Dallas Keuchel hasn’t done anything this season but cripple opposing hitters. Keuchel is currently bragging a smooth 6-0 record along with a fantastic 1.69 ERA and he’ll look to sustain his hot start in Game 2 of the series with the Marlins.
Keuchel had a rare hiccup in a 7-6 road win to the Angels on May 5, when he gave up five runs on seven hits in eight innings to end up with a no decision but bounced back strong in his next start. The bearded lefty silenced the Yankees on May 11, pitching six innings of one-run ball in a 3-2 win at the Bronx.
Keuchel is 3-0 with a 2.40 ERA in four road starts this year.
Houston is the best hitting team in the American League as of this writing with a batting average of .274.
Evan Gattis AKA El Oso Blanco is 5-for-11 in his career against Miami starter Tom Koehler. Collectively, the current Astros lineup is batting .393 versus Koehler.
With the way Keuchel is pitching, Tim Koehler will have to be in his top form for the Marlins to keep in step with Houston.
Koehler hasn’t been sharp this season. He is 1-1 with a 5.60 ERA in seven starts. He’s allowed seven runs in 10.1 total innings in two starts this month. He’s not even better pitching at home, having gone winless in three starts with a 5.87 ERA at Marlins Park this 2017. With those kind of poor numbers, it looks like if the Marlins were to win tonight, that’s going to be because of their offense.
Getting to Keuchel isn’t an easy task but the Marlins are one of the best hitting teams in the NL against lefties. Miami is second in the league with a .284 batting average against southpaws.
Derek Dietrich is 8-for-12 (.667) against lefties this season. Giancarlo Stanton is 8-for-19 (.421) with five homers, while J.T. Realmuto is 7-for-20 (.350) with two blasts in that hitter-pitcher matchup.
