2021 Houston Astros Thread

[Wulaw Horn 19598]

19 minutes ago, UTexasFight said:

Maybe still true but the time for that was after the first inning yesterday.

good luck covering ~50% in fees/taxes on both sides of that transaction.

Yep. That’s the bitch of the thing and what makes it a losing game. 
the best thing to do is use stub hub as a guide to what’s selling (best value only- the other stupid prices don’t sell) and then find someone who wants to buy and use that as an agreed upon price. The stub hub take is just huge. Like I “sell” my tickets to you for $1000, I get paid $850 and you get charged $1220. It’s bad and there’s no real ability to buy and flip online. Stubhub has extracted pretty much all the value of middling 

[Chuckie Finster 23093]

4 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

How are the Astros gonna cobble together the pitching to get through the next two games? I don't feel great about Garcia on three days rest. And who would pitch gm 7 if we get there?

Really really wish we had not used Urquidy for one damn inning.  Fully rested Urquidy-Garcia was a very solid setup for the final two games.

[Wulaw Horn 19598]

2 minutes ago, Gourmand said:

How are the Astros gonna cobble together the pitching to get through the next two games? I don't feel great about Garcia on three days rest. And who would pitch gm 7 if we get there?

Yeah- that’s the problem with Dusty throwing Urquidy yesterday. It makes it harder to win the series bc you went from pitching set to pitching fucked. 
I personally wouldn’t go garcia on 3 days rest. It would be Odo on an incredibly short leash followed by Javier on an incredibly short leash followed by Urquidy on an incredibly short leash and figuring that has to be enough to get you to Maton, Stanek, Graveman and Presley. 
so, I guess that isn’t that dire?  I mean- it’s not great but it’s a path/plan. 
snd I’m not complaining about using Urquidy. Maybe it was unnecessary maybe his calm inning after they’d taken the lead settled us enough to be able to come back and win. I won’t ever complain about any aggressive pitching decision with a game within a grand slam in an elimination game, but it makes it harder to win both games afterwards. 
we are a pretty massive dog right now. They have their two good pitchers set and most of their high leverage guys pretty well rested and we are chasing. And we are down 3-2. Much much much rather be them than us. 

[Telegraph_it 3379]

If the bats are waking up then it does not matter. 

[WBT 20990]

7 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

I personally wouldn’t go garcia on 3 days rest. It would be Odo on an incredibly short leash followed by Javier on an incredibly short leash followed by Urquidy on an incredibly short leash and figuring that has to be enough to get you to Maton, Stanek, Graveman and Presley. 

Yeah, this is what I'd do but my order would be Urquidy then Javier then Odo.  Urquidy threw 14 pitches.  Cora won the WS in '18 with what felt like all of his starters throwing an inning in relief between starts.  I think Urquidy can still go.  It would also be 5 days rest since his last start and not the usual 4.

Then for Game 7 you start Garcia on full rest and if you don't have to use both Javier and Odo in Game 6, the other is fresh to go multiple innings.  And it's Game 7, everyone is available.

Edited November 1, 2021 by WBT

[Fudge Nuggets 19466]

6 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Yeah- that’s the problem with Dusty throwing Urquidy yesterday. It makes it harder to win the series bc you went from pitching set to pitching fucked. 
I personally wouldn’t go garcia on 3 days rest. It would be Odo on an incredibly short leash followed by Javier on an incredibly short leash followed by Urquidy on an incredibly short leash and figuring that has to be enough to get you to Maton, Stanek, Graveman and Presley. 
so, I guess that isn’t that dire?  I mean- it’s not great but it’s a path/plan. 
snd I’m not complaining about using Urquidy. Maybe it was unnecessary maybe his calm inning after they’d taken the lead settled us enough to be able to come back and win. I won’t ever complain about any aggressive pitching decision with a game within a grand slam in an elimination game, but it makes it harder to win both games afterwards. 
we are a pretty massive dog right now. They have their two good pitchers set and most of their high leverage guys pretty well rested and we are chasing. And we are down 3-2. Much much much rather be them than us. 

Counterpoint, we had the edge going into the three game set in Atlanta and wasted two great pitching performances.  Maybe the baseball gods return the favor.

[Wulaw Horn 19598]

3 minutes ago, Telegraph_it said:

If the bats are waking up then it does not matter. 

This is true. We pissed away two great opportunities and lost 2 games where we gave up a combined 5 runs, and just won a game where we spotted them a grand slam in the first. 
they have their two best arms going so that isn’t exactly conducive to us tearing the cover off the ball (our runs against fried were pretty fortunate- we didn’t hit the ball very hard),  but I’m open to the idea that it’s not really about them it’s about us- as we’ve seen time and again this year sleepwalking against shitty teams and bashing in the brains of the best opponents. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19466]

2 minutes ago, WBT said:

And it's Game 7, everyone is available.

Except Framber, he can't get these fuckers out.

[Telegraph_it 3379]

Just now, Wulaw Horn said:

but I’m open to the idea that it’s not really about them it’s about us

I want to believe this. I think it can definitely be true. 

[HtownHorn 15235]

I think you go Odorizzi game 6 and Garcia on full rest in game 7.

After the starter it will be all hands on deck, except Framber who is mind fucked against Atlanta.

[Wulaw Horn 19598]

2 minutes ago, WBT said:

Yeah, this is what I'd do but my order would be Urquidy then Javier then Odo.  Urquidy threw 14 pitches.  Cora won the WS in '18 with what felt like all of his starters throwing an inning in relief between starts.  I think Urquidy can still go.  It would also be 5 days since his last start and not the usual 4.

Then for Game 7 you start Garcia on full rest and if you don't have to use both Javier and Odo in Game 6, the other is fresh to go multiple innings.  And it's Game 7, everyone is available.

I mean- Garret Cole isn’t available but I get the point. I go Odo first because apparently it takes him forever to warm up,  it maybe you should just go Raley first if we are being honest.  Give him the top of the 1st with 2 lefties and the weak sided switch hitter. 

[Wulaw Horn 19598]

3 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

Counterpoint, we had the edge going into the three game set in Atlanta and wasted two great pitching performances.  Maybe the baseball gods return the favor.

Sure. That would be return of what they did in 3 and 4 for sure. It’s not that it can’t happen. Just that we are big underdogs. 

[Gourmand 7778]

Losing that two run lead Saturday and not scoring any more runs was massive. We really needed that game to put the pressure on them to have to win both games in Houston. I can't stop being pissed about the game conditions and circumstances of Friday and Saturday because I firmly believe that disruption in the routine affected our lineup negatively and fed into the Braves strength.

[Gut Wagon 8219]

I understand the hand wringing...but I'll worry about Game 7 when there is one. And when it gets here, I'll feel great knowing that whatever else transpires, Zack is going to pitch an immaculate top of the 12th and then hit one off the train to end this story. 

[WBT 20990]

MLB network is running 2017 and 2018 Marwin playoff highlights right now.  Sure it was just a cheapie bloop but it was still fun to turn back the clock last night.

[kevwun 16444]

If the Astros can win another, the pucker factor for the Braves is going to be at 11 and that last game is a toss up, regardless of the pitching match up.

[Telegraph_it 3379]

Just now, Gut Wagon said:

I understand the hand wringing...but I'll worry about Game 7 when there is one. And when it gets here, I'll feel great knowing that whatever else transpires, Zack is going to pitch an immaculate top of the 12th and then hit one off the train to end this story. 

[Fudge Nuggets 19466]

3 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

Sure. That would be return of what they did in 3 and 4 for sure. It’s not that it can’t happen. Just that we are big underdogs. 

We're huge underdogs.  Got to approach it one game at a time, one inning at a time, one AB at a time.  You have to have about 10+ different scenarios game-planned at this point because there's no telling what is going to happen.

[WBT 20990]

1 minute ago, Gourmand said:

I can't stop being pissed about the game conditions and circumstances of Friday and Saturday because I firmly believe that disruption in the routine affected our lineup negatively and fed into the Braves strength.

agree with that

[WBT 20990]

1 minute ago, kevwun said:

If the Astros can win another, the pucker factor for the Braves is going to be at 11 and that last game is a toss up, regardless of the pitching match up.

Seems like we thought that last year too

[Wulaw Horn 19598]

19 minutes ago, WBT said:

Seems like we thought that last year too

Yep. I don’t buy all that mental strength/mental midget analysis. The fact is that anyone who makes the major leagues has overcome so much and proven themselves able to deal with pressure/stress/success/failure etc and still perform. 
if we win it won’t be because of any of those things, it will be because baseball. 

[Seasick Sailor 3747]

55 minutes ago, Wulaw Horn said:

They have their two good pitchers set and most of their high leverage guys pretty well rested and we are chasing. And we are down 3-2. Much much much rather be them than us. 

Fuck them. We are going to win. 

[David Dennison 19560]

43 minutes ago, Fudge Nuggets said:

We're huge underdogs.  Got to approach it one game at a time, one inning at a time, one AB at a time.  You have to have about 10+ different scenarios game-planned at this point because there's no telling what is going to happen.

We are underdogs, but we aren't huge underdogs. 

[Js1 87217]

54 minutes ago, WBT said:

Seems like we thought that last year too

At least we got over the winning a WS game at home hump this time. 

[Rockethorn1978 6206]

[Guadaloopy 11138]

Stark’s Weird and Wild Column about this Game 5:

Spoiler

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A first-inning grand slam rocked the entire state of Georgia. But wait. The team that hit it (that would be the Braves) didn’t even win?

We should have known right there that this would be a night made to order for a column we like to call “Weird and Wild.” But then five pitchers got to hit. And an .095 hitter kept driving in the biggest runs of the evening. And the team that seemed as if it was just hours from booking tee times was still alive and breathing — as usual, this time of year.

So dig in to one of the Weirdest and Wildest editions of the World Series Weird and Wild column yet!

1. Have the Astros made more comebacks than Winona Ryder?

You can love them. You can hate them. You can boo them. You can ignore them. But one thing’s for certain about these Houston Astros. You sure can’t kill them.

For five Octobers now, they’ve been the kings of the autumn comeback, and now here they come again.

Down, three games to one … trailing Game 5 of the World Series, 4-zip, after serving up a first-inning grand slam … that’s an invitation to shut it down and think about who’s coming for Thanksgiving dinner — for most teams. But not for this team.

Next thing we knew, on a rocking Sunday night in Georgia, they’d made two different Braves leads disappear, fired up a stunning 9-5 back-from-the-dead win, and propelled this World Series not just into a Game 6 on Tuesday back in Houston, but onward into November.

Much to the dismay of the portion of America not known as “Texas,” this is the M.O. of your not-so-beloved Houston Astros. It’s what they do. It’s the specialty of their house. And if it all seemed familiar, that’s only because it should.

Let’s flip the calendar back to 2017 and review all of the Astros’ shocking postseason quests to prove they’re a team that just won’t die. It’s amazing to see these comebacks lined up for you, all in one handy list, which I was helpful enough to compile myself Sunday night.

2017 ALCS — Down three games to two to the Yankees, they won Games 6 and 7 back in Houston. Fill in your own back story, but it happened, OK?

2019 ALCS — They only fell behind one game to none in this series. But it was a 7-0 Game 1 wipeout, in Houston, against Masahiro Tanaka and the Yankees. So it felt more momentous than just one game — until the Astros did what they do, and ripped off wins in Games 2, 3 and 4. They would win that series in six.

2019 WORLD SERIES — Down two games to zero after losing Games 1 and 2 to the Nationals at home, they marched on Washington and won the next three games, all on the road. We know how that World Series turned out. But that, too, happened.

2020 ALCS — Trailing the Raysthree games to zero, the 2020 edition of this team almost forced David Ortiz, Johnny Damon and the 2004 Red Soxto unlock the doors to the Ultimate Comeback Club by winning Games 4, 5 and 6 to force a Game 7. Turns out the ’Stros needed to win one game too many. But they were still just the second baseball team in history to even play a Game 7 after digging a 3-0 hole. Unforgettable — no matter how much you’d conveniently like to forget it.

2021 ALCS — Got pummeled by the Red Sox in Games 2 and 3. Six outs away from going down three games to one in Game 4. So once again, the Astros were dancing on the edge of another October cliff — until of course they spun off three astonishing wins in a row. It was yet one more streak that defines why they’re playing in this World Series at all.

So there you go. That’s four times now, just in the last three postseasons, that the Carlos Correa/Jose Altuve/Alex Bregman/Yuli Gurriel Astros have fallen behind in a best-of-seven series, then revved up their engines and unleashed another three-game winning streak. The more the rest of the world hated it, the more they enjoyed every moment of it.

And why would we bring it up now? Because if you’re adding along at home, you already know that if they want to win this World Series, they have to do that again: Win three stressful postseason baseball games in a row. And just so you’re forewarned, they see no reason they can’t get this band together one more time.

“We were down, 3-0, last year (in that ALCS). We forced a Game 7,” said their ultra-confident shortstop, Carlos Correa, after Sunday night had turned into Monday and October had turned into November. “Now we’re down, 3-1. Why can’t we force a Game 7 again?”

Well, why wouldn’t they think that way at this point? You probably don’t know this — heck, even they probably don’t know this — but what they’ve done, over these last three postseasons in particular, is something no other franchise in baseball has ever done. I know only because I ran it past Sam Hovland of STATS Perform on Sunday night for confirmation. Here’s what I learned:

THREE YEARS IN A ROW? How many teams in the history of this sport have ever fallen behind in a series three postseasons in a row and then found a way to win three consecutive, season-saving games? The answer: Only one. The 2019-20-21 Houston Astros.

FOUR TIMES IN THREE YEARS? And of course, this Astros run is not only about doing it three seasons in a row. It’s about doing it in four different series in those three years. If you guessed that no team has ever done that, either, you’re a perceptive guesser.

WHO ELSE HAS EVEN DONE IT TWO STRAIGHT YEARS? According to STATS, if we look only at best-of-seven series, just one other team has ever pulled this off — trailed in a series, then won three games in a row — in back-to-back Octobers. Believe it or not that was the Jeff Bagwell/Craig Biggio/Lance Berkman Astros of 2004-05, who did it in two successive NLCS.

But if we expand that search to all series, including best-of-fives, then we can add four other teams. The most recent: The 2015-16 Cubs (2015 NLDS, 2016 NLCS, 2016 World Series). The other three teams are the 2000-01 Yankees, 2003-04 Yankees and 1997-98 Indians.

WHO ELSE HAS DONE IT FOUR TIMES, PERIOD? Here is the most incredible part of all. Of the other 29 franchises, 21 haven’t accomplished this feat four times in their entire existence. So that leaves just eight that have — and all of them have been around for at least six decades longer than the Astros: Yankees, (17 times), Red Sox (10), Dodgers (7), Indians (6), Cardinals (5), Braves (4), Cubs (4) and Pirates (4).

You can make of this whatever you want. But I know what I make of it. When something happens this many times, it transcends the realm of mere coincidence. Your theories may involve algorithms and buzzers. But mine involves mindset and toughness. So I asked their manager, Dusty Baker, how unusual it is to find this sort of mindset and toughness.

BAKER: “The hardest thing to do is to do it the first time. And then once you do it the first time, you figure that you can do it the second, the third, the fourth and the fifth time. Then you call upon your past for confidence that you can do it.

“A lot of people that haven’t been there, you’re like, ‘OK, I can do it when I get there.’ But you really don’t know until you get there if you can do it. This team has a very strong mind, strong will, dealing with adversity, dealing with booing, dealing with this, with the amount of negative energy that was cast our way throughout the year.”

But now, to complete this mission, they head home to Houston. So there will be no need to out-tough the boos or the negative energy over the next two days. Now it’s just about rolling out the Comeback Show one more time — and finding out if the Braves are ready for what’s about to hit them.

“We just need to keep fighting,” said Correa. “If it doesn’t work out, we can say we fought to the end. If it works out, that’s going to make for a good story.”

2. Who needs the universal DH when you’ve got Snit and Dusty?

Shohei Ohtani won’t get this memo, fortunately. But if this was The End — the last game ever before the Universal DH Monster devours the bats of every pitcher not named Shohei and piles them all up in a giant 4,000-bat bonfire  — hey, at least we got one final historic night of Pitchers at the Dish to show for it.

I don’t know what the heck was going on in this game. But it felt like the final performance of one of those hit Broadway show extravaganzas, where they start parading out everybody who ever starred in this show at any point in its last 5,000 performances. I say that because …

Five different pitchers got to hit in this game! Five? Yes. Five! There were both starting pitchers — Framber Valdez and Tucker Davidson (0 for 2, with two strikeouts). … There were two relief pitchers — Jesse Chavez(Braves) and Kendall Graveman(Astros), who unfurled a popped-up bunt and a swing-free whiff, respectively. … And there was one pitcher pinch hitter (Zack Greinke), who hopped out of the dugout to hit for Yimi Garcia in the fourth inning and stroked his second hit of this World Series. (More on that later.)

So did you ask yourself: What in the world are five different pitchers doing parading to the plate in a World Series game — in which, by the way, one of these teams had the chance to get eliminated? You should have!

It was all a whacked-out combination of circumstances: Bullpen game for Atlanta, early exit for Valdez, Baker’s need to get a second inning of relief from Graveman and, in other news, Greinke’s special offensive ambiance.

But as bizarre as it sometimes appeared, at least it was historically bizarre. How so? Because there have been just three other nine-inning games in World Series history in which that many different pitchers got to the plate:

Game 4, 1993 (Blue Jays-Phillies) — a.k.a., “The 15-14 game.”

Game 4, 1941 (Dodgers-Yankees) — a game in which both closers were allowed to hit even though the game wasn’t decided until the ninth.

Game 4, 1932 (Cubs-Yankees) — a game in which four different relievers batted.

I’m not sure how to explain those games, either. But whatever. It was all worth it because …

A pitcher has a two-game World Series hitting streak! On Saturday, Zack Greinke got a hit as a pitcher. On Sunday, he got another hit — as a pinch hitter. That gives him more hits in this World Series (two) than the reigning ALCS MVP, Yordan Alvarez (one). But that’s not even the Weird and Wild part.

The Weirdness and Wildness sets in with this: A pitcher is riding a World Series hitting streak? Really? Uh-huh. Really.

Last World Series hitting streak by any pitcher: Cliff Lee, over two World Series (2009 Game 5, 2010 Game 1) with two different teams (Phillies, Rangers).

Last pitcher hitting streak within a single World Series: Don Gullett, for the Reds, in Games 5-7 of the fabled 1975 Series.

Only other streak in a single World Series in the DH era: Ken Holtzman, for the Orioles, in Games 1-4 of the 1974 Series, in which he went: double-homer!

But now for some very special notes on what happens …

3. When pinch-hitting pitchers roam the Earth

Before this game, Dusty Baker had actually foreshadowed, for a few of us lucky scribes, that he had some crafty Zack Greinke pinch-hitting action in mind, because he already had a feeling it was going to be One of Those Games. And sure enough, out popped Greinke a couple of hours later to stroke a pinch single through the right side. And …

For those of us who write Weird and Wild columns for a living, this was an official seismic World Series event, if only because …

No pitcher had gotten a World Series pinch hit in almost 100 years! Last to get one was the Giants’ Jack Bentley, in two different games of the 1924 World Series. But you should know that Bentley was such a good hitter (.291 career average) that he pinch hit regularly. And right after that season, he even began transitioning into a part-time position player who started 62 games in the outfield and first base. So pay attention to this next list, of …

The three other pitchers in history with World Series pinch hits: There was Clarence Mitchell (pinch single) for the Dodgers in 1920 Game 1 … and Claude Hendrix (pinch single) for the Cubs in 1918 Game 4 … and Doc Crandall (pinch double) for the Giants in 1911 Game 5. And that’s it — until Zack Greinke emerged from that Astros dugout a century later. We should also mention, however, that …

Four other pitchers have gotten pinch-hit PAs in the last 60 years: This, too, is a fabulous list. Clayton Kershaw actually lined out in the 17th inning of that 18-inning Dodgers-Red Sox 2018 Game 3. … And Kyle Lohselaid down a pinch-hit bunt in extra innings of the epic Game 6 of the 2011 World Series (hitting for another pitcher, Edwin Jackson, who was announced but never batted). … Plus Rick Aguilera showed up in another extra-inning game (1991 Game 3) for the Twins, laced a line-drive out to deep center and then stayed in to pitch and lose that game in relief. … But the last pitcher to pinch hit in a nine-inning game was Don Drysdale in Game 2, 1965 — when he hit for Sandy Koufax in the seventh inning but whiffed against Jim Kaat.

But remember, they’re no Zack Greinke! Why? Because, as loyal reader/tweeter Jessica Brand so astutely pointed out, he just became the first American League pitcher in World Series history to get any kind of hit as a pinch hitter. So awesome.

4. Party of Four

One thing we love about life at Weird and Wild World HQ is that the party doesn’t just end. It winds down. So why don’t you wind down with us — and check out these four Weird and Wild odds and ends we need to tell you all about before you hit the exit ramp.

WHEN THE SLAMS AREN’T SO GRAND — When the baseball roared off Adam Duvall’s bat in the first inning, bound for Grand Slam Country, it was more than just a hit. It was A Moment. Truist Park shook for so long after Duvall’s grand slam landed in the right-field seats, it felt like an earthquake had just rippled through The Battery.

It was 4-0, Braves. And it was hard to imagine then That Team would wind up losing this game and packing for Texas. But hey, it happened. So you should definitely know that …

Only two other teams in history have ever hit a World Series slam (in any inning) and lost: That would be the 1988 A’s, who wasted a Jose Canseco slam because Kirk Gibson, and the 1956 Yankees, who made the mistake of giving up 13 runs to the Dodgers in Game 2, on a day when Yogi Berra hit a slam. But also …

First-inning slams are not the stuff losses are made of: Postseason history goes back 117 years. Adam Duvall was the ninth player, in all that time (more than 1,700 postseason games), to hit a slam in the first inning — any game, any round. But this was just the second time that any team had ever gone slamming in the first inning of a postseason game and somehow lost it. And to find the other, you’d have to go all the way back to …

Three weeks ago! Jordan Luplow(Rays) pounded a first-inning slam off Chris Sale (Red Sox) in Game 2 of their Division Series. It still wound up Red Sox 14, Rays 6, because there are eight other innings.

Atlanta’s A.J. Minter’s succinct explanation of what happened Sunday: “Baseball happened.”

WELCOME TO SLAM DI-HOUSTON — For reasons that escape me (or them), the Astros and grand slams now seem to go together like William Shatner and outer space. Let’s review:

Game 2, ALCS: Luis Garcia gives up a first-inning slam to J.D. Martinez. Then Jake Odorizzi serves up a second-inning slam to Rafael Devers. And the Astros become the first team in postseason history to allow slams in the first and second innings of any game.

Game 3, ALCS: José Urquidy does it yet again, giving up a second-inning slam to Kyle Schwarber. That’s three slams allowed in 10 innings. Hard to do!

Game 5, World Series: Framber Valdez makes it Slam No. 4 for the ’Stros in this postseason with that Adam Duvall bomb.

So how many other teams have ever allowed four grand slams in one postseason? Correct. That would be none — because no other team had even allowed three!

ELIMINATE THAT ELIMINATION — But unlike those other slams the Astros have been doling out all fall, this one didn’t lead to another loss. And let’s just say that was good timing, since another loss would have been the last loss of the Astros’ season.

There have been just three other teams that found themselves staring at a hole that large in any World Series elimination game and lived to tell about it. Now here they are, courtesy of MLB.com’s font of postseason information, Sarah Langs:

2002 ANGELS — Don’t remind Dusty Baker that his Giants team led those Angels by five big runs in Game 6. Except then Scott Spiezio happened.

1925 PIRATES — How ’bout this team. The Pirates were staring at a 4-0 first-inning deficit against Walter Johnson and came back to win a wild Game 7, 9-7.

1919 WHITE SOX — The Reds took a 4-0 lead into the fifth inning of Game 6 in this Series. Then a really strange thing happened. Shoeless Joe Jackson and the middle of that White Sox order got rolling, and they charged back to win, 5-4, in 10 innings. Which looks a lot more remarkable now than it did then, if only because we know now that team was trying to lose the World Series!

All of those teams except for the team that was trying to lose didn’t merely come back to win those elimination games. They came back to win those World Series. History is no guarantee of future performance, naturally. But like these Astros, those other teams got to finish off those World Series at home.

THE CATCHER IN THE SLY — It was the fifth inning Sunday when the Braves decided to intentionally walk Alex Bregman to fill the bases, for one fairly defensible reason: They got to pitch to Martín Maldonado.

The Astros catcher was 4-for-42 in this postseason as he walked to the plate for that at-bat. And that’s not merely a funk worthy of an intentional walk. It was a funk so pronounced that the legendary Braves organist Matthew Kaminski greeted him by playing (what else?) Coldplay!

Except this was no ordinary game for Martín Maldonado — because his three most notable trips to the plate in this game went:

• Sacrifice fly in the first …
• RBI single in the seventh …
• And, in that game-changing fifth-inning at-bat, the first bases-loaded walk ever bestowed, in World Series history, on a position player whose postseason batting average at the time happened to be under .100 (.095), after at least 25 postseason plate appearances. (Thank you: Elias Sports Bureau.)

So that’s three RBIs for a guy hitting under .100 — in three different plate appearances. And that made Martín Maldonado very happy, he said, because “whatever way you bring in a run in the playoffs, that’s huge.”

But it wasn’t just huge, you see. It was weird. And also wild. Because how many times all season had Maldonado driven in a run in three separate plate appearances? Right. None. And how many times in 2020? Yup. Also none. And how many times in 2019? Correct. None again.

Somehow or other, Martín Maldonado hadn’t had a game in which he drove in a run in three different trips to the plate since Aug. 22, 2018. But then he had a game like that in the World Series? And also in a game that might have ended his team’s season if he hadn’t done what he’d just done?

Wow. How does that happen? Oh, wait. I remember …

Baseball!

 

[runthebone 8379]

1 hour ago, Gut Wagon said:

I understand the hand wringing...but I'll worry about Game 7 when there is one. And when it gets here, I'll feel great knowing that whatever else transpires, Zack is going to pitch an immaculate top of the 12th and then hit one off the train to end this story. 

Then some of the people on this thread will bitch about Dusty's burning the DH the entire offseason...

[Nice Guy Eddie 13740]

2 hours ago, UTexasFight said:

Maybe still true but the time for that was after the first inning yesterday.

good luck covering ~50% in fees/taxes on both sides of that transaction.

Agree. I was just commenting that Game 7 ticket prices could continue to rise. I wouldn't recommend anyone try to buy & sell for a profit. I was just talking (typing) out loud.

[Nice Guy Eddie 13740]

43 minutes ago, David Dennison said:

We are underdogs, but we aren't huge underdogs. 

Strange scenario where the Braves are definitely the favorite right now to win the series but we're favorites for Game 6, and would presumably be the favorites in Game 7.

 

[TonyTexas 10783]

Altuve has scored 21 runs this postseason.  He has 13 hits, 8 BB, 1 HBP and 2 reached by errors. Highly efficient. 

[tx 3 putt 78722]

I have full faith in strom and Dusty’s pitching plan for game 6. But like always, players need to perform 

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth 

Edited November 1, 2021 by tx 3 putt

[Nice Guy Eddie 13740]

1 minute ago, tx 3 putt said:

I have full faith in strom and Dusty’s pitching plan for game 6. But like always, players need to perform 

Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth 

100%. It's unlikely we will win a 2-1 game. Our offense needs to put up 5+ runs.

 

[Js1 87217]

3 minutes ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

100%. It's unlikely we will win a 2-1 game. Our offense needs to put up 5+ runs.

 

Yep.

ALDS
6 runs = W
9 runs = W
6 runs = L (gave up 12)
10 runs = W

ALCS
5 runs = W
5 runs = L (gave up 9)
3 runs = L
9 runs = W
9 runs = W
5 runs = W

WS
2 runs = L
7 runs = W
0 runs = L
2 runs - L
9 runs = W

9-2 when we score 5 or more.  It's that fucking simple.  It's the only chance we have. 

[dr99 566]

Why isn't Urquidy starting game 6? I thought pitchers throwing an inning in relief before a start wasn't a big deal. Is Dusty confused again like last night when he didn't put Siri in Graveman's spot in the lineup.

[kevwun 16444]

He didn't throw many pitches, but the difference between a nice casual bullpen session and coming in to the middle of a World Series game are miles apart.  It almost always effects pitchers negatively in their next start.  Dave Roberts doing it with Scherzer and Urias in the NLCS against these very same Braves helped send the Dodgers home.

Edited November 1, 2021 by kevwun

[WBT 20990]

19 minutes ago, kevwun said:

He didn't throw many pitches, but the difference between a nice casual bullpen session and coming in to the middle of a World Series game are miles apart.  It almost always effects pitchers negatively in their next start.  Dave Roberts doing it with Scherzer and Urias in the NLCS against these very same Braves helped send the Dodgers home.

Now do starting on 3 days rest

[runthebone 8379]

I mean, it kind of doesn't matter.  We'd be happy to get 4 innings of mediocre to above average start from either.  If Strom thinks Garcia on short rest is better because we are going kitchen sink if there's a Game 7, then fine.

[kevwun 16444]

I will be pleasantly surprised if it works for us and Dusty's going to have to have a really quick trigger finger in the event that it doesn't.  Short rest fucks with even the best veteran starting pitchers.  I don't like to think about how a rookie who has never thrown this many innings in his life will handle it.

Edited November 1, 2021 by kevwun

[Gourmand 7778]

I fell in love with her last night.

[kevwun 16444]

Speaking of Maton, where did that crazy horizontal break come from?  I almost had to rub my eyes after one of them.  A baseball isn't supposed to move like that.

[UTexasFight 9819]

Muchlinski behind home plate tomorrow.

let’s go ahead and get a big lead heading to the late innings. I don’t want it in his hands late:

 

(high leverage defined as 2 out and runners on 2nd or 3rd

or

7th inning or later and 0-3 run difference)

[henrygandorf 29228]

1 hour ago, Nice Guy Eddie said:

Strange scenario where the Braves are definitely the favorite right now to win the series but we're favorites for Game 6, and would presumably be the favorites in Game 7.

yeah, braves are -240 to win the series (on my book).  stros are -122 tomorrow, and yes, presumably would be about -140 to win g7 if there is one.  obviously having to win both of those is difficult and the odds change. 

that said, there have been some wonky numbers through the postseason.  at one point, when we were up 3-2 on boston, the red sox were +300 to win the series but "red sox to win in 7" was +400.

i also vote for urquidy tomorrow.  maybe dusty will rethink or maybe he's just saying shit to say shit.  i also agree maybe you let raley be an opener, then hope to cobble together 5-6 innings from urquidy/odorizzi.  if wed happens, you have garcia at home on full rest and i would assume a javier that could give you 2-3 strong. 

you also have to assume 2 games in 28 hours means pretty much everyone who pitches is pitching their last game of the season, so fuck it.

[UTexasFight 9819]

5 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Speaking of Maton, where did that crazy horizontal break come from?  I almost had to rub my eyes after one of them.  A baseball isn't supposed to move like that.

“Since coming into the league he is averaging higher than 2500 RPMs on his fastballs and higher than 2800 RPMs on his curveball. Since 2017, he’s in the 95th percentile in fastball spin, curveball spin, and whiff rate. Maton is only average with his velocity, but he makes up for it by making the ball a blur to read coming across the plate.”

Braves hitters were getting better laying off that frisbee later in the inning but was fascinating seeing him get 90/91 mph stuff past all of those guys.

 

[Gourmand 7778]

Odorizzi is the most rested pitcher on the staff right now, no? Anyone surprised he's not getting the start or do you think they want to hold him for a start in gm 7?

[kevwun 16444]

He would be my pick to start just because of the rest.  I think they have to be hoping to get several innings from him regardless of when it happens.

[UTexasFight 9819]

All I know is AJ Hinch is somewhere hoping Grienke isn’t getting key outs in an Astros game 7 win and/or the last pitcher on the mound in 2021.

[henrygandorf 29228]

29 minutes ago, kevwun said:

Speaking of Maton, where did that crazy horizontal break come from?  I almost had to rub my eyes after one of them.  A baseball isn't supposed to move like that.

for anyone wondering, maton and stanek are signed thru 2023 (pressly thru 2022).  if you can sign graveman (does he even want to stay?) then that's a pretty stout back end of the pen heading into the next couple years.  even without graveman, there's your 7-8-9 guys. 

raley is under control til 2025.  same with javier.  will be interesting to see how we use him next season, as we have at least 4 other sp pretty much locked in.

[MaybeACoordinator 8350]

I'd start Zach game 7 and only expect three but allow for more. Bring on Odo, Garcia and/or Urquidy for the next three and then turn it over to what has become a nasty bullpen. 

Edited November 1, 2021 by MaybeACoordinator

[Gourmand 7778]

Interesting to see this from a baseball guy and noteworthy because it contradicts Rome and McTaggart saying the Astros just got beat by better pitching in gms 3 and 4. 

 

 

I don't mean to imply that latter statement is not true to any degree but just to acknowledge there was a very big weather effect that fucked with the Astros bats imo.

Edited November 1, 2021 by Gourmand

[tx 3 putt 78722]

All arms on deck for Tuesday. I don’t care if marwin is the only arm left for Wednesday, have to win game 6