Diamondbacks-Astros series preview: Pitching probables, key players

The Arizona Diamondbacks and Houston Astros have been perhaps the two best teams in baseball since mid-June but both have hit a bit of a slight tumble.

The Astros are 42-25 since June 19 while the D-backs across that span are 43-25. Houston, however, is 7-8 in its last 15 games and Arizona is 4-6 in its previous 10.

Because of where they were before mid-June, both teams require some level of consistency still in the last month of the season to make the postseason. Houston is 4.5 games up on the Seattle Mariners for an AL West that will likely champion only one playoff squad while Arizona is only 2.5 games ahead of the Atlanta Braves and New York Mets, who are tied for the last NL Wild Card spot.

Diamondbacks-Astros pitching probables

Friday, 5:10 p.m. — RHP Brandon Pfaadt (9-7, 4.32 ERA) vs. LHP Framber Valdez (13-6, 3.11)

Saturday, 1:10 p.m. — LHP Eduardo Rodriguez (2-1, 5.33 ERA) vs. LHP Yusei Kikuchi (7-9, 4.24)

Sunday, 4:10 p.m. — RHP Ryne Nelson (10-6, 4.15 ERA) vs. RHP Justin Verlander (3-5, 4.52)

Valdez has emerged in the last half-decade as one of baseball’s best southpaws, and Arizona is up to the task with a .777 OPS against lefty starters this year, slightly higher than its mark versus righties (.771). Kikuchi and Verlander are later arrivals in 2024 that are in theory supposed to round out a strong rotation led by Valdez and Ronel Blanco (3.03 ERA, 1.092 WHIP).

Kikuchi was acquired at the trade deadline from the Toronto Blue Jays and has a WHIP under one with Houston while Verlander’s return from nearly three months out has yielded 11 earned runs in 14.2 innings.

For the D-backs, Nelson’s stellar form will continue to push for consideration in the playoff rotation, as Pfaadt’s solid season has tailed off a bit in the last couple of weeks while Rodriguez is like Verlander in struggling coming off an extended absence.

Diamondbacks-Astros hitters to watch

D-backs: All eyes will be on if Ketel Marte is back in the lineup after missing a few weeks due to an ankle injury. Arizona’s offense has surprisingly held up through injuries but the feeling is the dam will eventually start showing major cracks, so the sooner its best player is back, the better. Catcher Gabriel Moreno is still not due back anytime soon, so Adrian Del Castillo has to rediscover some ability at the plate. Del Castillo is one for his last 13, all while his weaknesses defensively have become more pronounced.

Astros: Yordan Alvarez is on a Hall-of-Fame trajectory at 27 years old and is coming off a 1.178 OPS in August. His career OPS in 612 games is .975. One of the guys who has starred alongside him the last few years and held it down before he arrived was Alex Bregman, but the third baseman has largely been average at the plate this season, that is until he clocked a .947 OPS in August. On that note, their long-time franchise player Jose Altuve did not join Bregman in finding his rhythm during the stretch run, and his .784 OPS is a drop of 131 points from 2023.

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