Astros a win away from third straight trip to Series
HOUSTON ❯❯ The Houston Astros return home a win from their third straight trip to the World Series.
It won't be easy, though, considering their lackluster home record and a Texas Rangers team that will send Nathan Eovaldi to the mound tonight in Game 6 of the AL Championship Series.
Eovaldi who is from Alvin, the Houston suburb where Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan also grew up, is 3-0 in the postseason and got the win in Game 2 of this series after also pitching Texas to victories in the Wild Card Series and Division Series. The 33-year-old right-hander is 7-3 with a 2.87 ERA in 14 games with nine starts in his postseason career.
“His résumé shows that he pitches well in important games, so it's going to be a great matchup,” Texas manager Bruce Bochy said.
Eovaldi is eager to face a Houston team that scored 23 runs combined in the last three games after managing just four in the two Texas wins.
“I enjoy facing the hottest teams,” he said. “I fully believe that pitching wins championships. We're able to put teams in a funk, go out there and set the tone early.”
The Astros went 39-42 in Houston during the regular season and their home woes have continued this postseason, where they are 1-3. They swept three games in
Arlington to take a 3-2 series lead, rebounding from their poor performances at Minute Maid.
Houston manager Dusty Baker has long grown tired of questions about why his team is better on the road. As the most important home game of the year for the Astros approached, Baker was again forced to address it and asked whether he planned to address his team about it.
“What can I say? If I had the magic words, I would have said them like two months ago,” Baker explained Saturday. “We've just got to get it done. There are no words that can describe what we have to do. Simply action.”
While Eovaldi has been great for the Rangers this postseason, Houston starter Framber Valdez has struggled. The left-hander, who threw a no-hitter against Cleveland in August, is 0-2 with an 11.57 ERA in two playoff starts this season.
He allowed five runs and seven hits without getting out of the third inning in Game 2. The Rangers jumped on him for four runs in the first inning and he seemed to get rattled, committing two errors on one play that helped them build the lead.
Baker wasn't worried about Valdez's confidence or him getting too emotional on the mound.
“Framber has pitched big games before. I think we're making a lot of Framber's emotions. And the last couple of games it wasn't as much his emotions as his location — he wasn't sharp… we talk about emotions, but you've got to throw strikes and quality strikes and quality location and if he does that emotions never come into play.”
Valdez, 2-0 with a 1.46 ERA in last year's World Series, is thankful to get the chance to redeem himself and try to pitch Houston to another World Series berth after a tough start to this postseason.
“It feels good, and I thank Dusty and I thank my teammates that I'm (starting) despite the two bad outings that I had before this,” he said through a translator. “It can happen to anyone, but it feels good that I do have the opportunity to be able to go out there to show that I can do what I've been doing and hopefully with God and hard work (we) should be able to get there.”
The Astros wore their orange jerseys for all three wins in Arlington after losing in their white jerseys in the opener and in navy in Game 2. Valdez is a fan of the navy but was asked if he might ask to wear the orange ones again after their success in the color this week.
“It doesn't matter to me what jersey we use, whether it's the navy, the white, the orange,” he said. “Just go out there and compete. “
Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien said it's important for Texas not to get down after Friday's difficult loss if the team hopes to force a Game 7. The Rangers opened the postseason with seven straight wins.
“We have to understand that we had the game under control yesterday until one swing happened,” he said. “So how can we figure out how to continue to control the ball game and figure out how to finish.”
Abreu suspended two games and fined
Astros pitcher Bryan Abreu was suspended for two games and fined Saturday by Major League Baseball, which said he intentionally threw at Adolis García of the Texas Rangers during Friday's Game 5.
MLB said all six umpires decided Abreu's pitch was intentional. MLB said it “took into account the dangerous nature of the pitch and its potential impact on player safety.”
Abreu would start the suspension with Game 6 on today unless he appeals. His pitch started a benchesclearing incident that led to a 12-minute delay before play resumed.
The suspension was announced by MLB senior vice president Michael Hill. An appeal would be heard by John McHale Jr., a special assistant to baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.
García and Astros pitcher
Lance McCullers Jr. were fined along with Texas pitcher Matt Bush. McCullers and Bush are being prohibited for sitting on their team benches for the rest of the series.
Dusty Baker was fined for his actions following his ejection. Baker remained in the Astros dugout for six minutes before leaving for the clubhouse.
Baker was asked Saturday about his thought process in sitting back down in the dugout after being ejected.
“My thought process is I wasn't ready to go because it shouldn't have happened in the first place,” he said. “That was my thought process.”
He was then asked what the umpires said when they approached him in the dugout when he wouldn't leave.
“Well, they didn't say much,” he said. “They kind of just turned around and said: `He's not leaving.' Then they turned around and said they can't start until I leave.”
Baker was asked about the incident.
“It happens,” he said. “And you don't script it. It's a spontaneous, combustible reaction that gets out of control.
And most of us want to be under control. Most of us want to play ball. Most don't want to box.”
Bochy was asked if he thinks there will be carryover from the scuffle into Game 6.
“I don't see really any of this happening again, to be honest,” he said.