Justin Verlander matchup 8/28/22

[oriolediehard]

2 hours ago, Pat Kelly said:

Os playing with house money today.  Going into this weekend would have have been thrilled with 2 of 3 games.  The Voth Verlander matchup is the worst of the series.  

With the off day Monday I hope that Hyde fully rests Adley (no DH) let him get 2 days off. Also if the game as close late you can always have Adley PH for Chirinos.  

Play Nevin at 1B and and sit Mountcastle, he’s still not hitting and he’s not squaring up Verlander.   Santander needs to be in the lineup as does Hays, Mullins DH’d last night.   Start Stowers and Vavra.  This leaves Adley, Odor, Mountcastle and McKenna on the bench. 
 

 

With off day tomorrow 8-29-22, why do we need to rest players today 8-28-22 with Verlander pitching and wild card at stake?

[NashLumber]

Lineup. 

[Yardball85]

1 minute ago, NashLumber said:

Lineup. 

Would ike to see Stowers starting more with Hays getting a day off, but I guess with his homer yesterday, they wanted to keep him in the lineup.  I have no problem with Odor over Vavra today, as Vavra has looked a bit lost lately after the absurd reaching base 10-11 times.  Overall, I'm okay with this. Let's see if we can pull a miracle and beat the AL Cy Young favorite. 

[dtk9119]

Man I wish Stowers was in the line up.. and when is Mountcastle going to be dropped out of clean up spot?!?

[Pat Kelly]

Hyde goes with the traditional lineup with Stowers, McKenna, Vavra and Nevin on the bench.  None of which will play or PH for any of the starters unless McKenna defensive/PR subs for Santander late. Chrinos defensive downgrade and automatic out.  Let’s hope MIddle of the order bat Mountcastle runs into a hit.  Could be a no hitter from Verlander today. 

[Yardball85]

14 minutes ago, dtk9119 said:

Man I wish Stowers was in the line up.. and when is Mountcastle going to be dropped out of clean up spot?!?

Palmer was spot on (as usual) yesterday about Mountcastle's struggles.  He can't hit center cut 93 right down the middle.  I know he's a streaky hitter.  Let's hope he gets into one of those white hot stages in September, especially in the Toronto games, and we should have a good shot at the playoffs. 

[ScGO's]

Looks like Verlander's splits this year show that he's dominating LH's more than RH (dominating both really).  I would have had Adley behind the plate and put more speed on the bases with another McKenna start and put Vavra at 2B to see if his contact approach is more effective. Would have gone

Mullins, Adley, Santander, Vavra, Urias, Hays, Mountcastle, Mateo, McKenna. Its probably going to be a low scoring game, so I feel like Mateo, McKenna, Mullins coming back around the line up might make things tricky for Verlander if one gets on.  If the O's can sneak out a run or two with small ball and Voth can get us 5IP with 2 or less runs, our BP can take it and we can try to strike Verlander late when offensives have hit him better, or get to Houston's less rested BP.  Love the O's, but not a fan of their line ups overall

[turtlebowl]

16 minutes ago, Yardball85 said:

Palmer was spot on (as usual) yesterday about Mountcastle's struggles.  He can't hit center cut 93 right down the middle.  I know he's a streaky hitter.  Let's hope he gets into one of those white hot stages in September, especially in the Toronto games, and we should have a good shot at the playoffs. 

You can tell Mountcastle is being more cognizant of sliders and curves so it appears he is trying to wait longer for a  swing decision. In some respects it has paid off because he has taken some closer pitches and not just flailing away at pitches a foot outside. Issue now is he is getting beat by hard stuff.  Last season he destroyed any fastball inner 1/2 regardless of speed.
 

Maybe this is the classic sophomore slump. That to me is caused by overthinking after kind of winging it your first year. If this isn’t the case then unfortunately Mountcastle probably won’t end up being the player we had hoped.  

[NashLumber]

5 minutes ago, turtlebowl said:

You can tell Mountcastle is being more cognizant of sliders and curves so it appears he is trying to wait longer for a  swing decision. In some respects it has paid off because he has taken some closer pitches and not just flailing away at pitches a foot outside. Issue now is he is getting beat by hard stuff.  Last season he destroyed any fastball inner 1/2 regardless of speed.
 

Maybe this is the classic sophomore slump. That to me is caused by overthinking after kind of winging it your first year. If this isn’t the case then unfortunately Mountcastle probably won’t end up being the player we had hoped.  

Mountcastle's uppercut swing seems more pronounced than some of the other batters. Or at least I notice his more when he misses. I know it's against the grain of what's being taught now, but a slight uppercut (per Ted Williams' famous instruction booklet) seems more in tune with increasing the probability of contact than a big uppercut like some of the ones I'm seeing. 

[survivedc]

Anyone else prefer Mateo batting 9th? The old two lead off hitter model. 

[RZNJ]

Not expecting anything from Mountcastle or Hays today but I guess we’ll see.

[RZNJ]

Just now, survivedc said:

Anyone else prefer Mateo batting 9th? The old two lead off hitter model. 

I do notice that he’s almost exclusively pulling the ball again and that worries me.

[bpilktree]

The Astros are sitting Alvarez today so that is one bright spot.  

[emmett16]

Mountcastle looks completely lost at the plate.  Wouldn't be surprised to find out he has some sort of nagging injury.  His swing just looks awful right now.  Guess that means he will put up a 3-3 against Verlander  

[SteveA]

2 hours ago, Pat Kelly said:

Hyde goes with the traditional lineup with Stowers, McKenna, Vavra and Nevin on the bench.  None of which will play or PH for any of the starters unless McKenna defensive/PR subs for Santander late. Chrinos defensive downgrade and automatic out.  Let’s hope MIddle of the order bat Mountcastle runs into a hit.  Could be a no hitter from Verlander today. 

Nope, two batters into the game, a reach-on-error that could have been scored a hit, and a hit.

Man I am so sick and tired of quitter fans who predict doom and gloom in every game, it's almost like it's a contest to be the first to say we are going to lose or get shut out or no-hit.    Guess it's just a personality trait I don't get.   Maybe it helps them enjoy the wins more.

We've been the best team in the AL East for the last 3 months but it seems like a good percentage of our fans still expect us to lose every game.   Obviously on the road vs the best team in the AL with their best pitcher on the mound, the odds are against us today, but I just don't get the need to declare doom before the game has even started or the first time we give up a hit or leave a guy on 3rd base.