Keuchel touts parka for Minneapolis trip
The Minnesota Twins postponed Sunday’s game against the Seattle Mariners at Target Field to May 14 because of frigid conditions. Forecasts have Monday’s temperatures in Minneapolis dipping into the 30s, sending a streak of discomfort, in addition to chills, down the Astros’ spines.
The Astros flew to Minneapolis on Sunday night for a three-game series scheduled to begin Monday night.
“We know it’s going to be cold,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said Sunday. “We assume we’re going to play until they tell us not. The precipitation’s supposed to be going down, but it’s supposed to be really cold and really miserable.”
In his 13 seasons pitching for Detroit, Justin Verlander noted an icy opening day at Yankee Stadium, but he said he never pitched in a game so cold as the one expected for his start Monday.
“Throwing strikes is difficult,” he said, because the baseball feels like trying to grip a billiard ball. “You have to remind yourself that it’s worse for the hitters. That’s what you try to keep in mind. As bad as it is for you, it’s just as bad for the other guys. No point in complaining about it. Just go do your job.”
Infielder J.D. Davis, who grew up in North Carolina and attended college in Northern California, also expects the games in Minneapolis will be his coldest. He fought rainy conditions last September in Boston.
“I remember being in two jackets and being like, ‘Oh, my gosh,’ ” Davis said.
He only can imagine the upcoming experience for him and his teammates.
“I’ll be cheering them on by the heater,” Davis said.
The Astros scored 40 runs in three games at Target Field last May. That has not comforted them.
“Its real nice when it’s 6 degrees,” George Springer quipped. “The whole city’s indoors, except the part we have to be in.”
Major League Baseball shortened the time pitchers have to warm up before innings this season to 2 minutes, 5 seconds in its effort to speed the pace of play. Indians starter Trevor Bauer complained about the changes after his outing in Cleveland’s cold Saturday. He surrendered a first-pitch 90.5 mph fastball for a home run in the seventh inning.
Verlander alluded to Bauer’s complaints.
“That needs to be a little bit of awareness by everybody on the field,” Verlander said. “I’m going to take as much time as I need. I'm not going to risk injury just to appease the commissioner’s office to get loose.”
Dallas Keuchel parroted Verlander’s concerns, but he has a plan to keep warm until his start Tuesday.
“Bring a parka and have a bunch of heat packs,” Keuchel said. “If you see me with my left hand in my pocket, I'm reaching for some warmth.”
Cole more than holding his own
One-upmanship is expected for an Astros rotation with four All-Stars, but Gerrit Cole has earned the envy of his peers with one earned run allowed and 22 strikeouts in 14 innings.
“There would be,” Dallas Keuchel said, “but Gerrit’s just making everybody look bad right now.”
After Charlie Morton allowed just an unearned run over his six innings Sunday, Astros starters have a 1.83 ERA, second best in the majors, and 73 strikeouts in 10 games.The staff has 106 strikeouts in 90 innings.
“It’s kind of like passing the torch and running with it,” Keuchel said of the five-man rotation, which also has Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr.
Morton is the only starter without an All-Star appearance.
“This is a special rotation,” Verlander said. “It’s got a chance to be one of the best. Every day we come to the park, it’s like, this guy’s got a chance to throw a shutout. We don’t have to score today to win. That doesn’t happen too often in a five-man rotation.”
Said Keuchel: “It’s fully what I expected. And I expect it to last this entire season.”
Cole, a former No. 1 overall draft pick, has looked like the pitcher who won 19 games with the Pirates in 2015.
“If he pitches like he does the first few times, that separates him from the rest of the league,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “That's as incredible a two-game stretch as we could have imagined. He’s probably the best pitcher on the majority of major league teams if you look at stuff, execution, the ability to get through the lineup a couple times.”
Cole’s next start is Friday’s opener of a three-game homestand against the Rangers.