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Astros face Indians, Yankees and Red Sox in early season gauntlet
By Clint Irle
The Astros will play eleven straight games starting tonight until next Sunday. In this time frame, they will face the top contenders from the AL East, and the consistent Indians. Let’s take a look at why these games are significant.
The Astros will not see any days off until closing the series against the Red Sox on June 3rd. In that time span, they will have also traveled to Cleveland and New York for road series. They travel home to host the Red Sox.
Why is this so significant? First, the bullpen will be vulnerable if they’re asked to carry a lot of innings. Luckily, the Astros carry the best starting rotation in baseball. We also forget the bullpen has been very strong as of late, most notably with Ken Giles being perfect in save opportunities this season.
The Astros have allowed 126 runs this season, the fewest through 50 games in the Live Ball Era (which spans back to 1920)
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) May 23, 2018
I guess I’ve refuted my own concerns, right? That’s okay, because this will still be a great test on our pitching staff to decide how to approach the similar circumstance throughout the season.
Will Harris, Brad Peacock and Ken Giles followed Verlander with a scoreless inning in relief, with Giles improving to 9-for-9 in save chances. The Astros’ bullpen has a 0.79 ERA in the team’s last 12 games.
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) May 23, 2018
The AL East Match-Ups
There’s no better way to size up the competition than to face them. The Astros will do just that next Monday. The Yankees took three of the four games from the Astros last month, but that result means very little to an offense who is starting to produce.
The Red Sox are off to a blazing start this season, and their offense is showing little signs of slowing down. This series will be a great test on where our team is and preview a postseason showdown for the ages. Lastly, the Astros will get a chance to face more left-handed pitching, a real benefit for their progression.
The Yankees and Red Sox are neck and neck.
— ESPN (@espn) May 21, 2018
Our full MLB power rankings: https://t.co/C66NXvgVKR pic.twitter.com/VK7YXVslZT
What about the Indians?
Yes, let’s not forget the Cleveland series starting tonight. This series will see Trevor Bauer on the mound against Gerrit Cole on Sunday. After the drama surrounding exchanges between Bauer and some Houston players, this will make for a great Sunday viewing. As if we needed any persuasion to watch our Astros.
Next: Astros are actually underperforming in 2018
All in all, these 11 straight games will test our Astros, and we are all excited to watch the defending world champions show out.
***Stats and data courtesy of ESPN***