BANG! BANG! ASTROS THUMP AWAY, BANISH A’S
Three years after a signstealing scheme propelled the Astros to their first championship, Houston’s star-studded lineup did little during the regular season to quiet criticism it could only hit when cheating.
Back in the postseason, they’re banging away as well as ever — no trash cans necessary.
Carlos Correa hit a goahead, three-run homer after Michael Brantley’s two-run shot in the fourth inning, helping the Astros beat the Oakland Athletics 11-6 on Thursday to clinch their home-run heavy AL Division Series in four games.
“We didn’t show this too much during the season, but this lineup can do this every night,” left fielder Kyle Tucker said.
Correa drove in five as the Astros — October villains to many a year after their espionage was exposed — advanced to the AL Championship
Astros 11, Athletics 6
Series for the fourth consecutive season. They improved to 5-1 in the playoffs after struggling to a 29-31 record in the pandemicshortened season.
“This is a special team that has been here before,” Brantley said. “We have young guys that are leaning on the veterans and the veterans are taking care of them right now. No one guy has to carry this team when you have so many special players in the locker room like we do.”
It will be the Astros’ first ALCS under Dusty Baker, their 71-year-old manager. Baker earned his first closeout win since the 2003 NL Division Series and improved to 4-13 in closeouts.
“It’s been a long, tough road, but we’re halfway there,” Baker said. “I’m thankful and happy, but I still got some happiness left to give.”
The Astros and A’s combined for 24 homers — 12 each — the most in a postseason series of five games or fewer.
Houston clinched at Dodger Stadium, where it won the 2017 World Series in seven games. The Astros’ signstealing scheme — involving live video feeds and banging on dugout trash bins — used during their title run was revealed last year by former teammate and current A’s pitcher Mike Fiers, who didn’t pitch in this series.
The scandal led to season-long suspensions of Jeff Luhnow, Houston’s general manager, and manager AJ Hinch, who both were fired. Boston manager Alex Cora and Mets manager Carlos Beltran also lost their jobs as fallout for their roles with the ’17 Astros, and Houston still draws ire of other players and fans.
“They closed the circle and got into each other,” Baker said of his team. “It made them closer.”
Correa said outside opinions don’t matter to the team.
“We’re motivated because we want to win and we want to bring another championship to the city of Houston,” he said. “We know what it feels like and we want to have that feeling again.”
During the shortened regular season, the Astros ranked 20th in the majors with a .240 average and 14th with 279 runs.
The slump continued through the wild-card round before Houston turned Dodger Stadium into a launching pad against Oakland. The team batted .322 in the ALDS, with Correa, Jose Altuve, Alex Bregman and Tucker each batting over .400, and George Springer at .389.
Harris writes for The Associated Press.