*If Peacock struggles early, A.J. Hinch says that Lance McCullers could come out of the bullpen. Hinch:
We haven't gotten (McCullers) up in Game 1 and Game 2 because the game hasn't really dictated it. He got up to almost simulate getting ready and just keep himself ready in case we needed him later in the game. So I wish I could tell you that we have mapped out everything perfectly....but the game's going to have to dictate that.
*Hinch, on Peacock:
We're lucky we hung on to him. Had he not been in our rotation, no doubt he would have been on someone else's pitching staff throwing important innings.
*NY Post's Kevin Kernan called Brad Peacock a "virtual unknown." Hinch:
He never waivers, he never panics, the moment's never too big for him, and it's going to come up key...when he's pitching in Fenway for the second time in a week.
Peacock:
Just being here is special for me. Been humbled along the way, been injured along the way, and just makes it that much more special for me, for sure. Biggest start of my career and hopefully I can keep saying that as it goes on for sure.
*Jake Kaplan looked back at the trajectory of Peacock's 2017 season.
*Doug Fister's numbers vs current Astros: 98 plate appearances, .293/.337/.435, 21K:4BB, 2HR allowed. Against players he's faced in more than 5 PA:
-Beltran (14 PA): .385/.429/.692
-Maybin (16 PA): .286/.375/.500
-Altuve (7 PA): .429/.429/.429
-Reddick (23 PA): .261/.261/.348
-Gattis (9 PA): .250/.333/.250
Alex Bregman has only faced Fister in three plate appearances and has a single, double, and a home run. Beltran will be DH today.
*Jose Altuve says the difference between his home and road splits are purely a coincidence.
For his career, Altuve has been remarkably consistent.
Home (2127 PAs): .314/.363/.454, .338 BABIP
Away (2184 PAs): .319/.362/.452, .340 BABIP
But since the beginning of the 2015 season, it looks like this:
Home (927 ABs): .317/.371/.496
Away (941 ABs): .346/.401/.527
Altuve at Fenway, since beginning of 2015: 44 ABs, .386/.449/.432
*The Astros have had a 2-0 lead in a five-game series just once before: 1981 against the Dodgers. And that's where we will stop talking about it.
*Fenway Faithful? You can still buy tickets to today's game at Fenway.
*Dan Shaughnessy writes that today could be John Farrell's last game as Red Sox manager.
*Correa, on the relationship between himself, Springer, Altuve, and Bregman:
We feel like we're brothers and we've got to take care of each other, on and off the field.
Luhnow:
You've got two Americans, one Puerto Rican, and one Venezuelan, but you would never know that they didn't grow up together, didn't go to high school together. It's pretty cool.
*George Springer, who has never seen a playoff game at Fenway in person before, will bat leadoff.
*Hunter Atkins notes that the Astros are hitting .263 against the Red Sox in two-strike counts.
*You can head to Minute Maid starting at 11:30 this morning for an ALDS G3 watch party.
*I asked various members of the media if there was an anti-Astros bias.
*Elsewhere in the playoffs, it was an NL-only slate:
-Washington beat Chicago on late home runs from Bryce Harper and Ryan Zimmermann to tie the series 1-1.
-Los Angeles beat Arizona to take a 2-0 series lead.
*Forrest Whitley and Derek Fisher were named the Astros' prospects of the year. Luhnow, on Whitley:
In my opinion, he's probably one of the top two or three pitching prospects in the game right now and a guy that could figure into our team towards the end of next year, if not sooner. That's exciting.
*Meet the two hitting coaches that turned J.D. Martinez into a monster.
*Mark Mooney's obituary, written by Mark Mooney, is haunting.
*This is the only cool thing the University of Florida has ever done:
RIP Tom Petty. pic.twitter.com/8akHgv3hKd— Cody Worsham (@CodyWorsham) October 7, 2017
