The Orange Juice Series will continue on Saturday, when the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros square off from Minute Maid Park. In Game One, Tampa Bay struck out ten times and managed just five hits during a 6-2 road loss. Austin Meadows reached base three times and doubled in a run in a losing effort for the Rays.
Reigning Cy Young Award winner Blake Snell (6-8 4.29 ERA) will take the mound for the Rays in this matchup. Snell was 2-5 with a 5.82 ERA on the road this season and pitched just six innings in September.
The Houston Astros won a major league best 60 home games during the regular season and are the favorites to win the World Series. On Friday, SP Justin Verlander allowed just one hit and struck out eight batters across seven shutout innings. Jose Altuve’s two-run, fifth inning blast got the scoring started for the Astros.
The Astros will counter with dominant right-hander Gerrit Cole (20-5 2.50 ERA) on Saturday. Cole led the American League with 326 strikeouts and second with a sparkling 0.89 WHIP.
