Stephen Strasburg
vs
Justin Verlander
Before Game 1, ZiPS had the Astros at 59.7% chance of winning. After Cole losing for the first time since the Nationals were bad, now the Nationals have a 57.8% chance of winning. However, the Astros still maintain a greater than 50% chance of winning every game of the series.
Stephen Strasburg
vs
Martín Pérez
A good postseason test tonight for the Twins. Strasburg is really good. Pérez is a pitcher. Berríos delivered a very strong start yesterday and it's Pérez's turn to get five acceptable innings before handing it to the *checks notes* 12-man bullpen. Batters, this isn't Berríos, please don't forgot about the dongers.
They say a baseball season gives you two months to figure out what's wrong with your team, two months to fix it, and two months to contend. This team may need more time on the front end than that.
Due to stiffness in Irvin Santana's back, Tyler Duffy will get today's start for the Twins. Duffy did well in limited time last year and contended for the the final rotation spot throughout spring training. He'll square off against Stephen Strasburg because what the [redacted], it's not like we haven't faced enough really good starting pitching already this year, right?
So yeah, the Twins play so far this season leaves something to be desired. But what the hell, folks, it's the only game in town.
Play ball.
