The Houston Astros (84-75) will be dictating their own destiny when they travel to Phoenix and open their final series of the season with the Arizona Diamondbacks (78-81). They’ll need to go for the three-game sweep and hope that the Texas Rangers lose one of their remaining matches in order to win the division crown.
But if that doesn’t go according to plan, the Astros still have a good chance in making the playoffs as they currently hold the AL’s second wild spot with a one-game edge over the Angels and Twins. In order for them to maintain hold, they ought to win their upcoming series which kicks off this Friday night at Chase Field.
Will the Astros be able to take care of business and advance to the postseason? Or will the D-Backs successfully play as the spoilers? Read on below for a closer look at this pivotal clash. And if you’re craving for other sports action, check out our NFL Week 4 previews: Packers vs. 49ers and Chiefs vs, Bengals.
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Houston Astros vs. Arizona Diamondbacks Series Preview
*All games will be played at Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
Probable Starting Pitchers
Friday, October 2, 9:40 PM ET
Dallas Keuchel (19-8, 2.47 ERA) vs. Rubby De La Rosa (14-8, 4.56 ERA)
Saturday, October 3, 8:10 PM ET
Collin McHugh (18-7, 3.98 ERA) vs. Jeremy Hellickson (9-11, 4.60 ERA)
Saturday, October 4, 3:10 PM ET
Lance McCullers (6-7, 3.21 ERA) vs. Robbie Ray (5-12, 3.50 ERA)
Betting on the Houston Astros
Why the Astros will win the series:
The pressure is indeed on for the Houston Astros, who are aiming to clinch their first postseason appearance since 2005, wherein they made it all the way to the World Series versus the Chicago White Sox. These three crucial games with the Arizona Diamondbacks are much-needed as it will heavily determine if there will be some playoff action happening in Minute Maid Park this year.
[sc:MLB240banner ]But so far, their chances are looking pretty good in this interleague series. The Astros will have most of the momentum on their side as they’ve won six of their past 10 games and are fresh off a thrilling come-from-behind win at Seattle Wednesday night, 7-6, which helped them retake the second-wild card spot.
Moreover, the Astros will also have their two best hurlers—Dallas Keuchel and Collin McHugh—starting for the first two games opposite the D-Backs. Keuchel has been nothing but spectacular this season. The 27-year-old southpaw, who’s aiming to become the eight pitcher in franchise history to win 20 games in a season, has surrendered two earned runs through 14 2/3 frames along with 16 strikeouts in his previous two turns. McHugh, meanwhile, managed to pick up his 18th victory on Saturday versus Texas despite allowing four earned runs and eight hits. He’s had his ups and downs throughout their current campaign but has proven to be very lethal whenever he gets it going.
Also, Houston wouldn’t be where they are right now without their powerful offense that’s headlined by the pair of Jose Altuve and Evan Gattis, who have both been their most consistent hitters through the majority of the season.
Altuve holds a team-best .310 batting averaging and boasts a career triple-slash line of .354/.408/.462 against Arizona. Gattis, on the other hand, leads the team in homers with 27 and is 8-of-21 in his last six games.
Why the Astros will lose the series:
If the Astros lose this series and fail to make it to the playoffs, it will mainly be because of two things: lack of experience and their road woes.
More than half of their young roster has yet to play beyond the regular season which could likely prevent them from overcoming the tremendous amount of pressure involved in these kinds of crucial games. Then also, the Astros will be attempting to win their series with the D-Backs on the road, where they only hold a 31-47 win-loss record, which is among the worst in the majors this year.
Betting on the Arizona Diamondbacks
Why the D-Backs will win the series:
The Arizona Diamondbacks are already fated to miss the playoffs for the fourth-straight time this season. But even so, they’re still playing with a sense of purpose lately, winning seven of their previous ten contests and are on a current four-game winning streak.
It’s not going to be easy to take down Arizona especially with the likes of Paul Goldschmidt leading the charge at the plate. Goldschmidt leads the team in batting average (.317), homers (31), RBIs (107) and OBP (.432) and is 4-for-10 with two doubles and two RBIs in his last 10 games.
Furthermore, there is David Peralta making his own noise as well with his hot batting. Peralta has had much success at home games with a solid triple-slash line of .336/.385/564 this season. He’s also fared really well against the Astros in his career, holding a .320 batting average.
If both Goldschmidt and Peralta get their groove on, Houston is definitely in for a very wild three-game series.
Why the D-Backs will lose the series:
Arizona’s first two scheduled starters in the series—Rubby De La Rosa and Jeremy Hellickson—are already two huge reasons as to why they’re expected to lose this series.
De La Rosa, who has a team-best of 14 wins this season, has struggled tremendously when opposing the Astros throughout his career, owning an 0-1 record with an 8.10 ERA, a 1.86 WHIP and .333 opponents’ batting average though five games (three starts). Hellickson, meanwhile, has faces Houston once on August 1, during which he was rocked for six earned runs on seven hits in over just 3 1/3 innings of work for the eventual 9-2 loss.
Making things worse, the D-Backs haven’t really taken much advantage of playing at home this season with just a 38-40 record at Chase Field.
Writer’s Prediction
Houston completes the series sweep but only clinches a postseason berth via the wild card route since Texas wins its remaining games to capture the AL West crown.
