Houston Astros: Analyzing the starting pitching matchups for the ALDS
By T.A. Mock
Game two: Gerrit Cole vs. Carlos Carrasco
When the Houston Astros acquired Gerrit Cole this past offseason, everyone knew they were getting a very, very good pitcher. However, I don’t think anyone could have predicted the season he was going to have this year. He, like Verlander, has been terrific and has likely pitched his way into getting some Cy Young votes.
Cole has easily had the best year of his career, pitching for 200+ innings for the third time in his career while collecting 15 wins and 276 strikeouts, good for 12.4 punchouts per nine innings. He has elevated himself to new heights as an Astro and will look to continue to do so in this game two start on Saturday against the Indians.
In one start against Cleveland this year, Cole and the Indians traded shots in what turned out to be a great game, neither necessarily got the better of the other. However, beyond that, these two sides don’t have much experience against the other.
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Carlos Carrasco has once again had another solid year for the Indians. His production has dipped a little bit following a 2017 season that saw him place fourth in Cy Young voting. He has a 3.38 ERA to go with 231 strikeouts and a 1.13 WHIP. Carrasco got demoted to the bullpen for a few games this year and even finished one game this season.
Carrasco faced the Astros twice this season and one of the outings was solid while the other was pretty rough. In total, he allowed eight runs and fifteen hits in a little over thirteen innings. Not super great but with an offense like they have, that isn’t insurmountable.
In this matchup, I’d have to give the advantage to Cole. He’s just the superior pitcher and the Astros have a track record for getting after Carrasco. Too bad Trevor Bauer isn’t getting this start so we can add fuel to the Cole-Bauer rivalry flame…