ASTROS STILL HAVE SOME FIGHT IN THEM
They cut Rays’ lead to 3-1, but still face long climb to win ALCS
Somewhere in a downtown high-rise overlooking Petco Park, a man held a bullhorn to his mouth and began to speak.
It was the top of the fourth inning in Game 4 of the ALCS between the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays.
The sign-stealing scandal that tainted Houston before the season began has followed the Astros to the season’s end.
“You all are a bunch a cheaters,” boomed the voice from above, made plain to hear by a stadium absent cheering fans. “Jose Altuve. You are a cheater. Shame on you.”
And on down the Astros lineup the man went, after each name repeating, “You are a cheater. Shame on you.”
Like they have with so much of the outside noise this season, the Astros ignored it.
Houston stayed alive in this best-of-seven series, beating the Rays 4-3 compliments of homers by Jose Altuve and George Springer. And an outstanding outing by starting pitcher Zack Greinke, who stranded the bases loaded in the sixth inning after Houston manager Dusty Baker left him in during
Astros 4 Rays 3
the game’s most crucial moment.
In four games at Petco, the Astros finally prospered.
“I’m not ready to go home,” Baker said after the game. “Nobody’s ready to go home. We’re ready to go to Dallas (Arling ton, really, where the World Series will be played).”
The victory enabled Houston to force a Game 5 this afternoon and kept alive their faint hopes of returning to the World Series for the third time in four years.
With history as a guide, overcoming Tampa Bay remains a daunting task. Teams that dug themselves an 0-3 hole in a best-of-seven series are 1-37. The 2004 Boston Red Sox, who beat the Yankees, are the only team to complete the comeback.
Altuve opened Game 4 the same way he did Game 3, with a first-inning home run, this one to left-center field that provided the Astros with a 1-0 lead.
He wasn’t done, adding a two-out double to right field in the third inning that doubled the lead to 2-0.
Eyes then turned to the diminutive second baseman in the field.
After committing critical throwing errors that cost the
Astros in Games 2 and 3, Altuve fielded his first chance in Game 4 f lawlessly. He then made an accurate throw to first base, retiring Tampa Bay’s Yoshi Tsutsugo to end the top of the fifth inning.
Altuve had one other opportunity, a ground ball in the ninth inning in which he wheeled and threw to second
base to force out the lead runner. It was the same play as in Game 3, when Altuve bounced the ball into left field and fueled a five-run inning for the Rays.
That he made the play this time proved critical because it meant an RBI double later in the inning by Willy Adames scored one run instead of two, preserv
ing a one-run lead.
Greinke had gone 10 straight postseason starts without a win, one off the MLB record. The righthander did not want to join David Price, Tim Hudson and Al Leiter with 11. And he didn’t.
Greinke was sharp from the start. He didn’t allow a hit until one out in the fourth inning when Austin Meadows singled to right field.
Problem was, that brought Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena to the plate. He stepped into the box batting .450 in the postseason with four home runs.
By the end of the at-bat, Arozarena was batting .463 with five homers.
His two-run shot into the Western Metal Supply Co. building made it a 2-2 game.
It was Arozarena’s 19th hit of the postseason. He had 18 hits in the regular season.
An inning later, the Astros had a two-run lead again when Springer hit a 98 mph fastball from Tampa Bay starting pitcher Tyler Glasnow off the upper balcony of the Western Metal Supply building.
Greinke remained expressionless on the mound. He had shrugged his shoulders after Arozarena’s homer and set down six more hitters in order before the Rays loaded the bases in the sixth with three singles and
Tampa Bay’s Mike Brosseau coming to the plate.
That induced a two-out mound visit from Baker, who left Greinke in after a brief conversation, which either showed tremendous confidence in his starter, or a lack of it in his bullpen.
Baker didn’t go out to speak to Greinke but to catcher Martin Maldonado.
Said Baker: “The conversation was between me and Maldy, and Maldy said, ‘He can get this guy.’ ”
Greinke struck out Brosseau to end the inning.
Greinke got the win for six innings in which he allowed five hits and struck out seven with just one walk.
Houston reliever Christian Javier checked Tampa Bay over the next two innings, positioning Houston to do something no other team has done this season — beat the Rays in a close game. Tampa Bay, which led the majors in games decided by two runs or fewer with a 23-10 record, was 5-0 in such postseason games.
Houston hung on by an eyelash. Ryan Pressly, who came in after Javier issued a leadoff walk in the ninth, allowed one run to score but stranded the tying run at third base when he got Tsutsugo on a f ly out to end the game.