Editorial by: Graydon Fox

Prizing:

1st Place: $25 Amazon gift card

2nd-5th Place: $10 Amazon gift card

Top 5 Winners:

1. dankcity3 (400 points)

2. billhamplet (400 points)

3. Cliff Angel (400 points)

4. Jacob Robertson (400 points)

5. crazypenny88 (250 points)

Overview:

On Sunday, May 20^th, the (21-21) Cleveland Indians will be on the road to take on the (28-17) Houston Astros.

Starting Pitchers:

CLE: Carlos Carrasco (5-2, 3.66) vs HOU: Lance McCullers (5-2, 3.63)

Batting Stats:

Runs per game: Indians 4.93 (7^th) > Astros 4.67 (10^th)

Batting Average: Astros .252 (11^th) > Indians .249 (13^th)

On Base Percentage: Astros .327 (9^th) > Indians .319 (15^th)

Total Bases: Indians 647 (3^rd) > Astros 615 (11^th)

Baserunning Stats:

Stolen Bases: Indians 25 (11^th) > Astros 15 (25^th)

Pitching Stats:

Team Earned Run Average: Astros 2.44 (1^st) > Indians 4.06 (14^th)

Batting Average Against: Astros .196 (1^st) > Indians .235 (10^th)

Walks/Hits Per Innings Pitched: Astros 0.97 (1^st) > Indians 1.18 (4^th)

Strikeouts: Astros 469 (3^rd) > Indians 367 (13^th)

Saves: Astros 9 (23^rd) > Indians 7 (29^th)

Fielding Stats:

Errors: Astros 14 (2^nd) > Indians 28 (23^rd)

Summary:

The Indians enter the game 7^th in the league in runs per game (4.93) and 14^th in team earned run average (4.06).  The Indians are (4-6) in their last ten games and (8-12) on the road this season.  Cleveland has one of the most formidable starting rotations but their bullpen ranks dead last in ERA (5.68).  The loss of Brian Shaw is glaring and an early season injury to Andrew Miller has him looking far from his usual dominant self.  Cleveland’s offense has been a mild surprise as a finally healthy Michael Brantley ranks 5^th in the majors in batting (.338).  Francisco Lindor (.314, 12 HR, 27 RBI) and Jose Ramirez (.296, 13 HR, 30 RBI) were already household names but their emerging power has them among the best players in baseball.  The Indians have only 26 total at-bats against Astros starter Lance McCullers (5-2, 3.63) but have had success batting a combined .423.  McCullers has been especially good at home where he is (1-1, 2.37).

Houston ranks 10^th in runs per game (4.67) and 1^st in team ERA (2.44).  The Astros are (7-3) in their last ten games and they are (12-10) at home this season.  The Astros are led by their phenomenal pitching staff which leads the league in ERA, WHIP, and batting average against.  Offseason additions to the bullpen have proven fruitful as that unit has the 4^th best ERA in the league (2.94).  Houston has committed the second fewest amount of errors in the league (14).  Jose Altuve, following his MVP season, has yet to have a true hot streak but is still hitting .309 with a .364 OBP.  George Springer (.287, 8 HR, 26 RBI) and Carlos Correa (.281, 7 HR, 29 RBI) are amongst the best young players in baseball.  The Astros have hit well against Indians starter Carlos Carrasco (5-2, 3.66) batting a combined .328 in 67 at-bats.  Carrasco has typically been a road warrior in his career and again this season posting a (3-1, 2.78) line away from Progressive Field.

Bottom Line:

The Astros have hit well against Carlos Carrasco but he has been dominant on the road this season.  The Indians have the worst bullpen in baseball currently which has been especially bad as of late.  Cleveland was great defensively early in the season but even that has fallen off.  The Astros are playing great baseball right now and I expect they will take care of business at home where they have played very well.

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