‘Energy’ boost powers Astros
Hitters heat up in LA, keying Game 1 win vs. A’s
LOS ANGELES — A home run derby broke out during a hot, dry day at Dodger Stadium, and suddenly the Astros have their swing and swagger back.
Carlos Correa homered twice and drove in four, Jose Altuve hit a go-ahead, two-run single during a four-run sixth inning and the Astros rallied to beat the Athletics 10-5 in the opener of their AL Division Series on Monday.
“I love October baseball,” Correa said. “The energy is just different. I know there’s no fans this year, but the energy to know you win or go home is what drives me.”
George Springer, MVP of the 2017 World Series, had four hits for the Astros, who trailed 3-0 and 5-3.
“To get down early and not quit and fight hard and come out with a win in the first game is obviously huge,” Springer said.
The Astros rallied with two outs in the sixth against the Athletics’ vaunted bullpen to take control of Major League Baseball’s first neutralsite postseason game resulting from the coronavirus pandemic. The Astros pounded out 16 hits in all as the A’s ran through eight pitchers.
The teams combined for six home runs in daytime conditions that were ripe for the ball to carry at the stadium where the Dodgers hit a major league-leading 118 homers. The temperature was 91 degrees at game time under sunny skies and with little breeze, although tricky shadows crept toward the mound during the final innings. The entire best-of-five series will be played during the day. At night, the air is cooler and often thicker, an environment less favorable to hitters.
“I’ve never seen the ball carry like that here,” said Astros manager Dusty
Baker, an All-Star player for the Dodgers in the 1980s.
The Astros’ hitters hadn’t looked quite the same this year, the first since their sign-stealing scheme was unveiled. Altuve, Correa and others slumped during the regular season, and the team hit a combined .194 during a two-game sweep of the Twins in the wild-card round.
“You can’t judge this offense by 60 games,” Correa said. “When you get the leadoff guy (Springer) getting on base every single time, good things are going to happen. When he goes, we go as a team.”
The Astros’ strut emerged at the same ballpark where they beat the Dodgers to win the 2017 World Series in seven games, helped by their sign-stealing scandal that rocked baseball and drew the ire of rival players and fans.
“The way people want to perceive us is fine,” starter Lance McCullers Jr. said. “People are allowed to feel any way about the Houston Astros.”