- Joined
- Oct 3, 2019
- Messages
- 10,368
- Reaction score
- 29,744
- Points
- 135
After going 0-4 against the Astros and being outscored 20-10 in Cleveland three weeks ago the Tribe takes another stab at it, this time in Texas. The Astros are in first place in the West with a record of 56-38. They lost two of three to the White Sox over the weekend.
The Astros have the highest scoring team in baseball, averaging 5.42 runs per game. In the A.L. they rank 1st in batting average and OBP, 2nd in OPS, and 4th in slugging percentage. Their pitching staff ranks 3rd in ERA. They have seven hitters sporting an OPS over .800: Altuve, Gurriel, Correa, Tucker, Alvarez, McCormick, and Brantley. However, good pitching stops good hitting; Giolito and Rodon held them to one run in 16 innings this weekend.
In the first series the Indians held them to a .221 average, but walked 20 hitters and gave up six home runs in the four-game Astros sweep. It was mainly the walks and home runs that did them in. The Astros' pitchers had a 2.21 ERA against the Indians.
The pitching matchups look downright awful.
Tonight Mejia goes against Zach Greinke, 8-3, 3.59. Greinke keeps rolling along at age 37. He went 7.2 innings against the Indians in Cleveland, holding them to 3 runs. He'll be pitching on nine days rest. Mejia has been a disaster lately. In his last three starts, two in Cleveland and one in Columbus, he has allowed 19 earned runs in 9.1 innings. On July 1 he gave up six runs to the Astros in four innings. This game very easily could be over by the second or third inning. I will be pleasently surprised if Mejia can get through the Astro's batting order twice without getting shelled.
Tomorrow it's McKenzie against Luis Garcia, RHP, 6-5, 3.06. We have not yet faced Garcia, who is having a great year. His WHIP is 1.10 and batters are hitting .208 against him. He's been a victim of poor run support, especially in April. He has allowed two runs or fewer in 12 starts but only has six wins. His last two games he only pitched four and five innings, throwing 88 and 93 pitches. If the Indians can be patient and work the count, driving up his pitch count, they might get him out of there after five innings.
McKenzie is coming off a brilliant start against KC where he pitched seven shutout innings allowing just one hit, walking one and fanning nine. This was a tantalizing glimpse of McKenzie when he is on top of his game, like the game on May 31 when he struck out eight White Sox in a row. Now the challenge is to be able to to bring his "A" game consistently, not just once every six weeks or so. He will be pitching with 10 days off and facing a much better hitting team than the Royals, so this game will be a big test.
Opposing batters are hitting .170 against McKenzie yet his ERA is 5.47. The problem is obvious; 40 walks in 49.1 innings. The Astros have an intimidating lineup. It will be interesting to see if McKenzie challenges them or starts nibbling and walking batters, falling into the walk, walk, home run trap.
If McKenzie can attack these guys fearlessly like he did against KC where he walked one batter in seven innings it will be a big step for him regardless of the outcome. Hopefully his last start opened his eyes and he realizes his stuff will play and he doesn't have to try and get hitters to chase his pitches.
Wednesday night it's Morgan against Lance McCullers, Jr., 7-2, 2.80. McCullers has six consecutive starts allowing two runs or less and 12 of 15 on the season. Against the Indians he went 5.1 innings and allowed two runs. The Indians managed to get six hits and four walks against him but could not get the big hit.
Morgan went five innings against the Astros on July 3rd and held them to three runs. Two runs came on solo home runs, both on breaking balls middle of the zone and both by hitters facing Morgan for the second time. Opponents are hitting .417 against Morgan the second time they face him in a game. This time the Astros will have a better idea what to expect. This game will be a huge challenge for Eli because the Astros hitters know what he throws and will have a game plan. He needs to consistently hit the edges of the zone and avoiding hanging that slider if he wants to have any hope of keeping the score down. Morgan's slider is below average and is getting hammered, according to Fangraphs. It bends more than breaks. He needs to use it sparingly and keep it off the edge of the zone and down or it's going to get crushed.
The Indians did well against Oakland, especially since Oakland pitched their three best starters while the Indians had to go with 3-4-5. Houston will be a bigger challenge and looking at the starting pitching matchups it's hard to see the Indians not getting swept again unless McKenzie has another electric game.
The Astros have the highest scoring team in baseball, averaging 5.42 runs per game. In the A.L. they rank 1st in batting average and OBP, 2nd in OPS, and 4th in slugging percentage. Their pitching staff ranks 3rd in ERA. They have seven hitters sporting an OPS over .800: Altuve, Gurriel, Correa, Tucker, Alvarez, McCormick, and Brantley. However, good pitching stops good hitting; Giolito and Rodon held them to one run in 16 innings this weekend.
In the first series the Indians held them to a .221 average, but walked 20 hitters and gave up six home runs in the four-game Astros sweep. It was mainly the walks and home runs that did them in. The Astros' pitchers had a 2.21 ERA against the Indians.
The pitching matchups look downright awful.
Tonight Mejia goes against Zach Greinke, 8-3, 3.59. Greinke keeps rolling along at age 37. He went 7.2 innings against the Indians in Cleveland, holding them to 3 runs. He'll be pitching on nine days rest. Mejia has been a disaster lately. In his last three starts, two in Cleveland and one in Columbus, he has allowed 19 earned runs in 9.1 innings. On July 1 he gave up six runs to the Astros in four innings. This game very easily could be over by the second or third inning. I will be pleasently surprised if Mejia can get through the Astro's batting order twice without getting shelled.
Tomorrow it's McKenzie against Luis Garcia, RHP, 6-5, 3.06. We have not yet faced Garcia, who is having a great year. His WHIP is 1.10 and batters are hitting .208 against him. He's been a victim of poor run support, especially in April. He has allowed two runs or fewer in 12 starts but only has six wins. His last two games he only pitched four and five innings, throwing 88 and 93 pitches. If the Indians can be patient and work the count, driving up his pitch count, they might get him out of there after five innings.
McKenzie is coming off a brilliant start against KC where he pitched seven shutout innings allowing just one hit, walking one and fanning nine. This was a tantalizing glimpse of McKenzie when he is on top of his game, like the game on May 31 when he struck out eight White Sox in a row. Now the challenge is to be able to to bring his "A" game consistently, not just once every six weeks or so. He will be pitching with 10 days off and facing a much better hitting team than the Royals, so this game will be a big test.
Opposing batters are hitting .170 against McKenzie yet his ERA is 5.47. The problem is obvious; 40 walks in 49.1 innings. The Astros have an intimidating lineup. It will be interesting to see if McKenzie challenges them or starts nibbling and walking batters, falling into the walk, walk, home run trap.
If McKenzie can attack these guys fearlessly like he did against KC where he walked one batter in seven innings it will be a big step for him regardless of the outcome. Hopefully his last start opened his eyes and he realizes his stuff will play and he doesn't have to try and get hitters to chase his pitches.
Wednesday night it's Morgan against Lance McCullers, Jr., 7-2, 2.80. McCullers has six consecutive starts allowing two runs or less and 12 of 15 on the season. Against the Indians he went 5.1 innings and allowed two runs. The Indians managed to get six hits and four walks against him but could not get the big hit.
Morgan went five innings against the Astros on July 3rd and held them to three runs. Two runs came on solo home runs, both on breaking balls middle of the zone and both by hitters facing Morgan for the second time. Opponents are hitting .417 against Morgan the second time they face him in a game. This time the Astros will have a better idea what to expect. This game will be a huge challenge for Eli because the Astros hitters know what he throws and will have a game plan. He needs to consistently hit the edges of the zone and avoiding hanging that slider if he wants to have any hope of keeping the score down. Morgan's slider is below average and is getting hammered, according to Fangraphs. It bends more than breaks. He needs to use it sparingly and keep it off the edge of the zone and down or it's going to get crushed.
The Indians did well against Oakland, especially since Oakland pitched their three best starters while the Indians had to go with 3-4-5. Houston will be a bigger challenge and looking at the starting pitching matchups it's hard to see the Indians not getting swept again unless McKenzie has another electric game.
Last edited:
