At
this point in time, I actually think (for this series) that the Yankees are
slightly better than the Astros only because the Astros used a lot of their
ammunition to ward off the Tampa Bay Rays during their full 5-game series. While the Yankees might have too much rest
(it will be 4 full days), the Astros had panicked in Game 4 against the Rays and used their ace, Justin Verlander, on only 3 days of rest
in which the Rays scored 3 runs in his first inning. It was clear that he was exerting himself to
throw fastballs.
Too
often, managers tend to make erroneous decisions during the playoffs. If a team has a decent bullpen, why not use
them? Why change it up and slight the
bullpen pitchers who got you to the playoffs?
Besides
the fact that the Astros ended up losing Verlander’s short-rested game, the
other negativity for them is that they can’t use him in tomorrow’s first
American League Championship Series.
Instead, they are forced to use their third best starter (Zack Greinke).
Additionally,
because the Astros had to start their second-best pitcher (Gerrit Cole) last
night, he is also not available right away for their series against the
Yankees. He will now not be able to
pitch until the third game of the series.
