The Houston Astros have raced out to the best record in the major leagues through six weeks of play, and will aim to stay hot when they start the week in a series with the Miami Marlins. While Miami has a group of talented youngsters in the field, the offense hasn’t gotten on track yet and the pitching hasn’t picked it up as the Marlins are just 14-22 on the season.
The Astros have 26 wins in their first 38 games and are already 7.5 games against the nearest competitor in the American League West. They hope their dominance will continue in this interleague matchup despite playing it on the road.
This series will be contested from Monday, May 15 through Wednesday, May 17, 2017 at Marlins Park in Miami, Florida. The Monday matchup will be televised nationally on ESPN.
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Pitching Matchups
While the Astros have the better lineup, the Marlins should have a decent shot in the first game of the series because of the starting pitching matchup. Miami will send Dan Straily to the mound. He is 1-3 on the season with a 4.03 ERA, with a 1.08 WHIP and nearly a strikeout per inning. Houston starter Joe Musgrove hopes to keep his team in it. Musgrove is 2-3 with a 5.02 ERA and needs to stop giving up so many homers.
In the second game of the series on Tuesday, the Astros are scheduled to send ace Dallas Keuchel to the hill. He is 6-0 on the year with a sparkling 1.69 ERA and a 0.87 WHIP. Keuchel has 50 strikeouts against only 14 walks this year and will aim to flummox the Marlins hitters. Miami will counter with Tom Koehler, who is 1-1 with a 5.60 ERA. He might have trouble keeping the high-powered Houston offense off the bases.
In the finale, Houston will have the pitching advantage once again as it sends Lance McCullers to the hill. He is 3-1 on the season with a 2.98 ERA and a 1.12 WHIP. McCullers has struck out 57 batters in 48.1 batters on the season, a testament to his filthy stuff. The Marlins will start Jose Urena, who has only given up two runs in 12 innings in a pair of starts this season. He will aim to keep that going, but chances are the Astros touch him up.
Home Woes
Most teams tend to play well at home and then try to stay above water on the road, but Miami has struggled in its park thus far on the season. The Marlins are just 6-12 at home on the season, and this is the end of a particularly poor homestand in which they have lost five of the first six games.
Miami was swept by the Cardinals and needed a late rally to beat the woeful Atlanta Braves on Sunday to put an end to a five-game skid. The Marlins have lost 10 of their past 12 at home overall, and if they have any chance at jumping into the playoff chase this year, that must change.
It’s not an easy place on hitters, as Marlins Park is spacious and makes it tough for the batters to hit long balls. The Astros, meanwhile, have had no issues finding success on the road this season, entering this game with 12 wins in 18 attempts away from home.
A Lineup With Depth
The Astros have been really good offensively on the season, and there have been a bunch of different contributors. Star second baseman Jose Altuve, star shortstop Carlos Correa and talented outfielder George Springer are fixtures in the lineup, but Houston has enough depth to mix and match constantly and also give its players days off to stay fresh.
Even though Evan Gattis and Marwin Gonzalez don’t play every day, they are potent bats off the bench and the offense doesn’t lose anything when they enter the game. The Marlins starters can’t afford to lose concentration because from the top of the lineup to the bottom, Houston can beat them.
It is a benefit to Miami that there will be no designated hitter in this one, as Gattis and Carlos Beltran may both have to sit for most of the games since they are good at the dish but suspect in the field.
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