Tuesday night, when the 2017 World Series begins at Dodger Stadium, the Dodgers will have Clayton Kershaw on the mound while the Astros counter with Dallas Keuchel. Rich Hill and Justin Verlander will be the pitching matchup in Game 2.
Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts has already announced Yu Darvish will start Game 3 and Alex Wood will start Game 4. They're using the same rotation order as the NLDS and NLCS. Hey, no reason to fix what isn't broken, right?
On Monday, Astros skipper A.J. Hinch announced his starters for Games 3 and 4, though only somewhat.
A.J. Hinch said Charlie Morton will start one of Game 3 or 4 and it's likely Lance McCullers will start the other.
— Jake Kaplan (@jakemkaplan) October 24, 2017
Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers combined to hold the Yankees to three hits in Houston's shutout win in Game 7 of the ALCS on Saturday. Morton started and threw five innings. McCullers came out of the bullpen for an old school four-inning save.
There is some thought the Astros should continue to use McCullers in relief given how shaky the rest of the bullpen has been this postseason. McCullers could work in relief with either Brad Peacock or Collin McHugh replacing him in the World Series rotation. That won't happen, apparently.
It should be noted, however, Hinch could still use McCullers in relief in Game 1 or 2, then start him in Game 4 depending on his relief workload. One inning in Game 1 or 2 wouldn't necessarily rule him out for Game 4. The potential for McCullers to pitch in relief in Game 1 or 2 is likely why Hinch won't commit to a Game 3 starter just yet.
