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2018 Houston Astros Season Thread

Planet Houston

By Planet Houston
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TexArcher
TexArcher

Bregs is going Crawford Boxes right here.

ERhine
ERhine

Prior to the footage being edited by Bender:

wesleywest
wesleywest

Two Diamond Club tickets available for the Sunday night game.  Free.  Need to pick them up from me in 77027. Rules: Poster must be a big contributor to this thread/last years shag thread.  No gue

UTHornFan014

UTHornFan014 710

Posted
Posted
Clevinger has not started a postseason game.  All of his prior appearances in 16-17 were in relief.  He has a 6.45 postseason ERA.  
Keuchel has made eight postseason starts with a 3.24 postseason ERA.  
Indians have struggled against off-speed and breaking balls this season.  They do their damage against fastballs in the upper third of the zone.  Keuchel ain’t throwing anything in the upper third of the zone.  If Keuchel is getting the strike called at the bottom of the knees tomorrow, he’s throwing a shutout   
Y’all chill.  
I will
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kevwun

kevwun 15790

Posted
Posted
31 minutes ago, Guadaloopy said:

Clevinger has not started a postseason game.  All of his prior appearances in 16-17 were in relief.  He has a 6.45 postseason ERA.  

Keuchel has made eight postseason starts with a 3.24 postseason ERA.  

Indians have struggled against off-speed and breaking balls this season.  They do their damage against fastballs in the upper third of the zone.  Keuchel ain’t throwing anything in the upper third of the zone.  If Keuchel is getting the strike called at the bottom of the knees tomorrow, he’s throwing a shutout   

Y’all chill.  

He struggles when he doesn't have control because he can't overpower major league hitters.  If he has it, he'll be just fine.

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Hook'Em0608

Hook'Em0608 96

Posted
Posted
33 minutes ago, WBT said:

Astros are 5-2 in playoff games started by Keuchel.  Y'all keep up the bitchassedness though.

 

Keuchal sucks!!

Word, but this is where we are with this pitching staff currently. We are stuck acting like DK sucks to find something to worry about. This pitching staff is ridiculous. 

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UTexasFight

UTexasFight 9454

Posted
Posted

Kaplan on Pressly being Hinch’s preferred bullpen weapon and also some game 3 notes, including possibility of seeing Kemp.

Guessing something like this:

Springer

Altuve

Bregman

Yuli

Marwin

Correa

Reddick

McCann

Kemp

 

 

 

CLEVELAND — Before he threw his first career postseason pitch, Ryan Pressly peered into the Minute Maid Park stands. As a way of slowing down the moment, veteran Tony Sipp had suggested to Pressly he locate from the mound his family and friends in their seats.

 

The exercise proved futile when Pressly couldn’t find his personal cheering section through the sea of orange. “It’s a lot easier to find them in the minor leagues,” he would say later. “I can tell you that much.” The 29-year-old right-hander spiked his first pitch and a run scored easily from third. Welcome to October baseball.

 

By month’s end, Pressly should be vastly more experienced pitching in the games in which the stakes are highest. If the first two games of the Astros’ ALDS against the Indians prove to be any indication, manager A.J. Hinch will rely on Pressly in high-leverage, non-closing situations more than any other reliever.

 

It could be the sixth inning like in Game 1 on Friday or the eighth like in Game 2 on Saturday. If the opposition’s best hitters are due up in a tight game, Pressly has emerged as Hinch’s go-to weapon out of the bullpen.

 

Astros relievers have been tasked with 17 outs through their first two victories against the Indians. Pressly has gotten seven, the same amount as closer Roberto Osuna has. Collin McHugh, Will Harris, Josh James and Tony Sipp will enter Game 3 on Monday afternoon at Progressive Field yet to even appear in the series.

 

“I’d like to get some other guys some action, but that means we need to have some different circumstances, or [starter] Dallas [Keuchel] can throw the whole game,” Hinch said on Sunday at Progressive Field. “I don’t think I can go in set up with any preconceived notions. We’re trying to get 27 outs. How we use and who we use, the matchups we use, the game will dictate more so than me pre-planning it. We’ve not used some pretty good relievers. We’ve got some options in some areas that now we have some new looks, or maybe we go back to Press and Osuna and close out a win. That’s fine too.”

 

Having Lance McCullers Jr. as an option to set up Osuna this postseason makes it easier for Hinch to use Pressly earlier in games if the scenario warrants it. And Pressly’s arsenal makes him a good matchup for the Astros against both right-handed and left-handed hitters. Any hitter who has trouble with the ball up in the zone is vulnerable to his 96 mph riding four-seam fastball. Those who struggle with power breaking balls will see a heavy dosage of his 90 mph slider or his 83 mph curveball.

 

Hinch telegraphed Pressly’s increased October usage by how he managed the reliever’s workload late in the regular season. He didn’t use him for more than three outs in any of Pressly’s final 23 appearances and used him only once, for an inning, in the team’s final six games. Even so, Pressly led AL relievers in appearances with 77, 51 of which he made before the July 27 trade from the Twins to the Astros. His 71 innings ranked only 15th in the AL.

 

“I feel good,” Pressly said before Game 2. “It’s my job every day to get my body ready no matter what, no matter what the situation is. It’s postseason too, so your adrenaline’s kicking pretty hard.”

 

A few notes ahead of Game 3

 

— The next home run by George Springer or José Altuve will set an Astros’ record for career postseason homers by an individual player, with nine. Springer and Altuve are currently tied with Carlos Beltrán with eight. Carlos Correa has seven, and Alex Bregman (6) is quickly catching up.

 

— Brian McCann is expected to catch Dallas Keuchel in Game 3, a reflection of both Indians starter Mike Clevinger’s drastic righty-lefty splits and Keuchel’s ability to control the opponent’s running game. But even in this scenario, Martín Maldonado will all but certainly play a role in the game. Expect Hinch to treat Maldonado as the catcher version of Jake Marisnick, an elite defensive replacement he deploys in the sixth inning or later.

 

— Hinch used identical lineups in Game 1 and Game 2 but Clevinger’s vulnerability against left-handed hitters (.726 opponents’ OPS in the regular season as opposed to a .586 versus right-handed hitter) presents an opportunity to switch things up. In addition to playing McCann, Hinch could consider starting Tony Kemp over Tyler White at designated hitter to get an extra left-handed bat in the bottom third of the lineup.

 

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Fudge Nuggets

Fudge Nuggets 19190

Posted
Posted
4 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

Kaplan on Pressly being Hinch’s preferred bullpen weapon and also some game 3 notes, including possibility of seeing Kemp.

Guessing something like this:

Springer

Altuve

Bregman

Yuli

Marwin

Correa

Reddick

McCann

Kemp

 

 

 

  Hide contents

CLEVELAND — Before he threw his first career postseason pitch, Ryan Pressly peered into the Minute Maid Park stands. As a way of slowing down the moment, veteran Tony Sipp had suggested to Pressly he locate from the mound his family and friends in their seats.

 

The exercise proved futile when Pressly couldn’t find his personal cheering section through the sea of orange. “It’s a lot easier to find them in the minor leagues,” he would say later. “I can tell you that much.” The 29-year-old right-hander spiked his first pitch and a run scored easily from third. Welcome to October baseball.

 

By month’s end, Pressly should be vastly more experienced pitching in the games in which the stakes are highest. If the first two games of the Astros’ ALDS against the Indians prove to be any indication, manager A.J. Hinch will rely on Pressly in high-leverage, non-closing situations more than any other reliever.

 

It could be the sixth inning like in Game 1 on Friday or the eighth like in Game 2 on Saturday. If the opposition’s best hitters are due up in a tight game, Pressly has emerged as Hinch’s go-to weapon out of the bullpen.

 

Astros relievers have been tasked with 17 outs through their first two victories against the Indians. Pressly has gotten seven, the same amount as closer Roberto Osuna has. Collin McHugh, Will Harris, Josh James and Tony Sipp will enter Game 3 on Monday afternoon at Progressive Field yet to even appear in the series.

 

“I’d like to get some other guys some action, but that means we need to have some different circumstances, or [starter] Dallas [Keuchel] can throw the whole game,” Hinch said on Sunday at Progressive Field. “I don’t think I can go in set up with any preconceived notions. We’re trying to get 27 outs. How we use and who we use, the matchups we use, the game will dictate more so than me pre-planning it. We’ve not used some pretty good relievers. We’ve got some options in some areas that now we have some new looks, or maybe we go back to Press and Osuna and close out a win. That’s fine too.”

 

Having Lance McCullers Jr. as an option to set up Osuna this postseason makes it easier for Hinch to use Pressly earlier in games if the scenario warrants it. And Pressly’s arsenal makes him a good matchup for the Astros against both right-handed and left-handed hitters. Any hitter who has trouble with the ball up in the zone is vulnerable to his 96 mph riding four-seam fastball. Those who struggle with power breaking balls will see a heavy dosage of his 90 mph slider or his 83 mph curveball.

 

Hinch telegraphed Pressly’s increased October usage by how he managed the reliever’s workload late in the regular season. He didn’t use him for more than three outs in any of Pressly’s final 23 appearances and used him only once, for an inning, in the team’s final six games. Even so, Pressly led AL relievers in appearances with 77, 51 of which he made before the July 27 trade from the Twins to the Astros. His 71 innings ranked only 15th in the AL.

 

“I feel good,” Pressly said before Game 2. “It’s my job every day to get my body ready no matter what, no matter what the situation is. It’s postseason too, so your adrenaline’s kicking pretty hard.”

 

A few notes ahead of Game 3

 

— The next home run by George Springer or José Altuve will set an Astros’ record for career postseason homers by an individual player, with nine. Springer and Altuve are currently tied with Carlos Beltrán with eight. Carlos Correa has seven, and Alex Bregman (6) is quickly catching up.

 

— Brian McCann is expected to catch Dallas Keuchel in Game 3, a reflection of both Indians starter Mike Clevinger’s drastic righty-lefty splits and Keuchel’s ability to control the opponent’s running game. But even in this scenario, Martín Maldonado will all but certainly play a role in the game. Expect Hinch to treat Maldonado as the catcher version of Jake Marisnick, an elite defensive replacement he deploys in the sixth inning or later.

 

— Hinch used identical lineups in Game 1 and Game 2 but Clevinger’s vulnerability against left-handed hitters (.726 opponents’ OPS in the regular season as opposed to a .586 versus right-handed hitter) presents an opportunity to switch things up. In addition to playing McCann, Hinch could consider starting Tony Kemp over Tyler White at designated hitter to get an extra left-handed bat in the bottom third of the lineup.

 

The lineup... don't fuck with it, Hinch.  He did the same shit last year after blowing out Boston the first two games and it almost came back to bite us.

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Guadaloopy

Guadaloopy 10973

Posted
Posted
5 hours ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

Which is where Verlander and Cole went time after time and dominated.

Verlander and Cole.   Not exactly your run of the mill 4-seamers.  Elite stuff can beat strengths.  

My point is that Keuchel is the type of pitcher that has kept the Indians in check all year.  

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Mez2

Mez2 4023

Posted
Posted
8 minutes ago, Scraps said:

FYI  - I just got my rejection emails for not getting selected for ALCS presale....so emails have been sent out.  

thanks for the reminder - i just got my notification i got selected to purchase tickets for the ALCS. 

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TonyTexas

TonyTexas 10515

Posted
Posted
so with mac behind the plate, dk will need to limit baserunners.
just hoping tito will go to the pen at the first sign of trouble with the combo of clevinger and 0-2.
if we can get 5 strong from dk (2er or fewer) then i'm happy.

Good to have you back, HG. I need some sanity in this thread.
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