Houston Astros Return Home to Face Struggling Cubs
Returning home is always a good feeling for any baseball team after a road trip. For the Houston Astros, they come back after nine games on the road to their first meeting with the Chicago Cubs.
Sitting at 21-91, the Astros took five out of nine games, two of which came in their recent series against the Chicago White Sox. They sit four games back of first in the American League West and have a losing record at home of 8-11.
The Astros are arguably a different team than they were in 2022. Justin Verlander is gone for New York but thankfully, their pitching rotation hasn't missed a beat this season. The squad has an ERA of 3.30 which puts them on par with the last opponent of the Cubs, the Minnesota Twins for second-best in MLB.
They're in possession of a three-headed beast in their rotation, made up of Framber Valdez, Cristian Javier, and Hunter Brown. Add in J.P France, who will likely get the start on May 17, and they'll be challenging for the struggling bats of Chicago.
Monday will see the pitching start for Houston go to left-hander Valdez. It'll be the first appearance against the Cubs for the 29-year-old. He's 3-4 with an ERA of 2.38, a WHIP of 1.04, and 57 strikeouts in 53.0 innings pitched.
And he's done well in 2023 for Houston. In his last start against the Los Angeles Angels on May 9th, he allowed only one run on three hits while recording 12 strikeouts over eight innings. Which Chicgao's inconsistencies, Valdez is one of the best in the league at maximizing against those types of teams.
Chicago is trigger-happy and if Valdez can control the zone with a low-pitch count, Houston has the upper hand.
Regarding their offensive production, Houston is underperforming, but that is partly due to the injury-riddled lineup. José Altuve and Michael Brantley have been sidelined since spring training. Granted, Altuve is rehabbing nicely with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. But the loss of him is a gaping hole in the Astros' scoring production.
And the hit the team has taken with him out is noticeable, with a team OPS of 672 team OPS. That's the 24th-best in Major League Baseball. Yikes.
Hitting against Chicago for some guys might be the advantage the Astros have over their visitors. The Astros have the seventh-ranked team batting average in the AL at .238. And they have a few guys on the rise.
Take slugger Yordan Álvarez. Alvarez has nine home runs, 37 RBI, and a .955 OPS. His career OPS of .970 is split fairly evenly among lefties and righties, with .973 and .966 respectively.
Expect rookie Yanier Diaz to take the Cubs' pitching to task. After his first career homer against the White Sox in Houston's 4-3 rubber match win. In the minors, Diaz clubbed 52 home runs and posted a .510 slugging percentage across five seasons. Expect more scoring chances against the Cubs.
First pitch of the series will be 7:10 pm CST.
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