Bottom of order goes silent
Top of the lineup carries load for offense, but it again proves not enough in setback
For all of the attention focused on the exploits of Alex Bregman, the Astros’ only win of the AL Championship Series was fueled in large part by the bottom twothirds of their order, which has come up more or less empty in Houston’s Game 2 and 3 losses.
Five of the Astros’ seven hits Tuesday came from the top of the lineup, the exceptions being Marwin Gonzalez’s run-scoring single in the first and a sixth-inning single by shortstop Carlos Correa.
Gonzalez also had a two-run homer in the third inning of Sunday’s Game 2, scoring Yuli Gurriel, who singled for his only hit of the game. In Game 3, however, Gurriel was hitless in three atbats, and the rest of the bottom half came up empty as well for the most part.
Much of the Astros’ futility in Game 3 could be laid at the feet of Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi, but Josh Reddick, whose only hit thus far was a Game 1 homer, said the lineup has to adjust to the Red Sox’s game plan.
“You’ve gotta find ways to get on base. That’s the bottom line,” Reddick said. “They’re not switching up on us much. (Reliever Matt Barnes) is still loving his curveball. Eovaldi did well, and their bullpen did well.
“We have to adjust and have better at-bats and swing at better pitches, It’s easier said than done, but we have to make it happen.”
Success for the Astros’ offense generally revolves around creating opportunities and then capitalizing on them. With opportunities reduced in a playoff setting, each success is magnified, and so is each failure.
“It’s frustrating, because we want to just give ourselves as many opportunities,” said manager A.J. Hinch. “Eovaldi had something to do about us not getting a two-out hit. You feel if you give yourself enough opportunity something will go your way. Marwin did get the base hit and ignited us (in the first). Bregman did get the hit, and we got one across (in the sixth).
“You’re not going to be perfect at this stage of the year with facing really good pitching when they execute their pitches. But if we do feel like we give ourselves enough opportunities, then we’re going to find that hit. Tonight, not as much at some times where we felt like we had them on the ropes. Maybe we chase them out of the game, tax their bullpen a little bit. It wasn’t the case tonight.”
Outfielder Tony Kemp, whose leaping catch on a drive to left in the third inning by Boston first baseman Steve Pearce arguably was the highlight of the Astros’ Game 3 effort, said players in a loss have to find glimmers of hope where they can.
“The best thing about today is how we responded when they scored runs,” Kemp said. “This team keeps battling. We’re resilient. We’ll bounce back and play our brand of baseball.”
Tuesday’s downsides, he said, was a mixture of effective pitching by Eovaldi and the Astros hitting the ball at Red Sox fielders rather than past them.
“Sometimes you have a day when George Springer hits a ball 110 mph, and he hits it right at Pearce,” Kemp said. “You line out to left. You line out to right.”
Contrast that with the Astros’ fortunes in Game 1, when the bottom end of the order accounted for four of the Astros’ five hits, including Gurriel’s three-run homer and Reddick’s solo shot.
“You’re not going to hit every day,” Gonzalez said. “It’s a hard sport. They’re doing a good job against us, and sometimes you have to give the other team credit.”
The back end of the Astros’ lineup remains a potent force on paper, even with Gurriel and Gonzalez hitting a combined .167 (4for-24) through three games and Carlos Correa, still struggling to find his batting stroke as he recovers from his back injuries, limited thus far to three singles.
But with Eovoldi throwing as he did, and with effective work from the Red Sox bullpen, it remains a force, for the moment, in hibernation.
“We trust our guys coming into October,” said Red Sox manager Alex Cora. “I know a lot of people they were questioning our bullpen, but we stayed the course. … We feel good where we’re at as a team, especially at the end of the ballgame.”