How Are the Houston Astros Affected by the Extra Day of Rest?
Unfortunately for the Houston Astros, the Philadelphia Phillies benefit by being a worse team.
The postponement of World Series Game 3 means the Phillies can wait on their bullpen day. Whether it's started by Noah Syndergaard or Kyle Gibson, Philadelphia gains more from the rain delay than Houston, because they have a more shallow rotation.
Meanwhile, Dusty Baker is sticking to his guns. Just as the plan was before Mother Nature intervened, Lance McCullers Jr. will start Game 3, while Christian Javier and Justin Verlander will start Games 4 and 5, respectively.
But don't let that delude you into believing the Astros don't benefit at all from the delay. Both Verlander and Framber Valdez will now have their starts on six-days rest.
That is a boon for both pitchers, who, both in 2022 and historically, perform better with six days rest.
In 2022, Verlander pitched to a 2.47 ERA on five days rest, striking out 8.5 batters per nine innings. On six days rest, he improved to an almost unbelievable 0.63 ERA and 12.8 K/9.
Verlander pitches like a Cy Young winner on the average day, but the extra day of rest makes him a baseball Terminator.
For his career, Verlander's ERA falls from 3.55 to 2.89.
Valdez, likewise, improves drastically with the off day. His strikeout rate balloons from 7.8 to 11.0 and his ERA falls from 3.10 to 2.33.
Granted on a season level, the sample size is small for both players. Verlander only started seven games on six days rest in 2022, Valdez started only four. But there's precedent to say the increase in quality is warranted.
Naturally, the Phillies will benefit from that off-day, too, but it shouldn't be though that they are the only team improving.
For more on the Philadelphia Phillies, go check out our coverage over at Inside the Phillies!
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