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Yesterday the Astros lost a pitcher’s duel to the Mets, 2-1. Gerrit Cole took the loss, giving up his only runs of the Spring on a home run to our old friend, Robinson Cano. Meanwhile the Astros could not touch Mets starter Noah Syndegaard, a matchup between two possible Cy Young contenders.
On the positive side for the good guys, Aledmys Diaz broke out of his Spring slump, going 2-2, and Cionel Perez had his first chance of Spring Training, throwing one perfect inning and looking good doing it. Will he be the late horse in the race for the last spot in the bullpen?
Today Collin McHugh gets a needed warm-up against former Astro Dan Strailly. Although accustomed to slow starts in the Spring, McHugh missed early action and is now playing a little catch-up. Today he hopes to improve on his current 12.00 Spring Training ERA.
It’s a pretty stacked line up today, but no Altuve again, still recovering from “discomfort.” (or something) And this Spring’s biggest surprise, Nick Tanielu, with four home runs so far, gets a start at Jose’s position.
Line up below.
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Here’s some Cole train action for your edification.
Those sliders. #AstrosST pic.twitter.com/ScpwJbGdI8
— Houston Astros (@astros) March 13, 2019
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TV: Astros, ATT SportsNet-SW