Photo Credit: Thomas Shea-Imagn Images
The Houston Astros are coming off a tough 4-3 loss to the Athletics, with the series now tied at 1-1.
With the Athletics being one of the worst teams in baseball, the Astros must win this series to not only avoid another brutal series loss, but also to create more separation between themselves and the Texas Rangers in the AL West, who are just one game back of first.
In order to have a bounce back performance, Houston will need a great performance from the mound early on and will also need the bullpen to provide strong depth as well.
So, it is time to take a look at the pitching matchup between the Astros and the Athletics to find out who Houston needs a strong performance from.
Today, the Astros will be starting right-handed pitcher Christian Javier and the Athletics will be starting left-handed pitcher Brady Basso.
On the Astros side, Javier has had a very inconsistent season from the mound, which is something he will definitely be hoping to change with the playoffs on the horizon.
For the season, Javier has an overall record of 1-4 and has pitched 36.1 innings. In those innings, Javier has allowed 44 hits and seven home runs, walked 17 batters, struck out 30 batters, and recorded a WHIP of 1.68 and an ERA of 6.44.
In this matchup, Javier needs to find a way to be very consistent and give the Astros some length from the mound, while also giving Houston an opportunity to win the game from the plate, as they have a very explosive lineup and one of the best hitters in the entire MLB, with designated hitter Yordan Alvarez .
For the Athletics, they will be starting Basso, who has an overall record of 0-0 and has pitched 23 innings so far this season. During those 23 innings, Basso has allowed 28 hits and two home runs, walked three batters, struck out 19 batters, tallied a WHIP of 1.35, and an ERA of 3.91.
With Basso having pitched 23 innings this season, he does have reps, but against the Astros and players like Jose Altuve, Yordan Alvarez, and Cam Smith, it will be interesting to see if Houston can get going early or if Basso can hold up and really limit the Astros' offense.
As the Astros and the Athletics prepare for the game this afternoon, the pitching battle will be critical between Javier and Basso, so it will be interesting to see who performs better from the mound and gives their team the best chance to win this game and therefore the series between these two AL West teams.
