Astros exude confidence heading home
Houston in good spot After winning one of two in Boston, writes Rob Longley.
HOUSTON Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch doesn’t sound like a cocky man. He’s analytical, insightful and pleasant in demeanour.
But with a team as good as the one he oversees, a team that is deep, accomplished and bursting with confidence, it’s difficult for Hinch to understate the strengths of his defending World Series champions.
Followers of the AL East like to talk about how the Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees build sustainable contenders.
Well, out in the AL West, the Astros are doing it better than anyone else and may well be on the verge of a dynasty.
“Confidence is pretty robust in our clubhouse,” Hinch said Monday as his team settled in for its home portion of the ALCS against the Red Sox, three games at Minute Maid Park beginning late Tuesday afternoon. “We feel really good about this. It’s not being overly confident. It just means we show up at the ballpark ready to play.
“You can bring that edge to the ballpark every day. So I don’t think we care who we face or what the situation is. Our guys are going to show up ready to play.”
By virtue of splitting at Fenway Park on the weekend, the Astros wrestled home-field advantage from the Red Sox in this best-ofseven and would appear to have the upper hand. They appear to be stronger in starting pitching, deeper in the bullpen, more varied on offence and incredibly well coached. It’s almost as if an opponent needs to play a perfect game to beat them.
“When you look at our team, I don’t really see any weaknesses,” Astros shortstop Carlos Correa said. “It’s all strengths. When you look across the board, all 25 guys on the roster are good baseball players. And obviously we trust each other and have a lot of confidence in each other.”
Through their first five playoff games, Houston outscored the opposition 33-15, a run that included a dominant three-game sweep of Cleveland in the ALDS.
After a thrilling seven-game series win over the Los Angeles Dodgers to capture their first World Series title last October, the Astros have only improved.
They survived a lull in the dog days of the 2018 season before catching fire in a torrid 21-6 September heading into the post-season. Their 103 wins set a regular-season franchise record and their run differential of 263 was tops in the major leagues.
“I think the one thing about our team is it’s non-stop,” said Justin Verlander, the ace of the starting staff and the Game 1 winner against Boston. “The guys just keep coming at you and there’s so many different ways we can win a ball game. This team finds a way and in big moments they show up. Nobody cares who the hero is as long as we have a hero.”
The Astros know their jobs, do them well and know that strength abounds throughout the roster.
“Our guys have an uncanny ability to focus on the day,” Hinch said. “Whether that’s at the beginning of spring, into the season or entering a playoff series with all the expectations and the target being on our backs. We’re the reigning world champs, and we know what we have to do.”