Houston Astros: Why Justin Verlander should start ALDS Game 1

The Houston Astros have earned themselves a playoff berth and clinch of a division but the decision on who to start for Game 1 of the ALDS is glaring in our faces.

You betcha! The Houston Astros have clinched a playoff spot in mid-September and put any uncertainty of the team scrapping down the stretch just to contend. It’s extremely beneficial that he team did amass such a lead early in the season to allow for the bumps in the road to not be as defined and for the franchise to navigate swiftly around them.

I’m still pinching myself in regard to the reality that this team will be in the postseason, culminating all the hard work this team put together leading up to this point. Their work is far from done but it’s an important checkpoint to pass as they travel down the road to a championship. Believe it or not — this team has what it takes but it’s all a matter of it coming together at the right time. I honestly think that it will.

The pivotal piece that was added was certainly Justin Verlander in a Aug. 31 deadline thriller of a swap a minute before all paperwork had to be filed. I had my reservations about Verlander coming to the Houston Astros early-in because of how he was pitching and that his price was going to be high. But he has looked absolutely outstanding since the All-Star break which certainly got the wheels greased enough for him to finally be in a Houston Astros uniform.

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Through three starts with the team, he has posted a 0.86 ERA, 26 strikeouts, walked three batters, allowed ONLY 10 hits through 21 innings pitched. When’s the last time you’ve seen a member of our current staff be able to do that? I’ll let you think long and hard about that. I’ll go on and cue up the Jeopardy theme too.

But any way, Verlander has been the ace that we all had hoped that he could be, especially with Houstonians looking for a positive outlet from all collateral damage of Hurricane Harvey and the effect it had in the area. Hell, I still get paranoid any time we get heavy rain from a typical thunderstorm because for four days, that was the reality that we lived in.

He can’t do it all by himself but we have a hell of a team with a ton of depth to ensure that the mission is accomplished. But Verlander is looking like his vintage self, staying long in games and triple-digit pitch counts while topping near 100 mph on the gun easily.

As much as I love Dallas Keuchel, he has been up-and-down throughout the season and his health still remains a concern of mine. He tossed seven K’s, walked three, allowed two earned runs and five hits through 6.0 innings pitched (97 total pitches) against the Chicago White Sox tonight. His ERA is still holding at a respectable 2.96.

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Although he took one on the chin for the lack of run support in tonight’s 3-1 loss to the Sox, I’d rather have the ace that we went out, seized and won over multiple teams to start Game 1. I don’t even think Keuchel would be concerned if Verlander were the Game 1 starter because you know he’ll be pitching Game 2.

All in all, this is a no-brainer move — save for the slight shock of the clubhouse — but to warrant the title of an “ace” is something that’s earned and Verlander has for damn sure done every bit of that.

Go Astros.

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