The Astros Head To Anaheim

The Astros are 4-0 after the shellacking of the Oakland Athletics. The bats were hot and the pitching staff did their job. The Astros scored a billion runs and hit a bunch of tanks, and appear to be looking like the wagon that we were used to from 2017-2019. Now, the Astros head to So Cal to play the Angels.

The Angels are 3-1 after their series with the Chicago White Sox, and looked like a pretty good team. I don’t have a lot of faith in their pitching staff, but as we know there are a few pretty decent bats in the Angels’ lineup. Mike Trout is a pretty good player, I guess, so he should be on all of the pitcher’s radar because if there are runners on base when Trout comes to the plate, there’s a decent chance that those runners get to cross home plate.

Shohei Ohtani pitched Sunday, so the Astros will face Jose Quintana Monday, and Griffin Canning Tuesday. Those names on paper should have the Astros batters ready to hit even more homers, and score a billion runs once again against a division foe.

On the Astros side, they have a young Luis Garcia on the bump for Monday, and staff ace Zack Greinke Tuesday. Props to Brandon Bielak for throwing 4.2 perfect innings to close out the Athletics series, and saving the bullpen for the midweek games as they travel to Anaheim. Of course it’s early in the season, and everyone should be fresh, but having that extra day of rest and the ability to ease into the season even more is a great thing. The pitching staff seems to be in good shape for this two game matchup in Anaheim.

As I wrote earlier, the bats are HOT. I expect that trend to continue. Alex Bregman has already had an off day, and had a shorter game on Sunday. Yordan Alvarez’s knees look to be absolutely bionic because he was chugging along the bases for doubles against Oakland. Michael Brantley is day-to-day so I don’t expect to see him in the lineup against the Angels, but with the rest of the lineup carrying the load, I don’t see that as a huge deal if Brantley can come back for the weekend series at home starting Thursday.

If the death lineup was able to hit tanks in Oakland, I expect the So Cal air to provide even more pop to those fly balls. The boys are buzzing. I think the Astros will be 6-0 headed back to Houston come this Thursday.

Stoney (@stoneystrank)