The Astros and Red Sox move to Boston, and given the weather here in western Massachusetts, a literal cloud may join the figurative one hanging over the Red Sox season. Brad Peacock tries to complete the Astros sweep as he takes the mound for Houston, with Doug Fister attempting to stop the Houston offense. Peacock missed most of 2015 due to back surgery, then worked to change his delivery last off-season to try to stick with the Astros:
“I changed everything because what I was doing before obviously wasn’t working,” he said.
The extreme makeover began last year when Peacock was playing in Triple-A. He altered his arm angle and began pitching exclusively out of the stretch because he struggled to repeat his delivery from the windup. He saw some early success with the changes and then set out in the offseason to prepare like never before. It helped that it was the first time in a while that he had a regular winter after rehabbing from hip and back surgeries in recent years.
Working from the stretch is the same change Stephen Strasburg made which brought him more success this season. Peacock’s strikeout rate went through the roof, and he only allowed 10 home runs in 132 innings. He was right there with Strasburg among the leaders in lowest home runs per nine innings. He also pitched a bit better on the road, going 8-0 with a 2.88 ERA.
It is difficult to find something positive to say about Fister in this context. His strength in 2017 resides in his ability to limit power. With the Astros coming into the game with a .686 series slugging percentage, the Red Sox will need that. Fister did have a four-game streak of greatness at the end of August into early September, and that’s what the Red Sox need right now.
The Indians go for a sweep of the Yankees amid some controversy surrounding Joe Girardi‘s non-challenge and a liked tweet by Aroldis Chapman. If the Yankeed lose this series, we’ll see if Girardi gets the Grady Little treatment.
As for the game, Carlos Carrasco takes on Masahiro Tanaka. When one looks at wins, endurance, ERA, and three-true outcomes, this was easily Carrasco’s best season. He held opponents to a .235/.287/.386 slash line, which dropped to .210/.266/.336 on the road. The power against him comes from doubles, as he tends to be a ground ball pitcher. The Yankees did score five runs against him in his only start against New York this year, and the Yankees did that without a home run.
Tanaka pitched a disappointing season, as he was hit hard. Seventy seven of the 180 hits against him went for extra bases, including two grand slams. The opposition slugged .494 against him with men on base, the situation where extra-base hits do the most damage.
Tanaka somewhat mitigates the power by keeping batters off base, with a very good .304 OBP allowed. He walks one batter about every four innings. He also pitched better at Yankee Stadium, going 9-5 with a 3.22 ERA. If he can pitch like that today, the Yankees may get a chance to play on Monday.
Enjoy!
from baseballmusings.com http://ift.tt/2gm94y6
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