Game 1 dealt a pair of aces
HOUSTON — Aces up. What a way to kick off an ALDS. The Astros and Red Sox are beginning their postseason quests with two of the top pitchers in the game, and if Boston has any chance of beating the mighty Astros, Chris Sale is going to have to outduel Justin Verlander on Thursday at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros won 101 games and scored a major league best 896 runs, the most in major league history without any player reaching 100 RBIs. Astros GM Jeff Luhnow had one goal in mind when he traded for Verlander, the former Cy Young winner and MVP with the Tigers, on July 31.
“To improve that ballclub you have to get someone who is better than the guys that you have,’’ Luhnow told The Post as he stood outside the Astros dugout Wednesday. “That list is pretty short and he was at the top of that list. We weren’t sure we were going to be able to get it done, but to be able to bring in an addition that clearly adds to your team when you already have a pretty good team, that’s what we were trying to do.’’ Mission accomplished. Over his last 16 starts, Verlander, 34, went 10-3 with a 1.92 ERA. He made five starts with the Astros and finished 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA.
The aces have faced off against each other six times, dating to Verlander’s Tiger days and Sale’s time with the White Sox. The lefty Sale is 1-2 with a 2.95 ERA in those showdowns. Verlander owns a 2-0 record with a 1.93 ERA.
“It’s a battle of the best of the best,’’ Houston’s Carlos Beltran said.
Noted Verlander: “You know what type of matchup it’s going to be. It’s going to be a grind. It’s kind of like the first person to blink.”
When Dustin Pedroia was asked what Sale has brought to the Red Sox, he said, “Wow, he’s been unbelievable since Day 1, not only just obviously the stuff he has on the mound but his presence in the clubhouse. The way he attacks every day, he’s always trying to get better.”
Pedroia’s read on Verlander: “Every pitch he has is a wipeout pitch. So you just got to battle, try to get a good pitch to hit and if you get it, you better not miss it because he can make it pretty tough on everybody. He’s done it for a real long time.’’
Each pitcher has a monster presence, and neither can wait to start his team’s first postseason game of 2017. Each loves the pressure.
The skinny Sale does it his way, no over-reliance on the scouting report. He has made 180 major league starts but has never started a postseason game.
“It’s exciting,’’ he said. “A lot of hard work goes into this, ups and downs of the season, battling the travel and all this other stuff. So to be sitting here right now is pretty fulfilling.’’
As for facing Verlander, Sale said, “He’s tough. As a whole we know what we’re getting ourselves into. We know the work that we need to get done, and I think we’re up to the task. We fought hard all year. We have faced a lot of challenges, we have been backed in the corner, and we have dealt with those situations pretty well.’’
Sale, 28, knows the pressure that comes with this start. Verlander does, too.
“This lineup presents a lot of difficulties,’’ Verlander said of the Red Sox. “They don’t strike out a lot, they put the bat on the ball. Any of them can do damage at any time. They can all run well. Most of them can run well. They’re here for a reason.
“Good pitching beats good hitting, though.’’
Astros manager A.J. Hinch knows how special Verlander is already.
“There’s a presence to him, there’s a teammate component to him, there’s a professional excellence to him in every facet,’’ Hinch said.
All that makes this one an October delight. Double time for aces. We’ll see who blinks first.