HOUSTON — The Astros will start Jose Urquidy in Game 3 of the ALCS when the series shifts to Fenway Park on Monday night, while the Boston Red Sox aren’t yet ready to commit to a starter.
Urquidy, who missed two months of the regular season with shoulder discomfort, went 8-3 with a 3.62 ERA and 90 strikeouts for Houston. The 26-year-old right-hander, who has five career postseason starts with a 2.81 ERA in eight games, had been scheduled to start Game 4 of the ALDS vs. Chicago, but due to a weather postponement, Houston instead turned to Lance McCullers Jr. on regular rest.
Red Sox manager Alex Cora, when asked whether righty Nick Pivetta would be taking the mound Monday, would not commit to his starting pitcher for Game 3.
“We’ll get there when we get there,” Cora said. “We’re not going to name a starter for Game 3. We’ll see where we go or how it goes today, and we’ll go from there.”
Houston leads the best-of-seven series after a 5-4 victory in Game 1 on Friday.
The teams combined to use 16 pitchers in Game 1, so both managers are hesitant to look too far ahead when it comes to their rotations.
“We can’t go quite that far yet,” Baker said when asked whether he had given any thought to who would start Game 4 on Tuesday. “We got two more games before we get there, so it just depends on who we use and depends on the games.”
Red Sox right-hander Nathan Eovaldi faces Astros rookie Luis Garcia in Game 2 on Saturday.