An elbow injury to Drew Smyly that put him on the disabled list has opened an opportunity for Ariel Miranda. Miranda was sent to the Triple-A last week, but is now the scheduled starter against the Astros later tonight.
The Cuban left hander found himself suiting up for Seattle last season when he was traded from Baltimore. Across 11 appearances (including 10 starts) in 2016 wearing Mariners uniform, Miranda gathered a 5-2, a 3.54 ERA, and 1.09 WHIP.
Miranda will be facing an Astros side that was among the least effective against lefthanders last year. Houston batted .240 versus southpaws in 2016—third lowest in the majors.
Miranda pitched one game against Houston last year, allowing just two earned runs on three hits while fanning out eight batters in seven innings of a 7-3 home win on Sept. 18.
Robinson Cano and Nelson Cruz of course are the top two players on the Mariners’ batting order but the Astros will also have to deal with the team’s newfound speed with the additions of Jean Segura and Jarrod Dyson.
Houston aims to punctuate its first series of the season with a win later tonight. And the man on the mound for the Astros to help the team do just that is starter Joe Musgrove.
Musgrove was last seen in action pitching four scoreless innings last week against the Cubs in an exhibition game. While that game was nothing but a practice game, Musgrove still impressed against a Cubs lineup that had most of the key pieces that led the club to winning the 2016 World Series.
The right-handed Musgrove is coming off a decent season for a rookie, going 4-4 with a 4.06 ERA and 1.21 WHIP in 10 starts and will be looking to have a stronger campaign in his second year in the big leagues.
Carlos Correa is 2-for-3 with a homer against Miranda in his career. As a team, the current Astros lineup has a collective 4-for-22 line against Miranda.
