Series Preview: Astros at Guardians
This is for none of the marbles
The Guardians and Astros will meet for a mostly meaningless three-game weekend series beginning tonight.
I'm not going to go through stats because these teams are likely to meet again and the stats won't matter in a series where both teams are just trying to come out healthy and in a decent rhythm. Props to the Guardians for having a 6 game lead on the Astros making the outcomes of these final three games a moot point.
Why to watch:
1. To see if José Ramírez hits two more home runs and gets to a 40/40 season (with 38 doubles he already has 38/38/38, only the second player in MLB history to get such a line, with Ohtani likely to become the third with two more doubles).
2. To see how the Guardians handle relievers and pitchers. Sounds like Gavin Williams is getting a look as a relief arm. I'd imagine the overall plan with relievers will be to get them work and not show much in terms of a plan of attack. Joey Cantillo and Ben Lively will start Friday and Saturday. It'll be a bullpen game on Sunday.
3. If there are any interesting position adjustments (i.e. Angel Martinez getting a start at short), they might be small indicators of the plans for the playoff bench.
Game Schedule:
Friday, September 27th, 7:10PM EST
Saturday, September 28th, 6:10PM EST
Sunday, September 29th, 3:10PM EST