Garcia gets nod for Game 3
Rookie righthander Luis Garcia will start Game 3 of the American League Division Series at Guaranteed Rate Field on Sunday, Astros manager Dusty Baker announced Friday before Game 2.
The Astros will “probably” start José Urquidy if the series requires a fourth game, according to Baker.
“That was a big topic of discussion on who we were going to go with at Game 3,” Baker said.
Garcia authored a breakout season that should garner a top-three finish in American League Rookie of the Year voting. He posted a 3.30 ERA and 1.172 WHIP across a career-high 1551⁄3 innings, stymieing righthanded hitters with an excellent cutter/slider combo and well-commanded four-seam fastball.
Garcia saw a slight dip in command during the second half of the season. The Astros monitored his pitch counts closely, too, after he entered uncharted territory with his workload. Before this year, Garcia had never thrown more than 109 innings in any professional season. He threw fewer than 90 pitches in 13 of his final 14 starts.
Garcia started Game 5 of the American League Championship Series against Tampa Bay last season but only as an opener in an empty stadium. His next playoff start will arrive in a raucous primetime road environment. Garcia had a 2.39 ERA in 13 starts at Minute Maid Park and a 4.24 clip in 15 road appearances. Opponents have a .609 OPS against him at home and a .753 clip on the road.
White Sox manager Tony La Russa said either lefthander Carlos Rodon or righthander Dylan Cease will start for the White Sox. The decision hinges on whether La Russa feels comfortable with the health of Rodon, who threw a no-hitter this year as part of an All-Star season. He went on the IL with shoulder fatigue in August and made only six starts over the season’s last two months.
Strom: Odorizzi upset by snub
Jake Odorizzi’s omission from the Astros’ ALDS roster left the veteran starter “disappointed,” pitching coach Brent Strom said Friday.
“He’s handling it like I would expect a competitor to handle it. It wasn’t well,”
Strom said before Game 2 against the White Sox. “It would be easy for me to say he was a team guy and was all happy about it. I’m not going to sugarcoat it. He was disappointed. He obviously felt he should have been on the team.”
Through a team spokesman, Odorizzi declined comment before Game 1 on
Thursday. He revealed a rift with the organization after a Sept. 7 outing against the Mariners, objecting to the fact he was allowed to throw just 66 pitches in five innings. Odorizzi met with Strom, Baker and general manager James Click the next morning to clear the air.
The Astros opted to
carry Cristian Javier and Zack Greinke as their long relief options over Odorizzi, who said last month he was more than willing to pitch out of the team’s postseason bullpen.
By both recent success and familiarity with the White Sox lineup, Odorizzi appeared a better choice for the ALDS roster. Odorizzi
ended his season with a 3.07 ERA across the final 41 innings he threw. Righthanded hitters had just a .282 on-base percentage and .699 OPS against him. Chicago’s lineup is loaded with righties.
Greinke, a six-time AllStar and the team’s highestpaid healthy player, made the roster despite a disastrous second half of his season and 14 years since his last relief appearance. Greinke had a 5.13 ERA in his final 592⁄3 regular-season innings. Righthanded hitters slugged .505 and had an .828 OPS against him.
Javier’s elevated fourseam fastball and slider can be lethal against righthanded hitters, but his inconsistency and erratic command invites worry any time the Astros use him. Javier walked 32 batters in 27 relief appearances while allowing nine home runs.
“Odorizzi had a really good year after a rough start,” Strom said. “It was obviously disappointing to him to not be on the club, but he’s been in the dugout pulling for the guys, and he’s going to be ready depending on if we play — if we’re fortunate to advance.”