The Play-ins are underway.
The Astros need to win two out the remaining three games to ensure a WC playoff berth. Just one win in this series leaves the Astros in a very tenuous position. See Clack’s article HERE.
J.P. France of the Astros goes against D-Back ace Zac Gallen. The Diamondbacks also feel they must win to wrap up their own WC berth.
Every hoped-for scenario for the AStros fell through yesterday unless you’re banking on an unlikely Rangers collapse and the Astros winning the AL West through the backdoor.
Otherwise, the Mariners kept their hopes alive, taking advantage of the suspect Rangers bullpen with a walk-off win.
The other AL WC contender, Toronto, solidified their position with a win against the Yankees. The Jays have a tough series with Tampa Bay, who, unfortunately for the Astros, have little to play for, having lost any chance for a divisional title and locked into the top WC spot.
If you were hoping the Diamondbacks would wrap things up by Saturday and rest their best starters, that didn’t happen, as they lost to the White Sox while the Marlins gained a game on them in the WC standings.
We may not know if the Astros make the playoffs until Sunday, folks. But the picture gets a lot clearer with a win tonight. We sure don’t want to have to win two in a row after today.
MUST WIN!
For more on this game and series, check out Kevin’s analysis HERE.
Lineups below.
Late scratch. Urquidy’s pitching.
Altuve……………..2b
Bregman………….3b
Alvarez…………….DH
Tucker……………..RF
Abreu……………….1B
Brantley…………….LF
McCormick……….CF
Peña…………………SS
Maldonado………..C