HOUSTON -- For an opposing manager in an opposing league, AJ Hinch knows Nationals starter Max Scherzer very well. Hinch was the D-backs’ farm director when Arizona drafted Scherzer in the first round out of the University of Missouri in 2006 and managed Scherzer before he was traded to the D-backs after the '09 season.
“He got to the big leagues quickly,” Hinch said. “He was in the bullpen. When I took over as manager, he was on the staff. I’ve gotten to know him over the years, ran into him at the All-Star Games I’ve been at, Spring Training games when I’ve seen him.”
The thing that stands out for Hinch about Scherzer is his competitive fire. Scherzer started Game 1 of the World Series against Hinch’s Astros on Tuesday at Minute Maid Park.
“I’ve had so many conversations with him,” Hinch said. “He’s evolved as a pitcher. At one time, there was a curiosity as to whether he was going to maintain his delivery, stuff, health to be a starter, and he’s only gone on to 200-plus innings every year, Cy Young, no-hitters, gazillion dollars and considered to be one of the best in baseball. His mind has always been special. His competitiveness has been off the chart.”
Scherzer made his Major League debut against the Astros in relief on April 29, 2008, retiring all 13 batters he faced with seven strikeouts.
Peacock’s father recovering following surgery
Jerry Peacock, the father of Astros relief pitcher Brad Peacock, is recovering in Florida after undergoing triple-bypass heart surgery last week. Brad Peacock has been in contact with his father over the past few days and said he’s expected to make a full recovery.
“He’s doing OK now,” Peacock said. “The surgery went really good, and he’s recovering now. He can only talk for a minute or two. They moved him to a rehab center yesterday. He’s got a long road ahead of him, but he’s a strong guy.”
Jerry Peacock, a retired police officer, has been a huge supporter of his son’s career, traveling around the Minor Leagues in a camper to watch him pitch. Father and son have a pregame ritual in which Brad tosses Jerry a ball when he gets done warming up in the bullpen prior to his starts.
“We’re playing the Nationals, my old squad, and he’s still friends with a lot of people over there,” Peacock said. “I know he wants to be here and watch me play, but he’ll be watching, for sure.”
Bullpen lined up for Game 4
Hinch confirmed Tuesday the Astros will likely have a bullpen game in Game 4 of the World Series on Saturday at Nationals Park. Houston had Gerrit Cole pitch Game 1 followed by Justin Verlander in Game 2 and Zack Greinke in Game 3.
The Astros don’t have a fourth starter, choosing to leave left-hander Wade Miley off the roster after he struggled to get outs in September. Aaron Sanchez, acquired in a trade with the Blue Jays in July, had right shoulder surgery. Peacock, who began the year in the rotation, got injured and came back as a reliever.
Peacock started and pitched 1 2/3 innings in a bullpen game in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series against the Yankees, a game the Astros won, 6-4, on José Altuve’s walk-off homer in the ninth inning. Assuming there are no weather delays, Houston would be in line to use a bullpen game Saturday and then have Cole for Game 5, if necessary, Verlander in Game 6 and Greinke in Game 7.
“I can see it being a bullpen game,” Hinch said. "Jose Urquidy is really the only guy that we would have stretched out far enough to be called a starter in the same conversation like we're talking about a traditional starter. But depending on how we deploy Peacock and Urquidy, in specific those two guys in the first couple of games, will dictate kind of which direction we go in Game 4.”
Run, run if you can
Hinch has always preached aggressive baserunning, whether that means going from first to third on a single or trying to score from second. The Astros have one of the most aggressive third-base coaches in the game in Gary Pettis and love to force teams to make perfect throws to get outs on the bases.
One weakness of the Nats that the Astros could try to exploit in the World Series is by stealing bases. Washington ranked 28th in the Major Leagues this season in stolen-base percentage against, with 84.3 percent of basestealers reaching safely. Houston successfully swiped 71.3 percent of its attempts in the regular season, which ranked 17th in MLB.
“They do have some areas we can be aggressive,” Hinch said. “We try to be opportunistic. If they open up the door, we’ll have no problem trying to do that. We try to have every card to play, and if that’s one we need to play, we’ll play it.”
The Astros' biggest basestealing threat is Altuve, who swiped as many as 56 bases in a season earlier in his career but had only six this year in 124 games. Nationals catchers Kurt Suzuki and Yan Gomes were among the worst at throwing out runners in the regular season. Suzuki threw out only three of 45 basestealers and Gomes just 12 of 41.
Gattis, McCann throw out first pitch
The Astros turned back the clock to 2017 by having Brian McCann throw out the ceremonial first pitch to Evan Gattis prior to Game 1 of the World Series. Both were catchers on their championship team two years ago and are now out of baseball. McCann retired following this season with the Braves and Gattis didn’t play this year.
Hinch said he had the honor of calling Gattis and asking him if he would return to Minute Maid Park to catch McCann. The duo became inseparable during their time in Houston because of their similar look with bald heads and beards.
“Both men are very special to me,” Hinch said prior to Game 1. “B-Mac and I have been in touch all year via text and a couple of phone calls. Gattis generates a lot of love from a lot of people. People love the way he’s overcome everything in life, from the janitor ID to how emotional he is in winning and how much he enjoys people. He’s a special guy in our clubhouse.
"As big a presence as he has, it’s more his vibe and personality than resonated so well with so many people. He’s just Gatty. He’s just a guy everybody’s kind of attracted to. I bet he gets emotional. This will mean a lot to him.”