Game 21 Thread, Aug 16, 2020, 1:10 CDT. Mariners @ Astros

In yesterday’s game preview I asked how long would it be before Jose Altuve would be dropped in the batting order. Little did I know that he would go to the manager and ASK to be dropped down.

The humility of this MVP, this beautiful man of God, never ceases to amaze. I literally love Jose Altuve, and that is not a joke. He should be remembered one day as one of the true legends of baseball, not just for how well he plays, and for what he has overcome to be that good, but for the great man he is.

Today Lance McCullers tries to maintain the momentum he gathered in his last start and lead the Astros to a sweep of the Mariners. He pitched seven shutout innings last time out and lowered his ERA to 6.10.

His mound opponent will be 24 year old former Yankee product Justus Sheffield, who takes the mound today with a 5.27 ERA.

Don’t look now but who do you think is the team hitting leader right now. It’s Yuli Gurriel, OPS .944, just ahead of Alex Bregman, who has snuck up to .900. Gurriel also leads the team in homers with 5, including two in his last two games.

Over/under on how long he lods that lead now that fellow Cuban Yordan Alvarez is back in the lineup? He only has two hits in his first two games, including a homer and 4 RBI, but even several of his outs have been hit at +100 mph. He’s one of the top scariest hitters in baseball if you are a pitcher.

Here’s the lineup.

Media Access

Game 3: Sunday, August 16th @ 1:10 pm CDT

Listen: Mariners - 710 ESPN, Mariners Radio Network / Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, La Ranchera 101.7 FM/850 AM

Watch: Mariners - ROOTNW / Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW