Astros: Everything You Need To Know About The Scenarios
By Yoni Pollak
If you have been like many Astros fans and staying up until way past midnight waiting for the Astros game to finish, then you’ll probably really care for some scenario generating.
If you haven’t been staying up late for the series against the Mariners, I’ll just assume you’re a normal person with a job that can’t stay up that late to watch a team constantly mess with your heart rate that late at night.
That’s fair. I’m already used to it with the Rockets and Texans. Thanks Houston sports!
Anyway, here’s where we stand in the AL Wild Card race on October 1st:
NYY: 86-72 +2.5
HOU: 84-75 —
LAA: 83-75 0.5
MIN: 82-76 1.5
Two teams make the Wild Card and the Yankees seem very likely to take the first spot, meaning they’ll be hosting the Wild Card game at Yankee Stadium. They’re a team still worth monitoring because they’re slumping. They face the Red Sox at home today, and then head to Baltimore for their final three games.
The other three teams to watch are the Texas Rangers, Los Angeles Angels and the Minnesota Twins. The Angels and Rangers play each other in a four-game series starting tonight in Arlington. The Twins will play one more against the Indians tonight before heading back home for a three-game set against the Royals.
Now I was going to write out a whole scenario generator but it seems like a friend on Twitter, @CranesBrain, has done all the dirty work in the most exceptional way. Check this out:
So it seems simple, yes?
Now you’re probably wondering who to root for between the Angels and Rangers. I don’t have an answer for you as of this moment. It’s likely you will be rooting for the Rangers but things could change. The only thing to definitely root for right now is that the Rangers, Angels and Twins all lose their Thursday night game. That would make things easier and better for the Astros. Also, you should probably root for the Astros to win out the rest of the season.
Here are the pitching probables for the Astros/D-Backs series:
FRI (8:40 PM CT): Dallas Keuchel (2.47 ERA) vs. Rubby De La Rosa (4.56 ERA)
SAT (7:10 PM CT): Collin McHugh (3.98 ERA) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (4.60 ERA)
SUN (2:10 PM CT): TBD vs. Robbie Ray (3.50 ERA)
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- Houston Astros: Why the pitching rotation is coming together at right time
If Sunday’s game is meaningful, there’s a good chance we see Lance McCullers Jr. take the mound as he last pitched on Monday. If the Astros know they will have a tie-breaker game on Monday, the Astros will likely elect to pitch Mike Fiers on normal rest Sunday, with McCullers Jr. then going on Monday (and likely at home also).
A lot will change between today and later tonight, tonight and Friday night, then Friday night and Saturday night. All the scenarios change as each game goes by. The only thing I can tell you at this point is to root for the Astros win. They control their own destiny at this time.
As they say, win and you’re in!
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