Astros won’t look past playoff newcomer Sale
HOUSTON — Astros manager A.J. Hinch loves that Justin Verlander, his starter for Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Red Sox on Thursday, has a ton of postseason experience.
Hinch, however, is plenty concerned about Red Sox starter Chris Sale despite this being his playoff debut.
“I don’t think he’ll be spooked by not having experience,” Hinch said.
After eight years in the majors, Sale said finally getting a chance to pitch in the postseason is “pretty fulfilling.” But he’s trying to control his emotions about the opportunity.
“It’s going to be hard not to, but try not to put too much emphasis on it,” he said. “Just try to treat this just like another game. You get a little amped up sometimes and that can kind of go crazy.”
The AL East champion Red Sox are in the playoffs for the second straight year. The West champion Astros return to the postseason for the second time in three years after breaking a 10year drought in 2015.
Verlander has appeared in the playoffs five times. He is 7-5 with a 3.39 ERA and 112 strikeouts in 16 career postseason starts but hasn’t been there since 2014.
He believes there is an advantage to having playoff experience, but no matter how many times he has done it, he still deals with jitters when he takes the mound in a game that means so much.
“I definitely think there is some value in it, just more along the lines of knowing what to expect,” he said. “I don’t think it’s going to help calm my nerves or give me an edge in that way, but knowing what I’m going to deal with going into the start, how I’m going to feel during the start, how much more emphasis and stress is put on every single pitch, knowing those things I think helps prepare me better.”
Verlander got used to being in the playoffs after reaching the World Series in his first full major-league season in 2006 and advancing to the postseason each year from 2011 to 2014 with the Tigers. He has a different feeling entering the playoffs this year after a trade just before the deadline brought him to Houston for another shot at a ring at age 34.
“To have the opportunity to once again be in the playoffs, I could say I don’t take it for granted anymore,” he said. “It seemed easy for a while with the Tigers organization, especially going my first year to the World Series, so I appreciate every step of the way now even more.”
The Astros are looking for him to build on the work he has done since arriving in Houston a little more than a month ago. The right-hander is 5-0 with a 1.06 ERA in five starts since the deal and 15-8 with a 3.36 ERA in 33 starts overall this season.
“There’s a professional excellence to him in every facet that you would ask out of a teammate, out of a guy in the clubhouse, and then ultimately performance on the field, which is why we acquired him,” Hinch said. “So what he’s done in his short time here is establish himself as very much a part of what we’re doing but not entirely what we’re doing. Our guys feel like we’re going to win when he pitches.”
Sale gets the nod in Game 1 after going 17-8 with a 2.90 ERA and topping the AL with 2141⁄3 innings. The left-hander led the majors with 308 strikeouts and was the first AL pitcher to fan 300 batters since Pedro Martinez in 1999.