Game six of the World Series takes place tonight at Dodger Stadium with the Houston Astros leading the Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2.
2011 A.L Cy Young Winner Justin Verlander will take the mound for the Astros and Rich Hill will get the nod for Los Angeles as the season is on the line for the Dodgers who are trailing in the series after the Astros incredible comeback victory on Sunday.
Verlander has been able to get a lot of swings and misses, he’s been able to elevate his fastball when he’s needed to, and he’s been able to throw the curveball in against left-handed hitters Corey Seager and Cody Bellinger. If he manages to do that in game 6 it will be very difficult to neutralize him to take him out of the game early.
The Astros arrive in Los Angeles with a lot of confidence and hoping that Verlander can help them clinch the title tonight to avoid a game 7. Verlander, one of the best pitchers of this generation, is starting against Hill, who owns a 2.76 ERA this postseason with 19 strikeouts in 13 innings.
Hill pitched just four innings in a game 2 loss in which manager Dave Roberts probably took him out sooner than he should have as Hill had thrown just 60 pitches, allowing just one run, three walks and striking out seven batters.
Don’t be surprised if in this game Roberts decides to ride Hill a little bit longer. Not only because he’s proven to be a key pitcher for the Dodgers this year, but because the Dodgers bullpen is fatigued after three wild games in Houston.
Hill’s been able to adjust and contribute to vital wins down the stretch. A few years ago, he was more of a curveball than fastball guy, but this season he uses the fastball more to make batters swing and miss. Although hitters must watch out for the fastballs, he still makes plenty of use of a nasty curveball that batters tend to chase and keeps them guessing.
The Dodgers take solace in the fact that they play the next two games at Dodger Stadium. Although statistics have proven to be anything but reliable in this World Series, it’s important to note that in the last 10 times that a team has come home trailing three games to two, in eight of those times that team has ended taking both games to win the championship.
These are a pair of exhausted teams with tattered bullpens, but Dodgers fans hope their players have enough energy left in them to force a pivotal game 7.
