ASTROS ALL OVER YU!
Dodgers’ Darvish demolished as Houston takes 2-1 Series lead
HOUSTON — Built like an airplane hangar, named after orange juice, the contours of Minute Maid Park scream of camp. The foul poles are sponsored by Chick-fil-A. A conductor runs a train beyond the leftfield fence, high above the Crawford Boxes, which beckon for home runs only 315 feet from the plate. The retractable roof creates a cauldron of noise.
On Friday evening, in the second inning of Game 3 of the World Series, the quirks of this ballpark taunted Dodgers starter Yu Darvish as the Houston Astros battered him en route to a 5-3 victory to capture a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series. The Crawford Boxes swallowed up a homer smashed by Houston first baseman Yuli Gurriel. The building rattled with so much noise that Darvish had to duck his head so catcher Austin Barnes could shout instructions in his ear. The advice wasn’t enough.
The Astros sizzled line drives through the air, enough for four runs, building a lead that the Dodgers offense could not overcome and creating a mess for manager Dave Roberts with implications beyond Friday’s loss. Houston remains unbeaten at home in the postseason. The Dodgers now understand why.
The crowd serenaded Darvish with jeers when Roberts exited the dugout with two outs in the second inning. The abbreviated outing forced Roberts to ride Kenta Maeda for 2 2/3 innings, which effectively removes him from appearing in Game 4 and possibly Game 5. Maeda kept the Dodgers within sight of the Astros, but the offense bumbled away early opportunities and could not convert against Houston’s bullpen.
The details of Darvish’s outing elucidate the pain. It was the shortest outing of his career. He generated only one swinging strike in 49 pitches. In the second inning, the Astros hit five balls with an exit
velocity of 99 mph or more. Darvish looked miserable in the moment, the television cameras capturing his unraveling.
As Darvish crumbled, his teammates picked an inopportune time to play sloppy baseball. They ran into outs on the bases. They made two errors in the field. The quartet of Chris Taylor, Corey Seager, Justin Turner and Cody Bellinger went 1 for 13. Bellinger struck out four times, including three time against Astros starter Lance McCullers.
Losing Maeda could have grave consequences. Roberts refused to concede the game, hoping that his offense could close the gap. Except expending Maeda removes a weapon from Roberts’ arsenal and adds pressure on Game 4 starter Alex Wood, who could not finish the fifth inning against the Chicago Cubs in the National League Championship Series. Houston presents a much thornier challenge.
Darvish escaped the first inning after allowing a leadoff double to Springer. The second inning was a horror show.
Darvish lacked the feel for his cutter and his slider, the weapons he utilized to handcuff the Arizona Diamondbacks and the Cubs. His cutter kept riding high in the strike zone. His slider hung over the plate. He would pay for his pitiable command.
A 95-mph fastball got walloped on a swing from first baseman Gurriel. His leadoff homer soared over the Crawford Boxes and set the crowd afire. The noise would only increase.
The evening was epitomized in that fateful second inning when the Astros added huge insult to injury. After hitting his second-inning homer, while sitting in the dugout, the Cuban-born Gurriel openly mocked Darvish, lifting the corners of his eyes and appearing to mouth the Spanish word, “Chinito” which, translated, means “Little Chinese.”
No matter Gurriel’s motivation or intentions or even understanding, it came across as a racially offensive gesture and baseball needs to address it.
A sport often criticized for its racial divisiveness cannot stand idle while one player mocks another player based on his heritage. If this were the inclusive NBA, Gurriel would be suspended immediately.
On this night, that was just one of the many indignities heaped upon the Dodgers, who need to have their memories erased. Wednesday night was a long time ago. They need to get up and get moving.
They need to do it now.