Proud as a …
Brad Peacock is being rewarded for his steady, solid, stellar season with the Game 3 start for the Astros.
Brad Peacock, who began the season in relief before emerging as one of the Astros’ most reliable starters, was tabbed as the starter for Sunday’s ALDS Game 3 against the Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park.
Astros manager A.J. Hinch announced the decision after a 8-2 victory in Game 2 on Friday at Minute Maid Park. Hinch also said Charlie Morton will start Game 4 if one’s necessary, which essentially eliminates the possibility Lance McCullers Jr. will make a start in this series.
Peacock, who will oppose ex-Astro Doug Fister ,hada 3.00 ERA in 132 innings in the regular season. The 29-year-old righthander faced the Red Sox in his last regular-season start Sept. 28, when he allowed two runs in five innings.
“I would assume it’s going to be very special for him,” Game 2 winner Dallas Keuchel said. “But this is a guy that I’ve been waiting on for about four years to do exactly what he’s doing this year.
“Various injuries and I guess kind of getting in his own way has put him in a position until this point not to succeed like he has. I’ve been telling him all along that he can be this guy, and sure enough, this whole year he’s been that guy. So we couldn’t have a better guy going on Sunday for us, and I think the lineup and everybody playing defensively would say the same thing.”
Peacock, Morton and McCullers were each available out of the Astros’ bullpen for Games 1 and 2, but none were needed.
Morton had a 3.62 ERA in 1462⁄3 innings in the regular season, McCullers a 4.25 ERA in 1182⁄3 innings.
Betts believes he can play with sore wrist
Red Sox outfielder Mookie Betts exited Game 2 of the ALDS on Friday after reaggravating his injured left wrist during his eighth-inning at-bat.
Following the 8-2 loss to the Astros, Betts said his wrist is not bothersome enough to prevent him from playing in Game 3 on Sunday at Fenway Park.
“I could play tomorrow,” Betts said, if it were necessary.
He had received a cortisone shot in his wrist before the game.
“But everything’s fine with the wrist,” he said. “It’s all right. I had a little flare-up, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the first time. So everything will be all right.”
Betts suffered left wrist inflammation Sept. 25 and missed two games.
Betts suggested that swinging in his eighth-inning at-bat caused his wrist to inflame.
“It happened so fast I’m not exactly sure why or what makes it happen,” he said. “It was just a little twist to my wrist and I guess from the contact of the ball and the way my swings is. So honestly I don’t really know. I just know certain pitches, certain swings trigger it.”
Betts suggested his wrist is not a distraction.
“It’s going to take time to heel,” he said. “We don’t have that kind of time right now.”
Keuchel’s numbers force lineup change
Astros starter Dallas Keuchel held lefthanded hitters to a .145 batting average and .435 OPS during the regular season. That led to Boston manager John Farrell making significant lineup changes Friday.
Defensive specialist Deven Marrero replaced Rafael Devers at third base. Devers was 20-of-50 with six extra-base hits against lefties this season, but Farrell based his decision on Keuchel’s overwhelming numbers.
“(Keuchel) has shut down pretty much all lefthanded hitters this year,” Farrell said. “With the option of Deven available to us, he’s in the lineup.”
Marrero hit .291 with a .944 OPS against lefthanders in 61 plate appearances. Farrell also wanted a better defender at third base with Drew Pomeranz on the mound facing seven righthanded hitters in Astros’ lineup.
“Wanted his bat, his glove at the position,” Farrell said.
Marrero went 0-for-2 in Friday’s 8-2 loss. Devers hit for Marrero in the seventh and also went 0-for-2.
Game 1 draws good ratings on MLB
Thursday’s Game 1 telecast on MLB Network had a 7.2 Nielsen rating in Houston, meaning that 177,634 of Houston’s 2.46 million TV households watched the Astros’ 8-2 win over the Red Sox.
The average audience during the game in Houston was 231,000 viewers, according to Nielsen.
The 56-market national overnight rating of 1.8 was up 20 percent from the opening Division Series game last year and was MLB Network’s secondbest overnight rating for a game telecast, trailing a 3.4 overnight for Game 2 of the Giants-Cubs series last year.
MLB Network’s best-ever rating for a Division Series game in Houston was 8.0 for Game 3 of the 2015 series against the eventual champion Royals.
For Sale, it’s a tale of two seasons
The Red Sox would not be in the postseason without Chris Sale. But once they start preparations for next season, how to keep their ace ready for October will be a topic of much conversation.
Sale was 15-6 with a 2.37 ERA in his first 21 starts this season. In his last 12, counting Thursday’s disastrous start in Game 1 of the ALDS against the Astros, Sale is 7-5 with a 4.69 ERA.
Drill a little deeper and Sale has allowed 11 home runs in his last 34 innings.
It’s nothing unusual or all that unexpected. Sale has a career 2.74 ERA in the first half of the season and 3.28 in the second half.
Manager John Farrell felt that Sale lost the depth of his slider in recent weeks, leaving that pitch flat over the plate and not diving at the bottom of the strike zone.
“That’s what’s shown up a little bit more,” Farrell said.