Game 5 Thread. April 5, 2021, 8:38 CDT. Astros @ Angels

Before getting to the game at hand, a tip of the hat to a true phenomenon who happens to wear a Red Jersey. You have to admire Shohei Ohtani, who made several pitches over 101 MPH last night, and a home run over 115 MPH.

I bet the Babe never did that.

I don’t know whether I’m glad or sad he’s not playing tonight. He’s one of my favorite players who doesn’t wear Orange and blue. I kinda like that other guy they got too, but I’d definitely be glad for him to take a couple of nights off about now.

OK, so early on it looks like an Astros-Angels competition for AL West champions, and we must say, the Astros don’t look like slouches themselves, having just won four straight on the road against the defending AL West champions, scoring 35 runs, and only allowing nine.

Alex Bregman, Michael Brantley (out tonight), Jose Altuve, Yuli Gurriel, and Yordan Alvarez are all red-hot, so take that Trout and Rendon.

This should be fun.

Luis Garcia gets his first start this year, fighting to keep his roster spot after Jake Odorizzi gets instated onto the 26-man roster. Before his five games MLB last season, Garcia had peaked at A ball, but he’s loaded with potential, and could be a future star for the Astros.

Hopefully, the future is now.

The Angels send newly acquired veteran Jose Quintana to the mound. Once an ace, in 2019 he posted 4.68 ERA, and in 2020 a 4.50 ERA in only 10 innings. He’s hoping to start a comeback tonight.

Here’s the lineup: Aledmys Diaz gets a start at Left Field.

Jose Altuve...........................................2b

Yuli Gurriel............................................1B

Alex Bregman.......................................3B

Yordan Alvarez......................................DH

Carlos Correa........................................SS

Kyle Tucker,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,RF

Aledmys Diaz........................................LF

Myles Straw..........................................CF

Martin Maldonado...............................C

For more on this series, check out Ckuno’s excellent analysis HERE.

For Your Viewing and Listening Pleasure

Game 1: Monday, April 5th @ 8:38 pm CDT

Listen: Astros - KLAT 1010, KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2 / Angels - KLAA 830, KWKW 1330

Watch: Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW+ / Angels - Bally Sports SoCal