Yanks Go Yard Radio Show: Yankees-Astros Preview (7/25-7/27)

On last night’s episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, we discussed the Aroldis Chapman deal and previewed the Yankees-Astros series

At the beginning of last night’s Yanks Go Yard Radio Show, I started off by talking about the news that broke last night regarding the New York Yankees (50-48) trading Aroldis Chapman to the Chicago Cubs for a package that included top shortstop prospect Gleyber Torres. Remember, this show aired before the deal was officially announced today.

Plus, I gave my take on the Yankees winning two out of three games against the Giants over the weekend and finishing up the homestand winning five of their last seven games. With those wins, the Yankees are still 7.5 games behind the Orioles in the AL East and they are 4.5 games behind the Blue Jays for the second Wild Card spot.

Tonight, the Yankees begin an eight game road trip to take on the Houston Astros (54-44), who enter play tonight 2.5 games behind the Rangers in the AL West and a half game behind the Blue Jays for the second Wild Card. These two teams met in the first series of the year in the Bronx, with the Yankees winning two out of three games.

After getting off to a rough start this season, A.J. Hinch’s squad is 30-15 since June 1. Tonight, they debut one of their top prospects in Alex Bregman. Bregman, who was the second pick in the 2015 MLB Draft, will play third base tonight. The 22-year-old hit .306 with 20 home runs and 61 RBI’s between double-A and triple-A this season.

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As for the rest of the offense, second baseman Jose Altuve is having an MVP caliber season. He is hitting .360 with 17 home runs and 60 RBI’s. Yesterday, he had two home runs and six RBI’s in a win over the Angels. Houston has a good trio of players in their lineup in Altuve, right fielder George Springer (.263, 21 home runs, and 59 RBI’s), and shortstop Carlos Correa (.271, 15 home runs, 64 RBI’s).

Last year’s Cy Young winner, Dallas Keuchel, hasn’t had a Cy Young caliber season, be is pitching better as of late (2.33 ERA in July). As a team, the Astros starters have a 4.13 ERA, but they are third in the American League in that category. The pitcher with the most wins on that staff right now is offseason signing Doug Fister (ten).

Next: Instant Reaction To Yankees Trading Chapman

In the bullpen, the Astros have the best ‘pen ERA in the AL (3.06) and they have the third most strikeouts (Yankees are first). Luke Gregerson leads the team in saves (14), but one reliever to keep an eye on is All-Star right-hander Will Harris (1.76 ERA with 42 strikeouts).

To talk more about the Astros, my guest for this episode of the Yanks Go Yard Radio Show was Eric Huysman, the editor of Climbing Tal’s Hill and the co-host of Talking ‘Stros. Eric gave his take on the Astros resurgence and whether or not they need to make moves at the trade deadline. Here are some other topics we discussed:

• Expectations for Bregman now that he’s in the blg leagues
• Impact of signing Yulieski Gourriel to a five-year deal
• Pitching Matchup Breakdown
• What has been behind Keuchel’s turnaround (tonight’s Astros starter)?
• Michael Pineda (tonight’s Yankees starter) had a good bounceback start against the O’s
• Fister (Tomorrow’s Astros starter) has given up one home run combined in his last four starts
• C.C. Sabathia (tomorrow’s Yankees starter) getting groundballs, but not enough strikeouts
• Lance McCullers (Wednesday’s Astros starter) has 42 walks this season
• Masahiro Tanaka (Wednesday’s Yankees starter) looks to improve on his 1.50 road ERA
• Yankees hitters to watch: Starlin Castro and Didi Gregorius
• Astros hitters to watch: Evan Gattis and Carlos Correa
• Has Houston closed the gap on the Rangers in the A.L. West

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