HOUSTON -- Not surprisingly, Astros manager Dusty Baker tabbed left-hander Framber Valdez to start Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday night against the Braves at Minute Maid Park. Valdez, who threw eight innings of one-run ball in Game 5 of the American League Championship Series in Boston on Wednesday, will be starting on regular rest.
Baker didn’t commit to naming any starters beyond that, but it’s expected that rookie right-hander Luis Garcia will start Game 2 on Wednesday and right-hander José Urquidy will take the ball in Game 3 on Friday in Atlanta. Zack Greinke started Game 4 of the ALCS on Tuesday, throwing 1 1/3 innings, so he figures to be in the mix to start Game 4 of the World Series, too.
Greinke was dropped from the playoff rotation for the AL Division Series against the White Sox after he spent two stints on the injured list in September and wasn’t built up to pitch deep. But with Lance McCullers Jr. getting injured in the ALDS, the Astros needed Greinke to return to the rotation.
Greinke threw 50-plus pitches during a live batting practice session on Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.
“I like what I saw,” pitching coach Brent Strom said. “He threw all of his pitches and he got his work in. I feel very, very bullish about Zack helping us this Series.”
McCullers likely out for ALCS
The expectation when the Astros announced McCullers had a strained forearm muscle prior to the start of the ALCS, rendering him unavailable, was that he would be out for the World Series, too. McCullers has yet to throw a ball since getting injured in Game 4 of the ALDS two weeks ago, so he’s not likely to be on the World Series roster.
“Nothing’s impossible for Lance McCullers Jr.,” general manager James Click said. “We’re going to take it to the very minute that we can, up until the roster deadline in a couple of days, to assess and see how he is. We will talk to the coaches and trainers and Lance to try to figure that out. We won’t know anything for a couple of days.”
When asked Sunday if it would be hard for McCullers to pitch in the World Series, Baker said: “You guessed it."
The World Series roster must be set by 10 a.m. CT Tuesday, Click said.
“We’re going to take everything we can to see how he responds,” he said. “We’re not taking anything off the table. We’re going to see how he is. It’s the World Series. I know Lance wants to be out there if he can.”
Meyers’ status in doubt
The status of Astros center fielder Jake Meyers remains in doubt as the World Series nears. The Astros carried the rookie on their ALCS roster despite a left shoulder injury he suffered crashing into the wall in Chicago when the Astros clinched the ALDS in Game 4. There was an expectation that Meyers would be recovered at some point during the ALCS, but he suffered a setback.
“You just don’t heal overnight,” Baker said. “We’ll make a decision on him after we have our roster meetings.”
The Astros couldn’t replace Meyers on their ALCS roster because the injury occurred before the series started, but he was available to pinch-hit and pinch-run later in the series. He wasn’t available to play defense because of his throwing. Still, Houston didn’t skip a beat in center with Chas McCormick starting four games and Jose Siri starting twice.
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October 25, 2021 at 03:52AM
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