MLB Playoff Picture 2022: Hot Takes and Top Storylines for October 13 Schedule
The Seattle Mariners face the difficult challenge of recovering from a heartbreaking playoff defeat on Thursday.
Seattle appeared to be on its way to a win over the Houston Astros, but then manager Scott Servais brought in Robbie Ray to face Yordan Alvarez in the ninth inning. Alvarez planted a three-run home run into the second deck at Minute Maid Park to give the Astros a 1-0 series lead.
The Mariners will not have many more opportunities like it had on Tuesday to take games off the Astros, and Game 2 could be a tough contest for their offense to manage.
Luis Castillo and Framber Valdez are scheduled to matchup in Houston in what could be a low-scoring affair.
The same could be said about Game 2 between the Cleveland Guardians and New York Yankees. Shane Bieber will oppose Nestor Cortes in Thursday's second game.
Bieber and Castillo were fantastic in their wild-card round starts, and that should give hope to both the Guardians and Mariners that they can return home with a series split.
Seattle Owns Slight Edge over Houston in Game 2
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The Mariners reside in a situation in which they can take Game 2 from Houston, even after the disastrous Game 1 ending shifted all the momentum in the Astros' favor.
Seattle saw Framber Valdez twice in the regular season. The Houston southpaw conceded six earned runs on 13 hits over 13.2 innings in consecutive July outings.
Valdez was fantastic for most of the season, but he slipped up a bit toward the end of it. He gave up six or more hits in four of his last six appearances.
Valdez only had two hit concessions under four in his last 11 starts. He is hittable, and that could open up a chance or two for Seattle to get a rally going.
Seattle showed no fear against Justin Verlander and chased him after the fourth inning of Game 1. A similar approach at the plate could work in Game 2, and that would begin to stretch out Houston's bullpen before the series returns to Seattle.
Luis Castillo should be able to keep Houston's bats at bay. He scattered six hits over 7.1 shutout frames in Game 1 of the wild-card round against the Toronto Blue Jays.
Castillo recorded at least 15 outs in 11 of his 12 appearances since joining the Mariners.
Seattle needs another strong outing from its ace on Thursday. A six-inning outing could set up the Mariners to be lights out with their top bullpen arms in the final three frames.
Scott Servais likely learned from his risky decision to put in Robbie Ray in the ninth inning of Game 1, and he can call on a rested bullpen to shut down the Astros if Castillo turns in another marvelous performance.
The Mariners may not need an abundance of runs to win Game 2, but if they can get a few off Valdez and chase him after five innings, they stand a good chance of rebounding from the brutal Game 1 loss.
Runs Will Be Hard to Find at Yankee Stadium
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The Cleveland-New York series should be the lowest-scoring one of the four ALDS and NLDS matchups after two games.
Both offenses struggled to hit Cal Quantrill and Gerrit Cole in Game 1. The two sides combined for five runs on 11 hits and 16 strikeouts.
Shane Bieber and Nestor Cortes should continue the pitching dominance inside Yankee Stadium on Thursday.
Bieber is coming off an eight-strikeout performance against the Tampa Bay Rays in which he conceded one run on three hits over 7.2 innings.
Bieber has lasted into the seventh inning in five of his last six road starts. The lone exception in that trend was a 6.1-inning outing.
Cortes allowed a single hit in each of his last two regular-season starts. He finished with a 12-strikeout outing against the Baltimore Orioles on October 1.
Cortes has not allowed more than five hits in a start since July 24, and he should be more than comfortable pitching at home, where six of his last seven starts occurred.
The recent success of both pitchers should make it a challenging night for hitters on both sides.
Game 2 at Yankee Stadium may come down to one swing of the bat, or a team using fundamentals to manufacture a run. There is a good chance the contest ends with a 1-0, 2-1 type score line.
Top of Seattle's Order Is Thursday's Biggest Difference-Maker
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Julio Rodríguez, Ty France and Eugenio Suárez combined to go 7-for-13 in Game 1 against Houston.
Rodríguez recorded a double and triple off Justin Verlander, and Suárez went yard off Cristian Javier in the seventh inning.
Seattle outhit the top of the Houston order. Jose Altuve, Jeremy Peña and Yordan Alvarez went 4-for-14, with two of the hits coming from Alvarez.
Houston's top hitter, Alvarez, had the most impactful swing of Game 1, but the confidence gained from Seattle's top three bats could help it build a lead for Luis Castillo in Game 2.
At least one player in the top third of Seattle's order has had two hits in the team's first three playoff games. Suarez had two hits in each contest against the Blue Jays.
A fast start may be the most ideal way for Seattle's top hitters to jump on Framber Valdez.
The Mariners scored three first-inning runs in Game 1 against Toronto, and they bagged four runs in the first two innings against Houston.
Seattle can't afford to let Valdez get into a rhythm, and its hot bats could be the perfect answer to solving whatever the Houston southpaw is throwing early in the game.
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