Should the series go beyond three games, Dusty Baker is comfortable with starting Justin Verlander in Game 4 and using Cristian Javier as needed.
Should the ALDS best-of-five series extend beyond three games, the Astros could turn to Justin Verlander once again.A combination of enviable pitching depth and myriad off days during this year’s American League Division Series afford the Astros the luxury of flexibility in the event of unforeseen obstacles — such as the one they encountered withHouston already announced Framber Valdez and Lance McCullers Jr. as its starting pitchers for Games 2 and 3.
“I'm more inclined to bring him back, because the chance of him having two bad outings is rare,” Baker said Wednesday. “And I like to get a guy right back on the horse right away, I mean, because you sit him out, the longer you sit him out, the longer they have to think about it. … I wish I could start him tomorrow, to tell you the truth.”
Verlander surrendered six earned runs in four innings Tuesday, forcing the Astros to go to their bullpen earlier than anticipated. Using Bryan Abreu, Cristian Javier, Hunter Brown and Rafael Montero to cover five innings hardly amounted to wasted bullets as the Astros mounted a comeback, winning 8-7 on Yordan Alvarez's three-run walkoff homer. And Wednesday’s off day helps.
Baker’s decision to deploy Javier, who, despite being the team's third-best starter, was moved to the bullpen for the beginning of playoffs, in the sixth inning of what was then a three-run game prompted some outcry from fans who wanted the Astros to save him for a potential future series start or high-leverage relief situation.
But with days off on both Wednesday and Friday, Baker felt comfortable using his relievers — including Javier — as needed with confidence they would have ample time to recover.
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