Astros won’t move up Justin Verlander the way the Phillies did with Aaron Nola

Justin Verlander seemed excited to see the fans outside Citizens Bank Park on Monday afternoon, but the Astros ace will have to wait an extra day to pitch in front of them.

Astros manager Dusty Baker said he will not shuffle his rotation the way the Phillies did after Game 3 of the World Series was rained out Monday night. Lance McCullers Jr., who was scheduled to start Monday, will start on Tuesday and Cristian Javier will remain the Game 4 starter on Wednesday.

» READ MORE: Phillies, Astros rained out Monday; Game 3 set for Tuesday and Game 5 pushed to Thursday

The Phillies are moving Ranger Suárez and Aaron Nola, originally scheduled to start Games 4 and 5, to Games 3 and 4. Manager Rob Thomson said the Phillies will pitch Noah Syndergaard, who was scheduled to start Game 3, or Kyle Gibson in Game 5.

Baker could have used Verlander, who bantered with heckling fans as the Astros left the bus earlier on Monday, in Game 4 on normal rest but will start him with an extra day of rest in Thursday’s Game 5. The Astros would then have Framber Valdez, who dominated the Phillies in Game 2, available to start Game 6 and McCullers could pitch Game 7 on normal rest.

“Well, the equation was Javier’s been really good, No. 1,” Baker said. “And No. 2, we feel that that extra day off wouldn’t hurt Justin. It would probably be to his benefit.”

The Phillies scored five runs against Verlander in Game 1 after he was spotted a five-run lead. He led the majors this season with a 1.75 ERA and will likely win the American League Cy Young Award. But the 39-year-old right-hander has been roughed up in two of his three postseason starts and has never recorded a win in the World Series. The Astros hope an extra day gives him a better chance.

McCullers allowed four runs, three of which were earned, in five innings against the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.

The right-hander didn’t pitch this season until August after suffering a strained flexor tendon in his forearm during last year’s playoffs. He has reached the seventh inning in just two of his 10 starts since returning. He started against the Phillies the night they clinched a postseason berth as he allowed one run on six hits in six innings.

» READ MORE: Phillies will have to ride big bats if they are to win the World Series

Javier pitched in relief in the American League Division Series before pitching 5⅓ scoreless innings against the Yankees. The right-hander had a 2.54 ERA in the regular season over 30 games, 25 of which were starts. Javier has not pitched into the seventh inning since July, so the Astros will likely lean on their bullpen the next two nights.

“You have to deal with the elements. You play where you have to play,” Baker said. “Plus this team, I think we had the best road record in the American League. And all of them weren’t domes. So we played where we have to play.”