2021 Series Poll: Tampa Bay Rays @ Houston Astros

Due to life doing what life does best and getting in the way of baseball, I don’t have time for a proper preview this week. Cliffs notes version is that this is both a more and less critical series than Astros fans would have liked. Houston has been spinning its wheels ever since the Angels took the final game of the four game series in Anaheim last week, leaving the magic number lingering at a tantalizing two or three.

Now they’ll face the AL’s best record in the form of the Rays, who have already punched their ticket as the AL East’s October representative. Not only that, but they have done it while employing their usual brand of smart, crafty baseball done both well and on the cheap.

On top of even that, the Rays have been on a roll lately, going 5-1 in their last two series, including some convincing wins over the Blue Jays. The pitching has also been phenomenal for Tampa during that stretch, and has allowed just 2.6 runs per game in their last 10 matches.

Look for the Astros to try and wake the bats up as they hope to put the division to bed at home. Even though the sweep in Oakland sucked, seeing a clinch happen in front of a home crowd would be pretty nice at this point.

Last 10 Games: 7-3 Record, 1 Series Sweep, 1 Series Win, 1 Series Split, +22 Run Differential (48 Scored, 26 Allowed)

W/L Splits: 52-29 at home, 45-30 on the road, 45-39 against teams over .500

For Your Viewing and Listening Pleasure

Game 1: Michael Wacha (RHP, 3-5, 5.49 ERA, 113 K’s) vs Jose Urquidy (RHP, 8-3, 3.56 ERA, 81 K’s)
When: Tuesday, September 26th @ 7:10 pm CDT
Listen: Rays - WDAE 620 AM/95.3 FM, WGES 680 / Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KLAT 1010, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2
Watch: Rays - Bally Sports Sun / Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW

AD

Game 2: TBD vs Luis Garcia (RHP, 11-7, 3.23 ERA, 161 K’s)
When: Wednesday, September 27th @ 7:10 pm CDT
Listen: Rays - WDAE 620 AM/95.3 FM, WGES 680 / Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KLAT 1010, KTRH 740 AM/99.1 FM HD-2
Watch: Rays - Bally Sports Sun / Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW

Game 3: TBD vs Lance McCullers Jr. (RHP, 12-5, 3.17 ERA, 181 K’s)
When: Thursday, September 28th @ 6:10 pm CDT
Listen: Rays - WDAE 620 AM/95.3 FM, WGES 680 / Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, KLAT 1010, TUDN 93.3
Watch: Rays - Bally Sports Sun / Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW (MLB Network (out-of-market only)