Rays-Astros: Lineups, rosters, FAQ (FS1)

HOUSTON -- A year ago, it was Blake Snell pushing Justin Verlander in the American League Cy Young Award race. It was Snell who sat atop the AL ERA leaderboard. It was Snell going a seeming eternity between losses.

Gerrit Cole has filled those roles in 2019, and he’ll look to extend his run of nine straight starts with double-digit strikeouts and 16 consecutive decisions without a loss when he starts for the Astros in Game 2 of the AL Division Series at Minute Maid Park on Saturday night.

In the history of best-of-five postseason series, Game 1 winners have gone on to take the series 95 of 132 times (72 percent). In the Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams winning Game 1 at home took the series 31 of 40 times (78 percent).

But with Cole and the Astros looking to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the best-of-five set, it is deceptively easy to overlook the lefty Snell and his opportunity for redemption after a regular season that was a frustrating follow-up to his Cy Young Award-winning year.

“I had an up-and-down season,” Snell said. “I had a lot to go through and battle. And just to be here and be part of [the postseason] is very exciting for me. It allows me to prove a lot of things to myself before the season's over, whenever that is.”

Between the 4.29 ERA and the surgery to remove a loose body in his left elbow that limited him to 107 innings, Snell has become sort of a forgotten man in the national conversation about aces. He’s thrown just six innings since July 21, and there’s really no telling if he’ll have the command to do as intended and give the Rays five strong innings in this effort.

Game	Date	Result	Highlights
Gm 1	Oct. 4	HOU 6, TB 2	Watch
Gm 2	Oct. 5	HOU 3, TB 1	Watch
Gm 3	Oct. 7	TB 10, HOU 3	Watch
Gm 4	Oct. 8	TB 4, HOU 1	Watch
Gm 5	Oct. 10	HOU 6, TB 1	Watch

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? Postseason schedule and bracket

But the Rays -- and their opponents -- know what Snell can accomplish, especially when his putaway curve is on point. That’s the Snell they need in Game 2.

“I'm betting on Blake,” Tampa Bay manager Kevin Cash said. “We're betting on Blake to catch a second gear.”

When is the game and how can I watch it?
Game 2 will be on Saturday night at 9:07 ET/8:07 CT on FS1.

All games telecast on MLB Network, TBS, FOX and FS1 will be available to MLB.TV subscribers who are authenticated subscribers to the applicable network through a participating pay TV provider.

What are the starting lineups?

Rays: Tampa Bay is going with its most balanced lineup as it looks to earn a split in Houston. Diaz will lead off for the second time in the postseason, which allows Meadows to slide down to the second spot. Eric Sogard and Joey Wendle will be the first players available off the bench against a right-handed-heavy Astros bullpen.

1) Yandy Díaz, 3B
2) Austin Meadows, LF
3) Tommy Pham, DH
4) Ji-Man Choi, 1B
5) Avisaíl García, RF
6) Brandon Lowe, 2B
7) Travis d'Arnaud, C
8) Kevin Kiermaier, CF
9) Willy Adames, SS

Astros: The only changes from Game 1 are Martín Maldonado behind the plate to catch Cole and Kyle Tucker in the right field instead of Josh Reddick.

1) George Springer, CF
2) Jose Altuve, 2B
3) Michael Brantley, LF
4) Alex Bregman, 3B
5) Yordan Alvarez DH
6) Yuli Gurriel, 1B
7) Carlos Correa, SS
8) Kyle Tucker, RF
9) Martín Maldonado, C

Who are the starting pitchers?
Rays: Snell (6-8, 4.29 ERA) battled injuries and inconsistencies in 2019, but Tampa Bay is banking on the left-hander to find a second gear in the playoffs. Snell underwent arthroscopic surgery to remove loose bodies in his left elbow and made just three starts in September. He allowed three runs over six innings. His longest outing of the month lasted 2 1/3 innings in the regular-season finale against the Blue Jays.

Astros: Cole (20-5, 2.50 ERA) has been the most dominating starter in baseball since the end of May. In 22 starts from May 27 to the end of the regular season, he went 16-0 with a 1.78 ERA and 226 strikeouts in 146 2/3 innings. The Astros won each of his final 13 starts.

How will the bullpens line up after the starter?
Rays: There’s a lot of uncertainty about how much length Snell is going to be able to give Tampa Bay. If the left-hander only pitches a couple of innings, Ryan Yarbrough or Yonny Chirinos would be safe bets to follow Snell out of the bullpen.

After that, the Rays will be ultra-aggressive and will look to get to Diego Castillo, Nick Anderson and Emilio Pagán for crucial outs in the later innings. Expect Tampa Bay to utilize all its big bullpen weapons as the club looks to avoid falling into a 2-0 hole in the series.

Astros: Ryan Pressly gave up two runs in the eighth inning in Game 1, so Houston has to get him figured out. Pressly, Will Harris and Roberto Osuna will typically get the final nine outs in a close game.

? Astros-Rays position-by-position breakdown

Are there any relievers who are unavailable?
Rays: Tampa Bay would like to stay away from Brendan McKay, who faced three hitters in Friday’s Game 1 loss. McKay spent most of the season as a starter, so don’t expect the Rays to trot him out there on back-to-back days.

Astros: With Verlander throwing seven innings, Hinch will have plenty of relievers to choose from. Harris and Osuna should be good for Game 2 after throwing so few pitches on Friday.

Any injuries of note?
Rays: Eric Sogard was the only player in question, but he made the 25-man roster and hit an RBI single in his only at-bat in Game 1.

Astros: None.

Who is hot and who is not?
Rays: Meadows hit an RBI double and walked twice during the Game 1 loss. He hit nine home runs in September and finished the month with a 1.269 OPS. d’Arnaud is 0-for-8 in two playoff games.

Astros: Altuve continued his now weeks-long tear since returning from a knee injury with a two-run blast that opened the scoring in Game 1. But perhaps the best news for Houston fans was Alvarez breaking an 0-for-18 streak with an RBI double in the seventh.