Astros: Valdez gets Game 1, how does rest of rotation line out?

Game 2 for the Astros could be in Jose Urquidy’s hands.

The natural inclination is to start Luis Garcia here. However, the idea for starting Jose Urquidy in Game 2 is more predicated on giving Garcia five full days of rest. Garcia, who had trouble with a right-knee strain during Game 2 of ALCS, pitched much more effectively in his second start in Game 6 with some extended rest.

Urquidy, winning pitcher in Game 4 of the 2019 World Series against the Washington Nationals, hasn’t had much action in this postseason. The way both the ALDS and ALCS played out didn’t leave all that many innings for Urquidy.

Urquidy did have the opportunity to start Game 3 of the 2021 ALCS after a long layoff. He didn’t pitch particularly well, as he was having difficulty locating the strike zone.

You could blame it on a bad day, a bit of rust or really whatever you want to attribute the performance to. The reality is that this kind of wild game was a total anomaly, factoring in the type of pitch control seen from Urquidy throughout his career.