Game 1 of the ALCS between the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros is complete, what did we learn?
Framber Valdez and Blake Snell started Game 1 of the ALCS for their respective teams, the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays, and they both performed exceptionally well.
Both teams are familiar with this situation, because they faced off in the 2019 ALDS. The Astros won that series 4-2.
This time, the Rays took Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead in the series as they look for revenge. The final score was 2-1.
The game was tight all the way up until the end with a few key hits and outstanding pitching that led to the Rays’ 1-0 series lead.
Nonetheless, the ALCS will be a competitive series and will be fun to watch.
I am rooting for the Rays to make World Series appearance and fight for its first World Series title, but at the same time, watching an Astros vs. Dodgers rematch would be just as enticing.
First, we learned Framber Valdez and Randy Arozarena are stars and will continue to be in the future
The Astros incurred a major loss to their pitching staff when Justin Verlander hit the injury list. There were major question marks as to who would replace Verlander in the Astros rotation.
That question was quickly answered by Framber Valdez’s performances in the 2020 season.
Valdez had a 3.57 ERA in 10 starts with 9.7 K/9 ratio.
The young 26-year-old wowed many fans and he was named the game one starter of the ALCS.
The southpaw pitched well in the Wild Card and ALDS with 12 innings of two-run baseball, and nine strikeouts.
Valdez is very talented for his young age and he shows that he loves the game. He smiles and shows his emotions on the mound which makes his outings fun to watch.
I expect Valdez to be a key piece in the rest of the ALCS, and a future star, making multiple All-Star appearances.
Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena is another star in the making like Valdez. Except Arozarena burst onto the scene very late in the season and made his mark once the postseason started.
The 25-year-old outfielder is red hot and is the key offensive piece in the Rays lineup. Brandon Lowe has struggled and thanks to Arozarena, the Rays are thriving in the postseason.
Arozarena hit another home run in game one to tie the game in the fourth inning against Valdez.