Major League Baseball

Astros vs. Dodgers: How to win $1,000 for free on Tuesday's FS1 tilt

Published May. 25, 2021 2:21 p.m. ET

By Kevin Cooney
Special to FOX Sports

Back in the early 1980s, the Los Angeles Dodgers and Houston Astros battled it out for the National League West title on a fairly regular basis.

Yet it took the Astros' move to the American League for the rivalry to reach its new boiling point after the controversial 2017 World Series and the aftermath that followed, with the revelations that Houston was using a sign-stealing system to tip hitters about pitches.

On Tuesday, the two teams will face off for the first game of a two-game set at Minute Mark Park in Houston (8:10 p.m. ET, FS1). The opener features a pair of Cy Young Award winners and former teammates, as Clayton Kershaw starts for the Dodgers against Astros ace Zack Greinke.

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In that spirit, here are six things you should know about the two sides heading into the weekend.

1. Start me up

In their heydays, both Kershaw and Greinke were guys you could count on to go deep into a game and give their bullpens a rest. For Greinke, that’s still the case. In five of his 10 starts to this point, he has gone seven or more innings. Kershaw is not going as deep, however. He has thrown seven innings just three times in 10 starts in 2021.

2. Law of averages

Neither the Astros nor the Dodgers woke up Monday leading their respective division. However, there’s one stat that should bode well for both over the long grind of a season: run differential.

The Astros, who are second behind the Athletics in the AL West, have the second-best run differential in the American League (+59), behind only that of the Chicago White Sox (+64). The Dodgers have the second-best run differential in baseball (+72); only the San Diego Padres (+75) are better.

3. Being clutch is everything

The Dodgers and Astros have gotten to baseball’s elite levels in a lot of ways: pitching, managing, front-office moves, you name it. In 2021, one of the biggest reasons for these teams' success is how great they have been late in games.

Los Angeles is second behind the Cincinnati Reds in OPS from the seventh inning on, at .780 (the Reds are .798), and Houston is third overall, leading the American League at .779. The Astros also entered Monday tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for most runs scored in the seventh inning or later, with 91. The Dodgers were fourth, with 80.

4. Yuli marvelous

Yuli Gurriel has been one of the best hitters in the sport so far this season, hitting .319 with 38 RBIs. Late in games is when he has excelled most, with an OPS of 1.123, three home runs and 19 RBIs while batting .388 in 49 at-bats from the seventh inning on.

5. Will and a way

If Gurriel has been great, Will Smith has been pretty special, too. From the seventh inning on, the Dodgers' catcher is hitting .324 with two homers and seven RBIs, along with an OPS of 1.059. Perhaps most impressively, he has walked the same number of times (seven) that he has struck out in those spots.

6. Any bad blood left?

The two teams met last season in their first get-together since the revelations of the Astros' cheating. It was eventful, with Dodgers reliever Joe Kelly throwing at Alex Bregman and chatting loudly with Carlos Correa.

A lot has happened since then – namely, the Dodgers earned the World Series title that they believed was ripped away from them by the scandal. This week's series might be the best indication of whether that drama is truly in the past.

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