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Game Preview No. 2: Houston Astros at New York Yankees

Astros send their No. 2 starter Collin McHugh out for game No. 2 against the Yankees.

By Ryan Dunsmore
Peter G. Aiken-USA TODAY Sports

Houston Astros (1-0) at New York Yankees (0-1), Apr 6, 2016, 6:05 PM CDT

Radio: KTRH 740, Spanish: La Nueva 94.1 FM
TV: MLB.TV, Roots Sports Southwest, 
SB Nation Blog: Pinstripe Alley

Pitching Matchup:

2016 Spring Training Stats

RHP Collin McHugh (1-1, 4.61 ERA, 1.32 WHIP) vs. RHP Michael Pineda (1-1, 4.50 ERA, 1.07  WHIP)

Preview:

The Houston Astros got off on the right foot, winning 5-3 on the delayed Opening Day matchup against the New York Yankees on Tuesday. Now the team turns to Collin McHugh, who has won 30 games since joining the Astros rotation in early 2014.

Astros pitching coach Brett Strom's greatest creation has been McHugh. McHugh bounced from the Mets and Rockies before finding a home with the Astros using the philosophy of effective velocity -- which basically using pitches in certain locations to make pitches more effective without having to throw 100 mph. For McHugh, that means using his curveball and four-seam fastball in tandem to get batters off balance.

McHugh has been extremely effective against the Yankees in two career starts against New York. The Yankees are batting .123 (7x57) with a 0.171 BABIP, 34.4 K%, and 6.6 BB%. He has allowed three runs over 14 1/3 innings. Didi Gregorius and Donovan Solano each has two career hits off McHugh, including a home run from Gregorius.

NEW YORK YANKEES CAREER STATISTICS VS. COLLIN MCHUGH
BATTER AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
Didi Gregorius 6 2 0 0 1 2 0 2 0.333 0.333 0.833 1.167
Donovan Solano 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 2 0.500 0.500 0.500 1.000
Carlos Beltran 5 1 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.200 0.333 0.200 0.533
Brett Gardner 6 1 0 0 0 1 1 3 0.167 0.286 0.167 0.452
Chase Headley 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0.167 0.167 0.167 0.333
Aaron Hicks 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.250 0.250 0.250 0.500
Alex Rodriguez 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.167 0.167 0.167 0.333
Dustin Ackley 13 0 0 0 0 0 2 6 0.000 0.133 0.000 0.133
Greg Bird 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0.000 0.333 0.000 0.333
Starlin Castro 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Brian McCann 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Mark Teixeira 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 2 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000

Michael Pineda had an interesting 2014 season with multiple pine tar incidents. In 2015, he had an up and down season for the Yankees -- finishing with a 12-10 record. He finished the season with 3-5 record and 5.80 ERA after post all-star break.

Pineda did have an AL-best 7.43 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 2015. Strikeouts normally spell doom for the Astros, but it wasn't in 2015 against Pineda. He was 0-2 with 5.11 ERA in two starts in 2015. The Astros have an average .286 (15x56) with a .390 BABIP, 30.6 K%, and 3.2 BB%.

HOUSTON ASTROS CAREER STATISTICS VS. MICHAEL PINEDA
BATTER AB H 2B 3B HR RBI BB SO AVG OBP SLG OPS
Jose Altuve 6 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.333 0.286 0.333 0.619
Jason Castro 5 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0.000 0.250 0.000 0.250
Carlos Correa 3 2 2 0 0 0 0 0 0.667 0.667 1.333 2.000
Evan Gattis 5 2 0 1 1 2 0 0 0.400 0.400 1.400 1.800
Carlos Gomez 2 1 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.500 0.500 0.500 1.000
Marwin Gonzalez 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
Jake Marisnick 4 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 0.500 0.500 0.500 1.000
Colby Rasmus 8 2 0 0 0 0 0 5 0.250 0.250 0.250 0.500
Jon Singleton 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.000 0.000 0.000 0.000
George Springer 4 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 0.250 0.250 0.250 0.500
Preston Tucker 3 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0.333 0.333 0.667 1.000
Luis Valbuena 7 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 0.286 0.286 0.286 0.571

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