HOUSTON – On the mound for the Astros in Monday's Game 3 of the ALDS will be left-hander Dallas Keuchel.
The former Cy Young Award winner is now in his sixth season. Keuchel was 12-11 during the regular campaign with a 3.74 ERA while striking out 153. In his career he's 76-63, but none of that matters now. He's established himself as one of the premier pitchers in all of baseball.
The lefty doesn't overpower any hitter, but he gets the job done with the movement on his pitches, pinpoint location and a great curveball and slider that dips sharply as it reaches the hitter.
Keuchel is at his best when he is producing groundball outs. If that is happening, he is usually tough to beat. When he is up in the zone and hitters are getting fly balls, that is usually going to be a concern.
He has been on cloud nine since the Astros won the franchise's first ever World Series last season. He was here in 2013, when the Astros' rebuild had hit rock bottom with 111 losses that set a team record. Times have changed, though, and changed quickly.
The team brought in manager A.J. Hinch, and the team made it to the 2015 playoffs. They missed out in 2016, as Sports Illustrated predicted a few years ago: that they would be World Series-bound in 2017, and now here they are with the best regular season record in franchise history going for back to back titles.