The Philly bullpen isn't that good and they've been overused. The Astros have a lot of recent at bats vs every arm in that pen.... that can be a recipe for disaster.
Sharing some photos from our trip to Philly, we watched game 4 at a local bar and went to game 5. This was after the combined no hitter the GOAT La Pina Yordaddy Our future #2 and closer The King Game 5 The Golden Glove Rookie And finally, THE GAME 6 WINNER Just about to crack open my first Crawford Bock…Let’s go Astros!!!
Oh yeah this was Chas in ATL after game 4 last year, it was late and he came down to decompress after the loss, was super cool and spoke to us for about 10 minutes before heading back up, my gf was fan girling hard and did most the talking lol It’s so cool to see him start to break out, especially now that he’s gone viral after that catch!
I think the front office is going to put a lot more weight into the 162 games of below replacement level play than the last 12 games that would be relatively average for a typical first baseman. I could see him here as a backup, but I don’t think the Astros are going to have him as their plan to start at first base next year. I say this as a fan of Yuli with a lot of respect for his career and abilities.
Do the Astros come out swinging like they did in game 2 or do they take some pitches to see if Wheeler's velocity is down. If it isn't, don't want him to have a quick inning. Would want to build his pitch count asap. Hopefully the stadium remains loud and Wheeler and Realmuto has a miscommunication on the pitchcom and they screw up(a pitch to hit or a passball). Do the Phillies get desperate? If Valdez is pitching a gem and it's a close game, do they ask the ump to check Valdez for any illegal substances. I know the manager said he wasn't concerned when he was asked about it after game 2. Said if the umps find anything, he'll let the league deal with it and saw him doing his routine in the regular season game against them. Maybe if they know he doesn't have anything, maybe they just want to disrupt the flow of his game. Kind of like when Baker unintentionally challenged a play which disrupted Wheeler's flow. After the ruling, very next pitch, Bregman got a big hit. Finally if Houston wins, if Valdez pitches a gem(say 7 innings), Pena goes 2-5(no rbi but scores a run), and Pressly records the save, who's the MVP? Any chance of a co-mvp?
I want to see both Altuve and Pena take pitches. Put at least 15-20 on him in the first inning. Especially since I think Wheeler throws that curve to start and doesn't challenge on the first pitch or two hoping they get themselves out. Knowing Altuve, he'll swing away.
Rotoworld says a significant loss on offense with yuli out…..https://www.nbcsportsedge.com/baseball/mlb/player/20819/yuli-gurriel
Wonder why Bryson Stott isn’t the lineup for the Phillies when he always seems to be a pain ass at his at-bats fighting off pitches. Defensive purposes?
