Lto World Series begins Tuesday in Houston. The Astros are on their way to their third Fall Classic appearance since 2017, looking for their second ring, while the Braves arrive for the first time since 1999.
Atlanta starts as a betting favorite, by having an apparent advantage in the pitchers, although he does not have the locality, in a series that aims to be long and could tip the balance for the following five details.
Houston reaches the Fall Classic despite not having Justin verlander all year long for undergoing Tommy John surgery.Nor will they have Lance McCullers and Zack Greinke has pitched just five times since September and never went more than 5 innings. with just 2.1 innings of work in the postseason, both against the Red Sox after not playing the White Sox.
Someone will have to start two games. Framber Valdez and Luis Garcia command the Houston pitching staff, but behind them there are many unknowns. We already mentioned Greinke, who may start a game that would aim to be a bullpen. The Mexican Jose Urquidy has World Series experience, but in his only playoff start, he allowed 6 runs in 1.2 innings of work in Game 3 at Boston.
He paints that Houston would need Valdez and Garcia to do their best Randy Johnson and Curt Schilling impression in 2001.
Houston will have home-court advantage in the Fall Classic, so four of the seven games will be played with designated hitter.
This implies that the Astros will have their usual lineup, with the MVP of the Championship Series, Yordan Alvarez, as designated. The problem will be in the middle of the series, when they move to Atlanta and have to decide if the Cuban plays on the field or not.
Atlanta could benefit from playing in the American League park as Jorge Soler is back after battling the coronavirus. He could play the field or come out as a designated, leaving Rosario, Duvall and Perderson in the outfield. Be that as it may, there is a very dangerous bat that already has postseason experience, with his spectacular 2015 with the Cubs, in addition to being part of the 2016 champions who finished the season. Curse of the Goat. The bottom of the Braves lineup would get a boost.