Greinke, Javier pass Game 4 test. Now what?

Astros manager Dusty Baker waited until Thursday morning before announcing whether Zack Greinke would start Game 4 of their American League Division Series showdown against the A’s that afternoon. The arm soreness Greinke encountered earlier left a mystery whether the former Cy Young Award winner or rookie Cristian Javier would get the assignment.

Game	Date	Result	Highlights
Gm 1	Oct. 5	HOU 10, OAK 5	Watch
Gm 2	Oct. 6	HOU 5, OAK 2	Watch
Gm 3	Oct. 7	OAK 9, HOU 7	Watch
Gm 4	Oct. 8	HOU 11, OAK 6	Watch

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After seven combined innings between the two right-handers in a series-clinching 11-6 win, Baker goes into Game 1 of the AL Championship Series against the Rays on Sunday with both stretched out to potentially start in a best-of-seven series that won’t have any scheduled off-days. Javier got the victory Thursday, but Baker now has the potential to add two more effective starters (joining Lance McCullers Jr., Framber Valdez and José Urquidy) for the next round -- a little more flexibility and a little less mystery.

“We’ll set our pitching plans,” Baker said. “We’ll have to get together to see who wins and who’s predominantly left-handed, right-handed -- just every scenario that we can possibly think of.”

Greinke said the arm soreness popped up after his last start in Game 1 of Houston's AL Wild Card Series win at Minnesota, and it lingered going into the ALDS.

“It didn’t really get any better; it was actually getting worse,” he said. “I had it checked out; everything looked good. And then today it felt fine, so all good news when it comes to that.”

Aside from a couple hanging sliders that Ramón Laureano hit out, Greinke seemed normal Thursday, quirks and all. He was grunting through a 23-pitch second inning that included Laureano’s three-run homer but didn’t escalate beyond that. He signaled sign switches to catcher Martín Maldonado, a move he cited as a time-saving technique.

• Greinke calls his pitch? Laureano HR follows

Laureano’s two homers accounted for four runs; Greinke allowed three singles and a walk to Oakland’s other eight batters. Josh Reddick’s catch at the right-field fence denied a Matt Olson solo homer.

• High hops, short wall: Reddick robs homer

Baker admittedly didn’t know what he would get out of Greinke and didn’t know how much he’d have to tax his bullpen. Greinke ended up with 4 2/3 innings over 76 pitches. It was one out shy of qualifying him for a victory -- instead keeping him winless in the postseason since 2015 -- but more than expected after Laureano’s second-inning homer gave Oakland a 3-0 lead.

Baker could’ve held Javier back for a potential winner-take-all Game 5, but he instead put the right-hander in the bullpen with a chance to finish off the series in four games. Once the Astros built a 7-4 lead going into the sixth inning, Javier essentially became a long reliever, taking over to strike out the middle of the A’s lineup in order in a rare shutdown inning for this series.

• A's, Astros belt record 24 HRs, go 9,862 feet

While the Astros pulled away, Javier stretched out, delivering 2 1/3 scoreless innings on three hits with four strikeouts. He had a scare on Marcus Semien’s drive to the shadow of the left-field fence with two on in the seventh, a ball that Kyle Tucker caught to end the threat, but Javier seemed in control throughout.

Javier’s 43 pitches were the most he had thrown since tossing 54 over three scoreless innings in Game 2 of the Wild Card Series sweep on Sept. 30.

“To be able to stretch out a little bit there and get re-acclimated to throwing that many pitches and be ready for whatever situation comes in the next series was important for me,” Javier said through a translator.

With the potential now for seven games in seven days, Javier's situation seems likely to include a start, though Baker didn’t commit to it. Javier made 10 turns through Houston’s rotation during the regular season, and none of the Astros’ four starters for the Division Series are likely in a good position to start on short rest. As valuable as Javier proved to be in their bullpen for this round, rotation depth could be the key in the next.

Greinke, for his part, expects to have no question for his role.

“If [the arm] feels how it felt today, then there’ll be no issues,” Greinke said. “I mean, everything was fine when it comes to the arm.”