Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker, a baseball lifer, previously planned to approach the final series of the regular season as he would any other. After all, that’s what the unwritten code of baseball says to do.
Plans change.
According to the Houston Chronicle’s Chandler Rome, Baker will treat this series similar to spring training. Players will come and go at various times including the starting pitchers.
Calling this development good news for the Phillies is a massive understatement.
The Phillies are set to face three Houston pitchers with sub 3.00 ERAs, Lance McCullers, Justin Verlander, and Framber Valdez respectively. While they’re still likely to face all three, it won’t be the same grind it out games as previously expected.
The Phillies were in the same position 11-years ago, the last time the franchise made the Postseason. Then manager Charlie Manuel chose to play his starters for a three-game set against Atlanta. The Phillies swept the Braves allowing the St. Louis Cardinals to sneak in to the postseason.
Everyone knows what happened next.
The Phillies need a win or a Brewers loss to reach the postseason as one of the two National League Wild Card teams. Any help is surely appreciated.
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