On Sunday, the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays will kick off the best-of-seven American League Championship Series. The Astros took the opportunity on Saturday afternoon to outline some of their early-series rotation plans, announcing their starters for Games 1 and 2.
Left-hander Framber Valdez will receive the nod in the series opener. Over 11 regular-season appearances (10 of them starts), he compiled a 3.57 ERA (126 ERA+) and 4.75 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He averaged just shy of seven innings per outing, and led the Astros in frames as a result.
Valdez has made a pair of appearances during Houston's postseason run. He threw five innings in a relief outing against the Minnesota Twins in the AL Wild Card Series, then started and shut down the Oakland Athletics during the Division Series. Valdez will be tasked with a head-to-head matchup with 2018 Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell.
In Game 2, the Astros are slated to start Lance McCullers Jr. He too made 11 regular-season appearances, all starts, during which he held a 3.93 ERA (115 ERA+) and a 2.80 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He averaged five innings per start.
McCullers did not appear during the Wild Card Series versus the Twins, but started in the Division Series against the Athletics. In that outing, he tallied four innings while allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and a walk. McCullers' next LCS appearance will be the sixth of his career, though Game 2 will mark only his second start. In his first, back in 2017 against the New York Yankees, he recorded a quality start in a losing effort.
The League Championship Series will not feature off days. As such, it's fair to expect the Astros to start Zack Greinke (providing he's healthy) and Jose Urquidy later in the series.
