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DENVER German Marquez will start Saturday for the Colorado Rockies Alan Trammell Jersey , seeking to continue his recent success that largely is the result of a couple of subtle changes. He will try to slow the torrid St. Louis Cardinals.St. Louis beat the Rockies 7-5 on Friday night to improve its record this month to 18-4, the four losses each being by one run. The Cardinals (72-57) extended their road winning streak to nine games, the longest active streak in the majors and the longest by the Cardinals since April 28-May 10, 2017.The Rockies (70-5 are 1-4 this season against the Cardinals and 1-7 dating back to July 24, 2017.Article continues below ...Marquez (11-9, 4.42 ERA) will be opposed by left-hander John Gant (5-5, 3.76), who has started and relieved this season and lately has found his footing in the Cardinals rotation.Marquez has pitched at least seven innings in four of his past five starts, including Sunday at Atlanta when he gave up two runs and five hits in seven innings and came away with a 4-2 win. In his past nine starts, Marquez is 6-1 with a 2.87 ERA. In his last five starts, he held opponents to a .206 average and .606 OPS with eight walks and 39 strikeouts in 34 2/3 innings as the modifications he worked on with pitching coach Steve Foster and bullpen coach Darren Holmes have taken hold.Holmes said they worked with Marquez on staying tall in his delivery and working with a consistent tempo. Holmes said Marquez was hinging, which is pitching parlance for not having his lower and top halves in synch, resulting in getting too tilted as he leans back in his delivery.Then hes fighting to get back down, Holmes said. So we talked to him about staying tall and not really worrying about getting weight into his legs as far as power, because his power comes from a quick arm.In addition, Marquez has worked to deliver his pitches with the same amount of time from the first movement in his delivery until his front foot touches the ground.Every pitch he had was different, Holmes said. Consistent timing with everything (was the goal). And hes done a great job doing it. Sometimes he slows down a little bit in the first inning and thats something that hes working on to be more aggressive early.Marquez has allowed 28 runs in the first inning, 17 more than in any other inning.Holmes said Marquez was slower with his changeup and his curveball, but sped up his tempo when throwing his slider.We took the fastball, curveball http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-al-kaline-jersey , slider, changeup and made them all the same tempo, Holmes said. If hes up, his tempo is slow. If hes throwing scuds, his tempos too fast. So every time now, he recognizes it.Marquez is 2-0 with a 2.53 ERA in two career starts against St. Louis, but he has not faced the Cardinals this season.Gant, who has never faced the Rockies, will be pitching in his 20th game this season and making his 13th start. In his past three starts, Gant is 2-1 with a 2.30 ERA, a stretch of 15 2/3 innings in which he has not allowed a homer with three walks and 11 strikeouts.He lost his last start Sunday against Milwaukee, giving up two runs and six hits in 4 1/3 inningsGant has been more effective against right-handed hitters, limiting them to a .197 average and .521 OPS with no homers in 161 plate appearances. Left-handed hitters are batting .234 with a .727 OPS and six homers in 174 plate appearances against Gant.Johns fit in the rotation and acclimated very well, Cardinals interim manager Mike Schildt said. Hes a good athlete, good preparer. Hes got weapons, so hes able to be effective against righties and lefties.Hes got a nice changeup. Hes got a good breaking ball. He throws his fastball to both sides of the plate. Hes got good sink on it. And he can throw all of them at any time in any count. Hes a real pitcher. He trusts his stuff. Hes got the weapons and he knows how to use them. Theyre all quality pitches. Theyre not just show pitches; theyre effective pitches. Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesThe NLDS kicked off on Thursday, with the Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers jumping out to an early 1-0 lead in their respective series.Now it's time for Game 1 from the two ALDS matchups.The New York Yankees' victory over the Oakland Athletics set up a meeting with the rival Boston Red Sox, while the Houston Astros and Cleveland Indians will meet on the other side of the bracket in a battle of stacked rotations and potent offenses.Ahead is a full preview of what to expect on Friday, complete with all the pertinent TV and streaming information:Friday's ScheduleCleveland Indians at Houston Astros, 2:05 p.m. ET (TBS)New York Yankees at Boston Red Sox Lance Parrish Jersey , 7:32 p.m. ET (TBS)All postseason games can be live-streamed at MLB.tv. PreviewIndians vs. AstrosJustin VerlanderPatrick McDermott/Getty ImagesThis game will feature two of the game's best starting pitchers, with Corey Kluber (20-7, 2.89 ERA, 222 K) toeing the rubber for the Indians and Justin Verlander (16-9, 2.52 ERA, 290 K) on the hill for the Astros.The Astros won the season series 4-3, with both series coming back in May.Kluber picked up the win on May 19, allowing six hits and two earned runs while striking out 10 over seven strong innings. He was equally impressive less than a week later on May 25, when he scattered seven hits over 6.1 scoreless innings in a no-decision.The Indians missed Verlander this year, but they saw plenty of him in past seasons while he was pitching for the Detroit Tigers.Utility man Marwin Gonzalez is 9-for-20 with two home runs against Kluber in his career, as he's had far and away the most success against him of any current Astros player.The Indians' Michael Brantley has seen a ton of Verlander, going 22-for-76 (.289 BA) with two doubles and a triple, as the two shared the AL Central division for years.Francisco Lindor (10-for-29, 2B, 3B, HR), Jose Ramirez (11-for-27, 3 2B, 2 HR) and Josh Donaldson (6-for-18, 1 2B) all have strong numbers against Verlander as well.With both teams featuring stacked rotations http://www.tigersfanproshop.com/authentic-omar-infante-jersey , a Game 1 victory with their aces on the mound doesn't carry quite as much weight as it would for most teams, but there's still a distinct advantage to jumping out to an early lead.Yankees vs. Red SoxChris SaleJason Miller/Getty ImagesThe Red Sox won the season series between these two rivals 10-9, but it was the Yankees who came out on top both times they met in September.The Yankees will turn to deadline-addition J.A. Happ (7-0, 2.69 ERA, 63 K in 10 starts following a trade from the Toronto Blue Jays) for the Game 1 start, while the Red Sox will send out ace Chris Sale (12-4, 2.11 ERA, 237 K).Look for Steve Pearce to be penciled into the Red Sox lineup somewhere. The veteran has absolutely worn out Happ in his career, going 11-for-32 with two doubles, six home runs and 16 RBI.Mookie Betts and Ian Kinsler also have two home runs each off Happ.Sale has held active Yankees hitters to a .193/.243/.265 line with 67 strikeouts in 166 at-bats.Aaron Judge has taken him deep once, but he's also fanned 13 times in 18 at-bats. Aaron Hicks has enjoyed the most success, with an 8-for-25 track record that includes a pair of doubles.These two teams have met three other times in the postseason.The Yankees bested the Red Sox in four games in the 1999ALCS. The 2003ALCS belonged to the Yankees as well, as it provided the memorable Pedro Martinez vs. Don Zimmer "fight" and Aaron Boone's walk-off home run. And of course, there is the 2004 ALCS, in which the Red Sox pulled off the greatest comeback in MLB history after falling behind 3-0 in the series.All stats courtesy of Baseball Reference, unless otherwise noted. |
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