Gerrit Cole hopes to take over where Justin Verlander left off.

Join the discussion."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Houston Astros NewsGame ThreadsHouston Astros Minor LeaguesAstros Game DayPodcastsGame 12 Thread. April 9th Giancarlo Stanton Jersey , 2019, 7:10 CDT. Yankees vs. Astros New,751commentsGerrit Cole hopes to take over where Justin Verlander left off as the Astros go for five straight against the visiting Yankees.Join the discussion.CDTShareTweetShareShareGame 12 Thread. April 9th, 2019, 7:10 CDT. Yankees vs. Astros Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY SportsSometimes it’s better to be lucky than to be good, and last night the Astros had a little of both, getting the winning run on Carlos Correa’s broken bat, swinging bunt single, to win 4-3Houston’s Gerrit Cole faces the 24 year old Nicaraguan, Jonathon Loaisiga, who in 28.2 career innings has a 4.71 ERA.Here is today’s line up.Radio and TVGame 2: Tuesday, April 9th @ 7:10 pm CDTListen: Yankees - WFN 660/101.9 FM, WADO 1280 / Astros - KBME 790 AM/94.5 FM HD-2, La Ranchera 850 AMWatch: Yankees - YES / Astros - ATT SportsNet-SW / ESPN, ESPN (out-of-market only) Jonathan Daniel/Getty ImagesThe Chicago Cubs will host the Colorado Rockies in the National League Wild Card Game at Wrigley Field on Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET. ESPN will televise the contest, with Baseball Tonight beginning at 7 p.m.This matchup will be a battle of southpawsbetween the Cubs' Jon Lester and the Rockies' Kyle Freeland, per Kyle Newman of theDenver Post. Lester is 18-6 with a 3.32 ERA and 149 strikeouts in 181.2 innings Derek Jeter Jersey , while Freeland is 17-7 with a 2.85 ERA and 173 strikeouts in 202.1 innings.Lester has induced an inordinate amount of soft contact throughout his career, and this year is no exception: Per FanGraphs, hishard-hit rate is just 31.9 percent. He gives up just1.19 home runs per nine innings.The crafty 34-year-old has five pitches in his repertoire: a four-seam fastball, cutter, sinker, changeupand curveball.Freeland is an extreme ground-ball pitcher who induces them at a 46.0 percent rate, per FanGraphs. Like Lester, he doesn't get hit too hard (31.6 percent) or give up many home runs (0.76 per nine innings).The 25-year-old strikes out batters at a 20.5 percent clip. He throws a four-seam fastball, cutter, sinker, changeup and slider. Of note, he would be pitching on three days' rest, as Freeland started (and won) on Friday against the Washington Nationals after six innings of two-run ball. Lester has an extra day of rest, having made his last appearance Thursday (six scoreless innings versus the Pittsburgh Pirates).The two men faced off at Wrigley once this season, with the Cubs winning 3-2. Lester went 5.2 innings with two runs (neither earned), five punchouts and three walks, while Freeland tossed seven frames of three-run ball with five strikeouts.It could have been worse for both sides. Lester struck out Rockies catcher Chris Iannetta with the bases loaded in the fifth to wiggle out of a jam http://www.yankeesfanproshop.com/authentic-giancarlo-stanton-jersey , and Freeland limited the damage to one run in the sixth after a leadoff triple from Cubs third baseman Kris Bryant.The lineups will be a little different this time around. Rockies second baseman DJ LeMahieu (15 home runs, 62 RBI, .278 batting average in 127 games) did not play, nor did Colorado outfielder David Dahl (16 home runs, 48 RBI, .276 batting average in 76 games).For the Cubs, second baseman Daniel Murphy (six home runs, 13 RBI, .299 batting average in 34 games with Chicago) was still a member of the Washington Nationals at the time.Freeland arguably had a better year than Lester, but the latter has started 21 postseason games and been part of three World Series champions. He also more than held his own en route to an All-Star season. The starting pitching matchup looks like a slight edge toward the Cubs simply because Lester has an extra day of rest.The Cubs would seem to have four other advantages, though.First, they are home, where they've gone 51-31 this season. Chicago has the added benefit of staying put, as the Cubs have been in town since starting a regular-season closing homestand on Tuesday.Meanwhile, the Rockies are going to be in three time zones in three days as they go from Denver to Los Angeles to Chicago. Colorado closed the regular season with a win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday before losing in the NL West tiebreaker Monday. Now it has to turn around in 24 hours and play a game in Chicago Tuesday.Colorado is respectable on the road (44-38) but that travel schedule may be tough to overcome.Second, as Newman noted, the Cubs will call on left-hander Cole Hamels if needed. The veteran has been fantastic for Chicago this year Mariano Rivera Jersey , going 4-3 with a 2.36 ERA and 74 strikeouts in 76.1 innings. That's a big trump card in favor of the Cubs.Third, the Cubs bullpen has performed far better than the Rockies' this year, with Chicago's relievers sporting a 3.34 ERA (second-best in MLB) and the Rockies finishing with a 4.63 (26th).Lastly, Chicago simply has more postseason experience, having made the NLCS in 2015 and 2017 and winning the World Series in 2016. Granted, not every member of the team has been with the Cubs through that entire stretch, but some newer members of the team have played in October (Murphy for the Mets and Washington Nationals, for instance).Colorado played in the NL Wild Card Game last year (losing 11-8 to the Arizona Diamondbacks) after missing the postseason every year since 2010.The infamous Wrigley Field wind, which can blow home runs out at a record pace or keep towering fly balls in the outfield based on the direction, shouldn't be a factor Tuesday. Per Windfinder, the wind should be blowing anywhere from a harmless three to six mph, with game temperatures at around 59 degrees.Ultimately, this looks like a Cubs victory, but look for Freeland to keep Chicago at bay into the middle innings. Expect Chicago to pull away late in a low-scoring win.Prediction: Cubs 5, Rockies 2