Secret weapon
After a pivotal win in Game 2, the Astros turn to their curveball-snapping 24-year-old righthander to try to keep it going
The Astros turn to Lance McCullers Jr. on baseball’s biggest stage.
Two nights after one of the craziest World Series games ever played and the first their franchise has won in 56 years of existence, the Astros will give the ball to Lance McCullers Jr. in an attempt to take the Series lead over the Los Angeles Dodgers.
McCullers, last seen snapping off 24 consecutive power curveballs against the New York Yankees to close out the Astros’ Game 7 win in the ALCS, is the type of pitcher who seems to thrive on the adrenaline that comes from competing on a bigger stage.
The 24-year-old righthander will toe the rubber Friday night at Minute Maid Park on the biggest stage baseball has to offer.
“He’s a confident kid,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “He believes in his best stuff matched up against the best stuff of the other guy, that he’s going to be better. … His belief in himself is second to none. He’s able to keep his emotions in check. His demeanor is very good. He’s got just enough cockiness to him that’s attractive as a competitor.
“And he wants the ball. He wants to finish. If you ask him today, ‘What are you going to do tomorrow?’ He’s going to say, ‘I’m going to throw nine scoreless.’ And he believes it. And he thinks it’s my fault if it doesn’t happen because I took him out. That type of makeup, that type of competitive burn, part of it is innate, and part of it has grown in confidence as he’s seen himself successful at this level.”
Plenty of confidence
McCullers said a key for him is to “stay on the attack.”
“This is a very, very talented group that I’ll be facing (Friday),” he said. “They can really swing it. And as you guys saw the last couple of nights, even the first night, we lost 3-1, it was still a really, really good game. One swing of the bat was the difference.
“For me, I’m very confident in myself, very confident in the game plan we all put together, and have a lot of faith in my defense, and especially Brian McCann back there. It just makes it a lot easier on me to see him and just focus on doing what I have to do to help the team win.”
Friday’s will be McCullers’ third career postseason start. In each of his first two, which were both blown by the Astros’ bullpen, he completed six innings or more and allowed two runs or fewer and only two hits.
In what now amounts to a best-of-five-series, Games 3 and 4 represent the swing games that could determine this World Series.
In Game 5, the Dodgers will start Clayton Kershaw. In Game 6, the Astros will start Justin Verlander. On paper, Friday and Saturday’s matchups seem the most up-for-grabs.
McCullers will oppose Yu Darvish, the ex-Texas Rangers ace who so far in this postseason has allowed only two runs and struck out 14 against one walk in 112⁄3 innings.
Darvish will be tasked with pitching against an Astros offense that not only has hit better at home this postseason but broke out for 14 hits and four home runs in Wednesday’s epic Game 2 at Dodger Stadium.
Friday’s matchup of McCullers-Darvish and Saturday’s of Charlie Morton vs. Alex Wood are interesting because none of the four starters is likely to pitch deep into the game.
Bullpens come into play
McCullers hasn’t recorded an out beyond the sixth inning since June 8, and Morton hasn’t recorded more than 16 outs in a start since Sept. 23.
For the Dodgers, manager Dave Roberts has had a quick hook for his starters in the postseason to leverage his usually lights-out bullpen.
Which means these next two games could feature a lot of relief action. Will Harris, Joe Musgrove and Chris Devenski (outside of one pitch to Charlie Culberson) instilled some confidence in regards to the maligned Astros bullpen in Games 1 and 2, but Ken Giles’ performance remains a major concern.
Giles, the Astros’ closer, has allowed a run or more in five of his six postseason outings.
“I think what the playoffs show across the board, from the beginning of the postseason all the way through the World Series, is roles are softly defined,” Hinch said. “But I think Ken Giles is going to get another save in this Series. I think he’s going to get some really big outs.
“When the crowd’s standing in this ballpark over the next couple of games, if we can have the lead and he’s the right matchup, he’s going to get the last out. He’s done it awfully well this year. Just because somebody has a bad day at work does not mean that they need to be condemned and sent away. These guys are good players on a national stage, and they are competing against the best team in the National League, and for that I’m going to keep putting him in and trusting him.”