The Orange Juice Series will get underway on Friday afternoon, when the Tampa Bay Rays travel to Minute Maid Park to take on the Houston Astros. On Wednesday, Yandy Diaz slugged two home runs to power Tampa Bay to a 5-1 wild card victory at Oakland. Four pitchers combined to strike out 12 batters for the Rays on the night.
Twenty-six year old righty Tyler Glasnow (6-1 1.78 ERA) will get the nod for the Rays in this matchup. Through 60 plus innings, Glasnow has struck out 76 batters and owns a sparkling 0.89 WHIP.
The Houston Astros won a major league best 107 games during the regular season and earned home field advantage throughout the playoffs. The Astros were the only team to win 60 home games and led the majors with a plus 280 run differential. Houston 3B Alex Bregman led the club with 41 home runs and 112 RBIs.
2011 Cy Young Award winner Justin Verlander (21-6 2.58 ERA) will likely win the award again this season. The thirty-six year old Verlander ranks first in the American League in wins and WHIP.
