This story was originally published by Dead Spin
Houston Astros left-handed sluggers Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker have defied conventional wisdom for a while now, with their success against left-handed pitching supporting the decision to bat them back-to-back in the lineup.
Alvarez and Tucker homered as part of their respective four-hit games in the Astros’ 10-4 victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday. That win not only set the table for Houston (85-70) to complete a four-game series sweep on Sunday afternoon but also reduced the Astros’ magic number to win the American League West to three games.
Alvarez, who hit his team-leading 35th home run with one out in the seventh inning, entered Saturday with a 1.024 OPS against left-handed pitching this season.
Tucker, who followed the Alvarez blast with his 22nd home run to complete a second consecutive four-hit game, has more traditional splits this season. He had a .784 OPS against southpaws before going 2-for-2 with a walk against Angels left-hander Reid Detmers. However, his career OPS against left-handers (.838) compares favorably of that against righties (.883).
Houston manager Joe Espada could wedge a right-handed hitter — either Alex Bregman or Yainer Diaz — between Alvarez and Tucker to strike a more traditional lineup balance, but he isn’t keen on that idea.
“I don’t think I will,” Espada said. “Right now they’re two of the best lefty hitters against lefty pitching.
“I feel good about having those two guys back-to-back against lefties, so, right now, I have no intention of putting a righty in between them. They’re so good at what they do, and I think they get tougher when you bring a lefty in because now they just think about using the other part of the field. They’re tough at-bats.”
Rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (7-13, 4.68 ERA) will start on Sunday as the Astros, who are 8-2 in their past 10 games, pursue the series sweep.
Arrighetti is winless in three starts this month after allowing two runs on eight hits and one walk with three strikeouts over five innings in a 3-1 loss to the San Diego Padres on Monday. Arrighetti, who will make his first career start against the Angels, is 0-2 with a 5.11 ERA in September after winning his last two starts of August.
Right-hander Griffin Canning (6-13, 5.16 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Angels (62-93) on Sunday.
Canning was victorious against the Chicago White Sox on Tuesday after throwing six scoreless innings while allowing three hits and two walks with six strikeouts in a 5-0 win. It marked his eighth quality start of the season. Canning has alternated wins and losses over his last four starts, going 2-2 with a 5.01 ERA.
Canning is 0-3 with a 6.49 ERA in eight career starts against the Astros, including 0-1 with a 3.97 ERA in two starts this season. In three career starts in Houston, he is 0-1 with a 6.08 ERA.
Angels catcher Logan O’Hoppe finished 4-for-4 and hit his 20th home run in the sixth inning Saturday.
–Field Level Media
