Valdez and McCullers to gain first two starts
Astros lefthander Framber Valdez and righthander Lance McCullers Jr. will start Games 1 and 2, respectively, of the American League Championship Series against the Rays beginning Sunday night in San Diego.
Blake Snell, the 2018 American League Cy Young Award winner, will start Sunday night for Tampa Bay, which has not announced its Game 2 starter.
Valdez, who picked up wins in the wild-card series against the Twins in relief and in the division series as the Astros’ starter in Game 2 against the
A’s, said he will be prepared to pitch in relief if needed during the best-of-seven series with no days off.
“I’m ready for whatever the situation calls for,” he said through an interpreter. “If they need me in three days, I’ll be read mentally at any moment, whatever the situation is as a starter or coming in later as a reliever. I need to be ready at all times.”
Given the tenuous nature of the Astros’ inexperienced bullpen, Valdez said he was aware of the need for Houston’s starters to go as deep as possible. He made it through seven innings in the division series.
He also expects the fact that he has never pitched against the Rays to work to his advantage.
“If I’m executing all four pitches, it’s an advantage for me,” he said. “I can have success against any team, but I feel an extra bit of comfort knowing they haven’t seen any of my pitches yet.”
The Astros faced Snell in Game 2 of the 2019 division series. The lefthander allowed four hits and a run in 31⁄ innings
3 with five strikeouts in Houston’s 3-1 victory.
Struggling 1B Gurriel staying put in lineup
Dusty Baker will stick with first baseman Yuli Gurriel during the first few games of the Astros’ American League Championship Series despite his mounting offensive struggles.
Gurriel went 2-for-23 with two singles so far in the playoffs. He went just 14-for-91 in September with three extrabase hits, plummeting his OPS to a career-worst .658.
“Yuli’s my first baseman,” Baker said Saturday. “You’re not going to find it on the bench. You’re going to find it playing. I’m not a fair-weather coach.”
If Baker were to make a move later in the series, Aledmys Diaz seems the team’s most logical replacement.
In his only start of the ALDS, Diaz delivered a game-tying,
two-run home run off A’s starter Jesus Luzardo during Game 3. Diaz started 18 games at first base last season before giving Gurriel a day off twice this year.
“You got to stick with the guys that helped get you here,” Baker said on Saturday. “Diaz is going to get some at-bats.”
Gurriel’s great defense at first base obviously factors into Baker’s decision. The 36-yearold Cuban infielder is a vacuum. According to Fan Graphs, Gurriel was worth five defensive runs saved last season — fifthbest among qualified first baseman.
Baker likely will add pitcher to the roster
The American League Championship Series will be played without days off, so Astros manager Dusty Baker likely will add a 13th pitcher to the 28-man roster on Sunday.
The Division Series roster included starters Zack
Greinke, Lance McCullers Jr., Jose Urquidy and Framber Valdez plus relievers Josh James, Cristian Javier, Enoli Paredes, Ryan Pressly, Brooks Raley, Andre Scrubb, and Blake Taylor.
Rounding out the roster against the A’s were Luis Garcia and Cy Sneed, who did not pitch in the four-game series.
Outfielder Chas McCormick, who did not play against Oakland, is the most likely candidate to be dropped from the ALCS roster.
Astros taxi squad pitchers who are eligible for the active roster include Brandon Bailey, Brandon Bielak, Humberto Castellanos, Chase De Jong, Shawn Dubin, Ralph Garza, Cionel Perez and Nivaldo Rodriguez.
Click facing old team but focused on wins
For a fleeting moment on Friday, James Click allowed himself to celebrate. The Tampa
Bay Rays survived a spectacular fifth game in the American League Division Series and earned the right to pursue a pennant. Click worked for 14 years in the Rays front office, forging relationships throughout the organization both on and off the field.
“The excitement of seeing them do well was quickly replaced,” Click explained, “by not being able to turn your brain off of ‘How do we beat these guys?’ ”
Hired by former Tampa general manager Andrew Friedman in 2006, Click ascended to the Rays vice president of baseball operations before Houston owner Jim Crane hired him to replace Jeff Luhnow in February. Click’s Rays ties run deep, but whether it will have any tangible effect in the American League Championship Series is a mystery.
“It’s one of the really tricky things about playing against the Rays because they’re constantly changing,” Click said. “They’re constantly improving and they are constantly adapting to the roster they have. The things that I know about those players and (manager Kevin Cash) and his tendencies may come into play — I hope that I can add a little bit and anticipating a little bit what they may do — but at the same time, that’s one of the most impressive things about the roster is they continue to adapt, they continue to find new and talented players.”
With a wry grin, Click could not confirm whether he and Rays general manager Erik Neander will have a side wager on this series.
He promised the two men would share conversations throughout the seven days — a week with one goal in mind for Click.
“My focus right now is putting the Astros in the best position possible to beat them,” Click said. “Which, on a scale of zero to weird, is pretty weird.” Chandler Rome and David Barron