams this year, with three games in Houston between April 12 and 14, three more from July 12 through 14, and three games back in Arlington to close the regular season series between August 5 and 7.
Last season, Houston and Texas played 13 times during the regular season, with the Astros winning nine of them. In the ALDS, the two clubs went seven games, with the visiting team winning each of them as Houston was eliminated. In the all-time series, the Astros are 132-134. Their .496 winning percentage is the middlest against any opponent.
The last time these two played was Game Seven of the ALDS on October 23, in Dusty Baker’s final contest managing Houston:
I’ve loved every single day that I’ve gotten to share with him on this ballclub. He’s been great for me. He’s shown so much confidence in me. He’s been a great manager. — Jeremy Peña
The Rangers took the finale 11-4 on their way to the World Series Championship despite Houston’s top four all finishing with multiple hits and home runs from Alex Bregman and Jose Altuve. Cristian Javier was charged with the loss, giving up three runs in 1⁄3 of an inning to start the game.
Houston’s latest series was far better. In their three-game set versus the Toronto Blue Jays, the Astros pitched a no-hitter, a one-hitter, and took a ninth-inning lead into their lone loss, outscoring the Jays by a 19-2 aggregate score. In the final game, Javier held Toronto to one hit and five walks, striking out three. He was followed by Seth Martinez, Rafael Montero, Tayler Scott, and Dylan Coleman, each with a hitless inning of relief. Yordan Alvarez (1, 2) led the eight-run offensive onslaught with four hits, including two home runs. Peña (1) and Altuve (3) also each went deep for Houston.
Obviously, we had been in this situation in the past. It’s too early in the season to be worrying about situations like that. We just have to go out there and win. — Alvarez
While Houston was taking two-of-three from Toronto, the Rangers won two of their three road games against the Tampa Bay Rays. In the final game, Marcus Semien, Corey Seager and Leody Taveras led Texas’ offense with a pair of hits each, including a moon shot by Seager (1). Nathan Eovaldi (1-0, 1.38) earned the win, keeping the Rays scoreless on four hits over seven innings in the eventual 4-1. victory. Eovaldi finished the game with a career-best 23 whiffs:
Obviously we got to kind of settle in and everything, but I felt like I had a really good feel for the splitter right out of the gate. — Eovaldi
GameTimes and Starting Pitchers
Friday, 7:05 PM ET: Hunter Brown (0-0, 0.00) vs. Cody Bradford (1-0, 3.60)
Saturday, 6:05 PM ET: TBD vs. Jon Gray (0-0, 9.82)
Sunday, 6:10 PM ET: Ronel Blanco (1-0, 0.00) vs. Dane Dunning (1-0, 4.26)
Monday, 7:05 PM ET: Framber Valdez (0-0, 2.19) vs. Andrew Heaney (0-1, 1.93)
As far as the Saturday start, that would have been J.P. France’s turn, but he’s on paternity leave. Your guess is as good as mine, but I’d say Brandon Bielak is a pretty good bet.
Heroes and Zeroes
Here’s the best and worst aggregate WPA scores from the three-game set versus the Blue Jays:
Heroes
Framber Valdez 52.3
Yanier Diaz 31.7
Cristian Javier 27.7
Yordan Alvarez 23.8
Ronel Blanco 21.0
Zeroes
Jose Abreu -11.3
Alex Bregman -12.0
Jake Meyers -12.1
Jeremy Peña -16.0
Josh Hader -63.6