Series preview: Dodgers travel to Houston and face Astros

The Dodgers travel to Houston for a quick two-game series against the 2017 American League Champion Houston Astros. This will be the first time the Dodgers have played in Houston since the bangin’ 2017 World Series.

The last game the Dodgers played there was one for the ages, as they lost 13-12 in extras. We’ll just forget about that one and throw it in the trashcan. Onto the series preview!

Tuesday - Walker Buehler vs. Framber Valdez

Making his 2020 season debut tonight will be Walker Buehler. As opposed to being earlier in the starting rotation, Buehler is currently the No. 5 starter due to his workload leading up to the season.

Here’s what Dave Roberts had to say two weeks ago about why Buehler is a little behind in regards to his build up.

“He’s just a little bit behind the other guys,” he said. “But once the season starts, whatever he can give us, with the extra pitchers we’ll have on staff, will be sufficient.”

“With Walker, he took some time off with the uncertainty, and that was his decision. [Pitching coach] Mark [Prior] was in tune with it,” Roberts said. “The build-up period for Walker is just going to take a little bit longer. I think ultimately we get him, once the season starts, three or four innings with some guys behind him, he’ll be fine, and we’ll just continue to build him up.”

Initially, it seemed like the plan would be for Dustin May to relieve Buehler. But now with May in the rotation, Roberts hasn’t said who we may see after him.

This will be the first start of the season for Framber Valdez, who made only eight starts in 2019. He was used primarily as a reliever last year, coming out of the bullpen in 16 games. For his career, Valdez has a 5.25 ERA as a starter.

Wednesday - Dustin May vs. TBA

This was supposed to be a great matchup initially, as it was set to be Clayton Kershaw versus Justin Verlander. With both of them nursing injuries, it will look completely different. We know who is pitching for the Dodgers, as Dustin May will be making his second start of the season.

Last week, May got the nod on Opening Day. He looked solid, allowing one run in 4 ¹⁄₃ innings while striking out four. This will be the first time in his career that May will face the Astros.

Meanwhile for Houston, well, we’re not sure yet who will be getting the start. It has yet to be announced.

I know that every Dodgers player and coach will say “We’re treating this just like any series”, but c’mon, we know that’s not true. The Dodgers are going to do whatever they possibly can to win these two games, and win them in grand fashion. They know what the Astros did, and they’re going to be hungry for revenge. I’m bummed that fans can’t be in attendance, but this is bound to be a great series.

I have two trivia polls for you.