The Season Starts NOW!
It’s still April. The season is starting though , just as it always has (apart from 2020). By April 17th, and excluding the Covid year of 2020, every single Astros team that wasn’t opening against the Dodgers had already played a game. Even those teams had opened by the 18th.
It is time for us to admit, albeit reluctantly, that it is time for us to start playing. Grapefruit stoppage time is over. The games count now.
Enter the Toronto Blue Jays. At 10-6, they’ve picked up pretty much where they left off from last year: hungry, second in their division, looking to take the next step. They have familiar faces in Cavan Biggio and George Springer. Mostly though they just hit the ball a ton:
Matt Chapman (you remember him — from Oakland): he’s hitting 0.453.
Vlad(imir Guerrero): he’s hitting 0.390
Bo Bichette: he’s hitting 0.368
Kevin Kiermaier: he’s hitting 0.333
…and that’s after facing the 14-2 Tampa Bay Rays
The good news is — once we start playing — we’re good too. It starts now.
Odds & Ends:
Opening Game Matchups:
The Astros will start Christian Javier, 1-0, 4.24 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, throws R: Javier is coming off of a 7-4 loss to Pittsburgh in which he allowed 4 runs on 5 hits (2HR) and 1 BB while striking out 3 in 6 innings of work. Last year, Javier finished with a sizzling 2.54 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP.
The Blue Jays will counter with Kevin Gausman, 1-1, 1.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, throws R: Gausman is coming off of his worst start of the season against Detroit allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 0 BB against 11 Ks in 8 innings of work but did not factor into the decision (Springer hit a walk-off single in the 10th to win that one for the Blue Jays).
Gausman is 2-3 with a 4.55 ERA over five career starts against the Astros, posting 36 Ks against only four BB in 29-2/3 frames of work. He faced the Astros once last season, picking up the win (3-2 on May 1st) while allowing 2 runs on six hits and no BB with 10 Ks over seven frames of work.
In 2022, Gausman finished 12-10 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.
Game 2 Starters:
The Astros will start Jose Urquidy, 1-0, 2.35 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, throws R: Urquidy is off to a good start this year, though he’ll have to bring his WHIP down a bit to transition into a top tier starter. He’s coming off of a gem in which he did just that defeating Pittsburgh 7-0 allowing no runs on 2 hits and 3 BB while striking out two in six frames of work.
The Blue Jays will counter with Chris Bassitt, 1-2, 7.63 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, throws R: Bassitt’s ERA has been in the mid 3s in recent years, and at age 34 he’s likely to improve to that as the season progresses. He’s off to a rough start so far only because of an abysmal start in his first outing. In both of his last two games, he’s allowed 2 runs in 6 frames of work, most recently in a 3-1 loss to Detroit in which he struck out 7 while walking 3 and allowing 4 hits.
¡Deja que comience!
@UTeach
@streettopeschel
@SonofMan
@frozen_rope
@Big Hudge
@smileartisan
@Ratbelly
@MB-HORNS
@andrewsrp
@ball911
@abeagame11
@foxymop702
@BrobaFapp
@Tilo
@jccoll
@jayd78
@ZoomAir34
@Miamihorns
@UT Big Daddy
@Breauxcephus
@BHow20
@BMacHookem
@Bugtussle U
@Mamelhorn
@Htown2utSAhorn13
@snowmonkey501
It’s still April. The season is starting though , just as it always has (apart from 2020). By April 17th, and excluding the Covid year of 2020, every single Astros team that wasn’t opening against the Dodgers had already played a game. Even those teams had opened by the 18th.
It is time for us to admit, albeit reluctantly, that it is time for us to start playing. Grapefruit stoppage time is over. The games count now.
Enter the Toronto Blue Jays. At 10-6, they’ve picked up pretty much where they left off from last year: hungry, second in their division, looking to take the next step. They have familiar faces in Cavan Biggio and George Springer. Mostly though they just hit the ball a ton:
Matt Chapman (you remember him — from Oakland): he’s hitting 0.453.
Vlad(imir Guerrero): he’s hitting 0.390
Bo Bichette: he’s hitting 0.368
Kevin Kiermaier: he’s hitting 0.333
…and that’s after facing the 14-2 Tampa Bay Rays
The good news is — once we start playing — we’re good too. It starts now.
Odds & Ends:
Opening Game Matchups:
The Astros will start Christian Javier, 1-0, 4.24 ERA, 1.18 WHIP, throws R: Javier is coming off of a 7-4 loss to Pittsburgh in which he allowed 4 runs on 5 hits (2HR) and 1 BB while striking out 3 in 6 innings of work. Last year, Javier finished with a sizzling 2.54 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP.
The Blue Jays will counter with Kevin Gausman, 1-1, 1.35 ERA, 1.00 WHIP, throws R: Gausman is coming off of his worst start of the season against Detroit allowing 3 runs on 5 hits and 0 BB against 11 Ks in 8 innings of work but did not factor into the decision (Springer hit a walk-off single in the 10th to win that one for the Blue Jays).
Gausman is 2-3 with a 4.55 ERA over five career starts against the Astros, posting 36 Ks against only four BB in 29-2/3 frames of work. He faced the Astros once last season, picking up the win (3-2 on May 1st) while allowing 2 runs on six hits and no BB with 10 Ks over seven frames of work.
In 2022, Gausman finished 12-10 with a 3.35 ERA and a 1.24 WHIP.
Game 2 Starters:
The Astros will start Jose Urquidy, 1-0, 2.35 ERA, 1.37 WHIP, throws R: Urquidy is off to a good start this year, though he’ll have to bring his WHIP down a bit to transition into a top tier starter. He’s coming off of a gem in which he did just that defeating Pittsburgh 7-0 allowing no runs on 2 hits and 3 BB while striking out two in six frames of work.
The Blue Jays will counter with Chris Bassitt, 1-2, 7.63 ERA, 1.63 WHIP, throws R: Bassitt’s ERA has been in the mid 3s in recent years, and at age 34 he’s likely to improve to that as the season progresses. He’s off to a rough start so far only because of an abysmal start in his first outing. In both of his last two games, he’s allowed 2 runs in 6 frames of work, most recently in a 3-1 loss to Detroit in which he struck out 7 while walking 3 and allowing 4 hits.
¡Deja que comience!
@UTeach
@streettopeschel
@SonofMan
@frozen_rope
@Big Hudge
@smileartisan
@Ratbelly
@MB-HORNS
@andrewsrp
@ball911
@abeagame11
@foxymop702
@BrobaFapp
@Tilo
@jccoll
@jayd78
@ZoomAir34
@Miamihorns
@UT Big Daddy
@Breauxcephus
@BHow20
@BMacHookem
@Bugtussle U
@Mamelhorn
@Htown2utSAhorn13
@snowmonkey501
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