SERIES PREVIEW
Wretched Refuse of the Teeming Gulf Shore @ The Wretched Refuse that is Chicago’s South Side
May 17-19, 2016
Second-best team in the AL. Fewest runs allowed in the AL. A pitcher whose name rhymes with a song that is the perfect blend of catchy and annoying and will now be stuck in my head for the foreseeable future.
Yes, the White Sox are a good team, but it’s not terribly unlikely for the Astros to steal a couple in this series. See below for the matchups.
Some X-factors in this series could be some recent roster moves. Evan Gattis is back; Erik Kratz is sent fudge packing. Preston Tucker is back in AAA; Tony Kemp has been called up. It also appears that third base prospect Colin Moran will be in uniform in Chicago. As of the time of this writing it’s not certain what the corresponding 40-man roster move will be; it doesn’t appear anyone is headed to the DL, so many are hoping it will be the dumping of a certain player who is next-to-last in OPS for qualified hitters.
Tuesday, May 17 – 7:10pm CDT
Dallas Keuchel (2-5, 5.58) vs. Carlos Rodon (1-4, 4.99)
There’s not a whole to write here that hasn’t already been said or written. Keuchel is this year’s ace in name only; you could make a pretty solid argument that he’s a #4/#5 starter. He did pitch extremely well against the White Sox last year, going 1-1 with a 1.13 ERA in two starts. We’ll know by about 9pm tonight if that’s worth anything.
Rodon has been a bit inconsistent this year and is certainly prone to giving up crooked numbers. He does eat a lot of innings, except against the Angels where he gave up five runs and didn’t make it out of the 1st. He’s coming off a loss in Arlington where he allowed six runs and twelve hits. Rodon was 1-0 with a 0.73 ERA against Houston in his 2015 rookie campaign.
Wednesday, May 18 – 7:10pm CDT
Doug Fister (3-3, 4.22) vs. Mat Latos (5-0, 3.40)
If you had said before the season that Fister would be the Astros’ best starter by mid-May, I probably would have said that could only happen if the other starters had met their ends in bizarre fashion (e.g. Keuchel’s beard getting lopped off in a freak toenail-clipping accident). Nevertheless, Fister has indeed been the steadiest arm not named Will Harris. He was at least spared from the shitshow in Boston, but was robbed of a win in last week’s 16-inning game against the Indians. He has not faced the White Sox since 2013 but their roster is an aggregate .242/.315/.394 against him – not too shabby.
Latos was beastly to start the season, allowing just two runs in his first four starts spanning 24.1 innings. He’s allowed 13 runs in his three starts since so there is cause for hope. A newcomer to the AL, he has not had any meaningful recent appearances against the Astros, but Houston hitters are .397/.431/.647 against him. Of particular note, a player named Carlos Gomez is 10×24 with two homers against him. It should be noted that the OWA series preview desk cannot confirm or deny that this is the same Carlos Gomez currently occupying a roster spot in the navy and orange, so readers should .
Thursday, May 19 – 7:10pm CDT
Collin McHugh (4-3, 5.58) vs. Chris Sale (8-0, 1.67)
Let’s dispense with the usual format here.
Chris Sale has notched a win in every game in which he has pitched this year.
There is nothing good about facing Chris Sale.