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2017 American League Division Series
Houston Astros (2-0) vs. Boston Red Sox (0-2), Oct. 8, 2017, 1:38 p.m. CDT
Location: Minute Maid Park, Boston, MA
TV: FS1
Radio: stream on MLB At Bat app, 790 KBME AM, ESPN Deportes 1230
Online: MLB.TV, Fox Sports Go
Red Sox SBNation Blog: Over the Monster
Pitching Matchup
RHP Brad Peacock (13-2, 3.00 ERA, 1.19 WHIP, .286 BABIP, 3.73 xFIP) vs. RHP Doug FIster, 5-9, 4.88 ERA, 1.38 WHIP, .301 BABIP, 4.18 xFIP)
Preview
The Houston Astros are just one win away from reaching the American League Championship Series for the first time in franchise history. It would be the first time to reach the championship series since 2005 and the fifth time overall including four trips to the National League Championship Series.
But first Brad Peacock and Doug Fister much face off in game three.
Pitching matchup
What a strange matchup game three brings. Who would have guess Brad Peacock and Doug Fister would be facing off in the playoffs?
Fister made 32 starts for the Astros in 2016 and wasn't re-signed by Houston in the offseason. Peacock struggled with injuries for the past two seasons and only made five starts last year.
Now the tables have completely turned. Peacock was lights out as a reliever and found that same form in the starting rotation. Fister after starting the season with the Angels' minor league system, he was picked up off waivers by the Red Sox.
Peacock was 3-0 with 2.57 ERA during his final month in the rotation, including a win over the Red Sox (5 IP, 2 ER, 2 SO, 1 BB).
Fister was 2-2 with a 5.58 ERA in six starts during the September. His last start was against Houston, he allowed three runs on five hits over 5 1/3 innings.
Hitting trends
More than half of the Red Sox batters have less than four career at-bats against Peacock. The two exceptions are Mitch Moreland and Dustin Pedroia. Moreland is 2-for-13 with a home run. Pedroia is 3-for-8 with two walks.
Red Sox vs. Brad Peacock career stats
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Dustin Pedroia | 8 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0.375 | 0.500 | 0.375 | 0.875 |
| Brock Holt | 4 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 1.250 | 1.750 |
| Mitch Moreland | 13 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 6 | 0.154 | 0.214 | 0.385 | 0.599 |
| Xander Bogaerts | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.400 | 0.250 | 0.650 |
| Jackie Bradley Jr. | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.250 | 0.500 |
| Eduardo Nunez | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.000 | 3.000 |
| Christian Vazquez | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.333 | 0.5 | 0.333 | 0.833 |
| Chris Young | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.25 | 0.5 |
| Andrew Benintendi | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Mookie Betts | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Rajai Davis | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.167 | 0.000 | 0.167 |
| Rafael Devers | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Hanley Ramirez | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
Three Astros have 10-plus at-bats against FIster: Carlos Beltran, Cameron Maybin, and Josh Reddick. Reddick is 5-for-17 with a double. Beltran and Alex Bergman (1-for-3) each have a home run.
Astros vs. Doug Fister career stats
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BATTER | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | RBI | BB | SO | AVG | OBP | SLG | OPS |
| Carlos Beltran | 13 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0.385 | 0.429 | 0.692 | 1.121 |
| Josh Reddick | 17 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 0.294 | 0.294 | 0.353 | 0.647 |
| Cameron Maybin | 14 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | 0.286 | 0.375 | 0.500 | 0.875 |
| Jose Altuve | 7 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.429 | 0.429 | 0.429 | 0.857 |
| Alex Bregman | 3 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1.000 | 1.000 | 2.333 | 3.333 |
| Evan Gattis | 8 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.25 | 0.333 | 0.25 | 0.583 |
| Juan Centeno | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.333 | 0.667 |
| Derek Fisher | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 1.000 |
| Yuli Gurriel | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 0.500 | 1.000 |
| Brian McCann | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.500 | 0.667 | 0.500 | 1.167 |
| Carlos Correa | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| Marwin Gonzalez | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 | 0.000 |
| George Springer | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.000 | 0.333 | 0.000 | 0.333 |
Keys to success
Carlos Beltran
Beltran is 5-for-13 with a double, a home run, and three RBIs in his career against Boston's game three starter Doug Fister. Beltran had batted .327 (64x196) with 16 home runs and 41 RBIs in his playoff career.
Brad Peacock
Brad Peacock has been a road warrior in 2017. Peacock is 8-0 with a 2.88 ERA in 17 games (12 starts) on the road.
Bullpen Usage
The Red Sox bullpen has already had to pitch nine innings in relief compared to Houston's 6 1/3. It is a small margin but it will add up with Fister on the mound in a win or loss. Fister last four starts haven't gotten through the sixth inning — but the four before that were at seven innings or more (including one complete game).