Post by Commissioner Erick on Aug 11, 2017 20:33:22 GMT -5
Texas Rangers (12-13) vs Houston Astros (19-7)
TEX: Yu Darvish (1-1, 3.90)
HOU: Collin McHugh (3-0, 2.55)
The two Lone Star State rivals, the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros, opened the season as the two favorite for the AL West crown. The Astros pulverized the AL West in April leaving the Rangers forced to make up a significant gap.
Houston went 19-7 in April, including a 14-3 record against the AL West. Though they haven't played the Rangers yet, they're already 6.5 games up. The Astros have done it with a powerful offense, exceptional bullpen work, and enough starting pitching to survive the loss of Dallas Keuchel, who only went 1.1 innings on opening day before complaining of shoulder discomfort.
The Astros already have three of the top 14 pitchers in WPA, that's how clutch their bullpen has been. Ken Giles leads the way. He's 5th in WPA, and first in saves, with nine. You can even say he's been a bit unlikely, as opponents have a .462 BABIP against Giles. However, he's walked only two and struck out 20 without yielding a home run in 12 innings. In fact he hasn't given up any extra base hits, which forces opponents to string together hits to beat him. With nearly two strikeouts an inning, opponents may need more than a .462 BABIP to dent him.
Their bridges have been excellent to, which helps consider why they're 7-2 in one-run games. You can look at Sunday's 6-5 win over Oakland as a summary of how Houston has won. After Lance McCullers was serviceable to start, Brad Peacock came on the fifth inning with a runner on. He stranded that runner, then pitched a scoreless sixth.
Tony Sipp struck out Corey Dickerson out as a lefty specialist, before Luke Gregerson struck out the next five hitters, all righties. Jeff Jones had no problems with using his closer in the ninth of a tie game. Giles gave up two hits, but struck out two as well. After Giles' inning, Will Harris worked a perfect tenth, with two strikeouts. That scoreless inning streak held the A's down until Alex Bregman could get on base, get over, and score on a balk in the bottom of the tenth.
Houston is also benefiting from Jose Altuve working on the mantle of best player in the game. He's hitting .446 thus far, with four home runs and four steals. He's struck out five times in 118 plate appearances, for a 4.2 K%, easily the best mark in baseball. Altuve already has 2.0 WAR and is off to a historical start.
Meanwhile, Texas is struggling, and the Rangers are only 11th in runs after a month. Paul Goldschmidt and Wil Myers were supposed to be huge additions, but they're both hitting under .240 for a month. Goldschmidt has at least walked a ton to provide value, but the two players brought in to be pillars have struggled. In fact, outside of Jurrickson Profar and Rougned Odor, nobody is hitting over .250. It's a big factor in why, despite being 4th in home runs and stolen bases, the Rangers are only 11th in runs.
Yu Darvish will get the ball tonight. He appeared to be settling in after a rough opening week start, turning in three straight starts allowing one run or fewer. However, he was plagued in his last start against the Twins the same way he was against Cleveland on opening night. He gave up two home runs early in the game. Oddly enough, the righties have killed him. Right-handers are hitting .280 with four home runs off him. Lefties are hitting .200 with one home run, leading to a .325 point difference in OPS. It's still incredibly early, but it's a strange trend to see.
Darvish will be countered with Collin McHugh, who is having an excellent year. McHugh is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA after five starts. He's allowed five home runs, but also has only four walks and 24 strikeouts under his belt. With his ability to master the strike zone, he's been able to live with the occasional bomb. He has given up four unearned runs, so his record and ERA distort how good he's been, but simply not beating himself and letting his defense do the work has paid off big time.
Questions for the GMs
For Clayton Piper, Adrian Beltre is 38 and has a .523 OPS after one month. With his age, do you think this is the final hurrah for him?
Yu Darvish has been better against left-handed hitter than right-handed hitters this season. What can you attribute that to?
Wil Myers has not had the impact on sure you were hoping for. If he doesn't turn things around, what are your options
For Jeff Jones, George Springer has a bit of a bum shoulder. How will you be handling his injury?
Yu Darvish has a weird reverse-split this season thus far. Does it affect what lineup you roll out tonight?
Is Jose Altuve the best player in baseball? If not, what's stopping him?
TEX: Yu Darvish (1-1, 3.90)
HOU: Collin McHugh (3-0, 2.55)
The two Lone Star State rivals, the Texas Rangers and the Houston Astros, opened the season as the two favorite for the AL West crown. The Astros pulverized the AL West in April leaving the Rangers forced to make up a significant gap.
Houston went 19-7 in April, including a 14-3 record against the AL West. Though they haven't played the Rangers yet, they're already 6.5 games up. The Astros have done it with a powerful offense, exceptional bullpen work, and enough starting pitching to survive the loss of Dallas Keuchel, who only went 1.1 innings on opening day before complaining of shoulder discomfort.
The Astros already have three of the top 14 pitchers in WPA, that's how clutch their bullpen has been. Ken Giles leads the way. He's 5th in WPA, and first in saves, with nine. You can even say he's been a bit unlikely, as opponents have a .462 BABIP against Giles. However, he's walked only two and struck out 20 without yielding a home run in 12 innings. In fact he hasn't given up any extra base hits, which forces opponents to string together hits to beat him. With nearly two strikeouts an inning, opponents may need more than a .462 BABIP to dent him.
Their bridges have been excellent to, which helps consider why they're 7-2 in one-run games. You can look at Sunday's 6-5 win over Oakland as a summary of how Houston has won. After Lance McCullers was serviceable to start, Brad Peacock came on the fifth inning with a runner on. He stranded that runner, then pitched a scoreless sixth.
Tony Sipp struck out Corey Dickerson out as a lefty specialist, before Luke Gregerson struck out the next five hitters, all righties. Jeff Jones had no problems with using his closer in the ninth of a tie game. Giles gave up two hits, but struck out two as well. After Giles' inning, Will Harris worked a perfect tenth, with two strikeouts. That scoreless inning streak held the A's down until Alex Bregman could get on base, get over, and score on a balk in the bottom of the tenth.
Houston is also benefiting from Jose Altuve working on the mantle of best player in the game. He's hitting .446 thus far, with four home runs and four steals. He's struck out five times in 118 plate appearances, for a 4.2 K%, easily the best mark in baseball. Altuve already has 2.0 WAR and is off to a historical start.
Meanwhile, Texas is struggling, and the Rangers are only 11th in runs after a month. Paul Goldschmidt and Wil Myers were supposed to be huge additions, but they're both hitting under .240 for a month. Goldschmidt has at least walked a ton to provide value, but the two players brought in to be pillars have struggled. In fact, outside of Jurrickson Profar and Rougned Odor, nobody is hitting over .250. It's a big factor in why, despite being 4th in home runs and stolen bases, the Rangers are only 11th in runs.
Yu Darvish will get the ball tonight. He appeared to be settling in after a rough opening week start, turning in three straight starts allowing one run or fewer. However, he was plagued in his last start against the Twins the same way he was against Cleveland on opening night. He gave up two home runs early in the game. Oddly enough, the righties have killed him. Right-handers are hitting .280 with four home runs off him. Lefties are hitting .200 with one home run, leading to a .325 point difference in OPS. It's still incredibly early, but it's a strange trend to see.
Darvish will be countered with Collin McHugh, who is having an excellent year. McHugh is 3-0 with a 2.55 ERA after five starts. He's allowed five home runs, but also has only four walks and 24 strikeouts under his belt. With his ability to master the strike zone, he's been able to live with the occasional bomb. He has given up four unearned runs, so his record and ERA distort how good he's been, but simply not beating himself and letting his defense do the work has paid off big time.
Questions for the GMs
For Clayton Piper, Adrian Beltre is 38 and has a .523 OPS after one month. With his age, do you think this is the final hurrah for him?
Yu Darvish has been better against left-handed hitter than right-handed hitters this season. What can you attribute that to?
Wil Myers has not had the impact on sure you were hoping for. If he doesn't turn things around, what are your options
For Jeff Jones, George Springer has a bit of a bum shoulder. How will you be handling his injury?
Yu Darvish has a weird reverse-split this season thus far. Does it affect what lineup you roll out tonight?
Is Jose Altuve the best player in baseball? If not, what's stopping him?
