Game 6 Thread. April 13, 2022, 2:40 CT. Astros @ Diamondbacks

When the revised schedule came out it looked pretty daunting for the Astros to start the season with nine games on the road, seven against tough division opponents.

At this point, the Astros are 4-1 and with a win today they assure themselves two series wins and at least a winning record on the road trip.

Of course, we’d love to see the Astros sweep the Mariners in their home-opening series, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Today it’s Framber Valdez against Houstonian Merrill Kelly. Both pitchers were red-hot in their first starts, but Valdez was probably the best pitcher in the league on Opening Day, with the lengthiest outing at 6.2 innings, allowing no runs with six Ks.

Could this be the year he gets the vaunted status of true “ace?”

Here are the lineups. Yordan Alvarez is out of the lineup again. Does anyone know why?