With no BD in Atlanta, Yordan will patrol the LF

ATLANTA – Heading into three straight games at a National League stadium, the Astros have no intention of benching designated hitter Yordan Álvarez, who was recognized as the MVP of the Championship Series and is hitting .410 in this postseason.

The Cuban, Houston’s most feared hitter, will be in the lineup as left fielder for Game 3 of the Fall Classic at Truist Park on Friday night, weather permitting.

Even with one pitcher hitting ninth, Houston will have its seven most powerful hitters in the lineup, along with Puerto Rican catcher Martín Maldonado. By using Alvarez in left field, Astros manager Dusty Baker would move Michael Brantley from left field to right, and Kyle Tucker from right to center.

That means either Chas McCormick or Jose Siri – the two center fielders on the roster – will be on the bench while the Astros are in Atlanta.

The biggest challenge for the Astros will be managing ninth in the offensive order after which starter comes out, especially if the starter leaves the start early. The team has many options on the bench with Cuban Aledmys Díaz, Venezuelan Marwin González, Jason Castro, Sirí and McCormick. McCormick and Castro hit better against right-handed hitters; Sirí and Díaz against lefties.

For his part, González can defend any position in the infield and even left field, so he is capable of replacing practically any player in Houston’s lineup. He’s also a switch hitter with better numbers against left-handed pitchers, which could be beneficial for the Astros in the back of Atlanta’s bullpen.

“That’s why we wanted to bring in Marwin,” Baker said. “You have more guys on the bench for possible double trades.”

Houston was 3-7 in NL stadiums in the regular season, where they averaged 4.2 runs per game (their season average was 5.3 runs). Two of those games came in April, when the Astros still weren’t comfortable putting Alvarez to play in the outfield, so he wasn’t in the lineup. The Las Tunas native started in left field in four of the other eight interleague games Houston played on the road.

If the Astros have the lead in the eighth or ninth inning, they are expected to put McCormick in center field and move Tucker to right and Brantley to left. That’s the best defensive combination, but Houston isn’t going to knock Alvarez out of the lineup to prioritize defense.

“There’s a lot of strategy on both sides, but there’s more, I think, without the BD, with the pitcher hitting,” Baker said.

Venezuelan law Luis García, who will start Game 3 for the AstrosHe said he is ready to hit and that he plans to use one of Alvarez’s bats. Veteran Zack Greinke, who is likely to start Game 4 for Houston, has hit nine career home runs and knows how to handle the bat. But Greinke isn’t ready to hit more than 50 pitches, so he’s likely not going to hit.

“Some of the guys don’t miss him, some pitchers, and there are others who miss him,” Baker said. “Like Greinke, he’s crazy about hitting. I mean, once there is no BD [en ninguna liga], then that will not change again, and that is something that would make me sad ”.

.

We want to give thanks to the author of this short article for this amazing content

With no BD in Atlanta, Yordan will patrol the LF