Prior to the start of Game 1 of the ALCS, we spoke with a veteran scout for his take on the Red Sox-Astros matchup.
His keys:
1. Go inside -- especially at the top of the lineup.
"Top to bottom, they're tough. A big key is to keep Jose Altuve off the bases. That's easier said than done, obviously, He's such a dangerous hitter. But watching them and looking at video, Altuve has not been pitched inside much at all. I think one of the keys is how aggressive the Red Sox are going to be pitching inside. That to me is the biggest key for the whole damn series, honestly. It's important that the Red Sox take it to them and nullify some of those at-bats. They work counts well, but Altuve is aggressive, swinging at first pitches a lot. But if you set him up, you can beat him. But the key is going in on him and taking that part of the plate away from him.
"It's a deep, dangerous lineup but if you start out with Altuve and try to nullify him and focus on it, the rest plays out. Because that style (pitching aggressively inside) can work on just about all of their hitters, other than (Alex) Bregman. It's all about making quality pitches and really taking it to them.''
2. Test the Astros.
"Boston's had to compete its ass off against some damn good clubs. They had three other teams in the division win 90 or more games and they had to get by a Yankee team in the wild card round and then the Rays. But who's pushed the Astros all year? Other than Seattle in their own division, which was a better club than people gave them credit for, I think they might not be as battle-tested. If you get up on them early, it will be interesting to see how they respond, but because they haven't had to take a lot of punches.''
3. Houston's bullpen could be a trouble spot.
"The bullpen is fairly deep. I don't know that they have a slam dunk closer. (Kendall) Graveman has been pretty reliable. He does it pretty conventionally, with command first and setting up hitters, but he's not going to blow you away. But I think if the Red Sox can get into their bullpen, they have a chance. Getting to Graveman has been one of the problems. (Ryan) Pressly bounced back and had a nice year for him. But some of the other arms can be had -- (Ryne) Stanek throws hard but you can get to him. I think if the Red Sox are patient, they're going to get some good pitches to hit.
4. Take advantage of the absence of McCullers.
"Losing (Lance) McCullers is a tough break for them. He's so competitive. I guess you'll see Zack Greinke go back into the rotation at some point. I love Zack -- he's one of my favorite pitchers ever, but I think his mirror's about to break. He shows signs of it. It's his will to win that keeps him going, but he's had some ugly innings. I think (Houston's starting depth) is an issue here, especially if the Red Sox can have the kind of at-bats they had against Tampa Bay. They're going to score some runs.
5. Beware of the running game.
"I'd be prepared for them to run, more than we've seen them of late. Tampa Bay didn't run against the Red Sox as much as I thought they would, although they didn't have a lot of opportunities. I thought there'd be more risk. Altuve is capable of going on any count and Bregman will run, too. And Carlos Correa could run more than you've seen. (Myles) Straw and (Kyle) Tucker are their best pure base stealers. But it's more about putting people in motion than actual stolen bases -- and on counts you wouldn't expect. Dusty (Baker) like the element of surprise now and then. I'd be prepared for anything. I think they'll really try to exploit Kevin Plawecki when he catches (Nate) Eovaldi.''