LOST IN SPACE, ASTROS MUST REDISCOVER THEIR OFFENCE
The league’s best bats have been silenced by Yankees in ALCS, Rob Longley writes.
HOUSTON The Houston Astros didn’t score a major-leagueleading 896 regular-season runs without knowing the difference between being productive and panicky in the batters’ box.
So how could all the firepower disappear in one disastrous three-day stint in the Bronx against the New York Yankees?
“From what I’ve seen, it’s just like we’re trying to do way too much in the box,” a clearly frustrated Josh Reddick said. “Everybody is trying to be the one guy who can put the team on their back with one swing.”
The harder they swing, the harder they fall, apparently.
After dropping all three games at Yankee Stadium to squander a 2-0 lead they once had in the best-of-seven ALCS, the Astros have the stone-cold bats as forensic evidence. In those five games, the Astros scored just nine runs and rapped out a meagre 22 hits with a team batting average of .147.
So can the move to Minute Maid Park for Friday’s first elimination game of the series be enough to recapture the magic?
“It’s hard,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said on Thursday. “These guys care so much. We’ve put a lot of energy and effort into this year and you feel like it’s right here for us to grab it, and when the guy in front of you is struggling, you want to be the guy. If you struggle, the guy behind you wants to help. It’s the toughest three-game stretch we’ve had, but it’s a three-game stretch that can end on Friday. We’ve got an incredible offence and we’ve got an incredible opportunity. We feel good about it.”
They felt considerably less so on Wednesday, but had the day off to regroup. Amid the gloom in Game 5’s shutout loss, the Astros were zero for eight with runners in scoring position and MVP candidate Jose Altuve was zero for three, extending his streak to 10 hitless at-bats at Yankee Stadium.
JUSTIN TIME
Of course, the other viable way the Astros can force the drama of a Game 7 at home on Saturday would be to get another stellar performance from starting pitcher Justin Verlander.
The veteran was aces in his 13-strikeout complete-game effort in Game 2 and understands the Friday night lights will be on him. This sort of moment is precisely why the Astros gave up so much to get him in a trade from the Detroit Tigers.
“Obviously I know this is one of the main reasons I was brought here,” Verlander said. “The expectations are there. My teammates, I’m sure, are expecting of me and I expect a lot of myself. I love these opportunities.”
“I can draw from my success in past situations, but it means nothing for (Friday),” he added. “Each start is a new start. I think that’s why we as athletes get nervous and anxious: It’s the fear of the unknown.”
SLUMP BUSTERS
The Astros’ reaction is notable in that it stands in stark contrast to the way the Yankees handled icy at-bats from their biggest producers. While there was concern, there was never panic. While there were adjustments, there was never the pressure to fix it all in one swing.
“I think eventually they were going to hit,” New York manager Joe Girardi said on Thursday. “I look at a number of other players who have been through playoffs and struggled, and then all of a sudden they can get hot.”
Girardi’s charges are proof that patience trumps panic. In games 1 and 2, Aaron Judge and Gary Sanchez were a combined one for 13 with eight strikeouts. In the Bronx, they were seven for 20 with three home runs and 11 RBIs.
“Everything is magnified when you’re in the playoffs,” Girardi said, “and two games seem like forever.”
QUICK HITS
The Yankees will counter Verlander with Luis Severino, who allowed just one run in four innings in Game 2 before Girardi pulled him for fear the pitcher’s shoulder was bothering him. Severino has since been cleared … The Astros may need to win two in a row to advance to the World Series, but history suggests that it’s far from a long shot. In LCS history, teams that trail 3-2 before games 6 and 7 at their own park have advanced 13 of 27 times.
We’ve put a lot of energy and effort into this year … It’s the toughest threegame stretch we’ve had, but it’s a three-game stretch that can end on Friday.