The Houston Astros are expected to start right-handed pitcher Ethan Pecko on the mound in the series opener against the New York Yankees.
The Houston Astros have had some major struggles recently as they have now dropped back-to-back series against two of the worst teams in baseball, the Los Angeles Angels and the Athletics. With these recent struggles, the Astros now sit at 65-66 on the season, which has them 0.5 games back of first in the AL West after leading the division for a significant period of time.
Additionally, due to the struggles overall and the roster not being able to find success, Houston opted to fire general manager Dana Brown on Monday, which now means the Astros will be looking for a new general manager heading into the offseason.
On another note, manager Joe Espada will finish out the season, but he will not be coming back, so he will be looking to do everything he can to help the Astros finish the season strong which starts tonight with Houston set to start their next series as they will be taking on the New York Yankees on the road.
With all that said, this game, and really the rest of the season will be significantly impacted by the performances that the Astros get from the mound. So, let's take a look at the pitching matchup for tonight's game.
The Astros will be starting right-handed pitcher Ethan Pecko, and the Yankees will be starting right-handed pitcher Will Warren. So far this season, Warren does have a lot more experience, so it will be interesting to see how Pecko responds and who is able to start the game off well from the mound between the two pitchers.
Starting with Pecko, he has an overall record of 0-0 for the season and has pitched 3.2 innings thus far. In Pecko's experience so far this season, he has allowed three hits and zero home runs, walked three batters, struck out four batters, posted a WHIP of 1.94, and recorded an ERA of 4.91.
While Pecko does not have a ton of reps on the mound this season, that could be an advantage for him, as many opposing batters have not faced him yet and may need to feel him out before being able to figure out their attack at the plate.
Pecko could have a tough matchup on his hands with Ben Rice of the Yankees, who has had a pretty solid season. Throughout the season, Rice has a batting average of .249, 82 RBIs (Tied for No. 4 in the AL), and 34 home runs (No. 3 in the AL).
With this matchup against Rice and the rest of the Yankees batters, it will be interesting to monitor if Pecko is more aggressive with his pitches or if he is more conservative and keeps it simple.
On the other side, Warren has an overall record of 8-6 and has pitched 122 innings this season, which has given him plenty of opportunities to figure out what works for him. From the mound this season, Warren has allowed 128 hits and 19 home runs, walked 43 batters, struck out 122 batters, and posted a WHIP of 1.40 and an ERA of 4.43.
With the experience that Warren has this season, he does have the tools to have a good outing for the Yankees, but it will not be easy.
For Warren, he has a few tough matchups, with the toughest one being against Yordan Alvarez, who is chasing the Triple Crown. During this season, Alvarez has been very dangerous with a batting average of .320 (No. 1 in the AL), 90 RBIs (No. 1 in the AL), and 36 home runs (No. 1 in the AL).
So, when Warren on the mound it will be worth monitoring how he chooses to pitch to Alvarez and the rest of the Astros lineup whether it be choosing to walk certain batters like Alvarez or change up his pitches and never allow them to get into a rhythm. Regardless of what Warren does, his performance will have a key role in this game.
Heading into tonight's game, the pitching matchup between Pecko and Warren will definitely be something to watch, as well as how Rice and Alvarez perform and how they impact the game.
