Jenny Dial Creech says cold bats have Astros “shocked.”
NEW YORK — After striking out swinging in the eighth inning, Josh Reddick had frustration oozing out of him. He threw his bat forcefully to the dirt around the batter’s box, then spiked his helmet on the ground while kicking dirt and hanging his head.
It was his second strikeout of the night, fourth of the American League Championship Series. He walked back to the Astros’ dugout while nearly 50,000 Yankees fans erupted with delight. Another Astro held at bay, another out, another at-bat that didn’t produce a hit, another out closer to another New York victory.
Reddick, who is 0-of-17 at the plate in the series, is as sur-
prised as everyone else.
The Astros, who now trail the Yankees 3-2 in the ALCS after losing their third straight game at Yankee Stadium, have been an offensive powerhouse all season. Suddenly, without warning and at the worst possible time, their bats are cold, limited to four hits in Wednesday’s 5-0 loss.
Staring at elimination, a trip to the World Series on the line, the Astros have to figure out their hitting woes, and do it quickly.
Another performance like the ones they strung together in the Bronx over the last three days, and they are done. The dream season ends.
It would be shame if they went down swinging, rather than hitting. Because it’s the big hits — oh, so many of them — that got them this far.
“I think we are all shocked,” Reddick said. “That’s something we haven’t gone through — a stretch like we have right now. So it can build a lot of frustration. But we can’t let the frustration overtake what we need to do.
“We have to win Friday, and we have to win Saturday.”
The Astros get to have ace Justin Verlander on the mound Friday night at Minute Maid Park. He went the distance in the Astros’ 2-1 win in Game 2, keeping the Yankees’ offense under control.
But face it: Even if Verlander puts up another stellar performance Friday, it won’t matter if the Astros don’t find their offense.
Strength now a weakness
If they want to advance to the World Series, they will have to have their strength back.
Everyone has slumps. The problem for the Astros is that everyone in the lineup is slumping at the same time.
“It’s rare because of how much offense we put up through the first six months of the season and even in the Division Series,” manager A.J. Hinch said.
The Astros were the best offensive team in baseball during the regular season, leading the majors in batting average (.282), on-base percentage (.346) and slugging percentage (.478).
They had 1,581 regular-season hits (an average of 9.7 per game) and scored 896 runs (about 5.5 per outing).
In the ALDS against the Boston Red Sox, the offense was as potent as ever. The Astros had 49 hits in four games and scored 24 runs.
From top to bottom, the lineup was deep and dangerous. Hinch could fill in names in any spot and be confident each guy could produce.
All of sudden, it slipped away.
Yes, the Yankees’ pitching is formidable. But the Astros have had their way with good pitchers before. They had no trouble with Red Sox ace Chris Sale in the last round, for example.
The heat is on
Reddick thinks maybe every player is trying to do too much with each at-bat. Alex Bregman says everyone is just one hit away from getting back on track. George Springer thinks the pitching has been on point and the Astros need to adjust.
Whatever it is, it needs to be fixed. Immediately.
While the Astros have struggled, the Yankees have improved. They look better and better as the series goes on. They’ve won three in a row and are a victory away from their 41st World Series trip.
The pressure is on the Astros now as they head home. After three grueling days in New York, they get a day off Thursday — neither team will work out at Minute Maid — and have their best pitcher up next.
No one is throwing in the towel, and there is no reason to. There is absolutely no doubt this Astros team is capable of hitting itself into the World Series. It has shown its firepower all year.
Being capable isn’t enough, though. Execution is key.
At do-or-die time, the lumber can’t slumber.