Astros again showed how unflappable they are as a team.
Astros keep franchise-best season going behind Altuve’s unforgettable homer
They combated chaos and silenced savages. They exorcised year-old demons with delightful defense and opportunistic offense, procuring a pennant that was stolen on their home field last season. The face of their franchise, one who endured the excruciating past to pave the way for such a prosperous present, delivered one of the most iconic hits in Houston baseball history.
The Houston Astros are again champions of the American League. In a game that started and stopped with men who’ve seen this franchise through its darkest hours, the Astros walked off the New York Yankees, 6-4, to win the American League pennant on Saturday night at Minute Maid Park.
Jose Altuve annihilated a tworun home run in the bottom of the ninth inning against Yankees closer Aroldis Chapman, compensating for the Astros’ own closer combustion in the top of the frame, when DJ LeMahieu launched a two-run, game-tying home run against Roberto Osuna.
The disappointment did not deter the Astros. Their ascension to an American League powerhouse was, for 162 games, buoyed by two tremendous aces and the lethal lineup behind them. No team in baseball ever accrued a higher slugging percentage. None can claim the services of Gerrit Cole or Justin Verlander.
What often went unnoticed is the unflappable way with which this team conducted itself. Manager A.J. Hinch harps on a trite but tested “next game up” mentality. The 25 men he manages made the philosophy an oft-proclaimed mantra.
Bullpen combustions, a lack of clutch performances or anything in between did not stop a pursuit of this pennant. They went 5for-46 in this six-game ALCS with runners in scoring position. Verlander had his worst inning as an Astro in Game 5, pushing this series to a sixth contest. Little mattered.
They won a franchise-record 107 regular-season games and survived a five-game grinder against the Tampa Bay Rays in the American League Division Series. A ballyhooed battle with the New York Yankees lasted only six games, giving the Astros a second American League pennant in three years.
The team tore out of the firstbase dugout with delirium after Altuve’s home run. The pintsized power hitter was mobbed at home plate. Manager A.J. Hinch, searching for a person to embrace, found George Springer and Michael Brantley to grab for a group hug.
Hinch managed the most matchup-centric game of any in his playoff career, one that required seven pitchers and no true starter.
Chaos commenced at 7:43 p.m, when Hinch trekked to the pitcher’s mound for his first of six calls to a bullpen seeking to silence some savages. Brad Peacock presented his manager the baseball and exited the field. Peacock was proclaimed the starter. He and Altuve are the only two who remain from the Astros’ 110-loss seasons earlier this decade.
Saturday was a day to exorcise demons, finishing the season of their sport’s most storied franchise.
Three separate relievers started their outings with two outs and at least two baserunners. No inherited runners scored. Will Harris got a dynamite defensive play from Brantley in left, garnering memories of Andrew Benintendi’s game-ending catch during the Red Sox’s ALCS win last season.
Representing the tying run in the seventh, Aaron Hicks got under Harris’ full-count cutter. The baseball looped against the shift and into no-man’s land in short left field. Alex Bregman gave chase. Brantley called him off. Brantley dove and secured the sinking liner. A strong throw behind Aaron Judge nabbed him at first base.
Harris and Brantley reside among the most reserved Astrios. If either man emotes, it is a cause for concern or confusion. Neither was a worry on Saturday. Harris raised both his hands in the air and gave at least four fist pumps. Brantley allowed a wide smile to creep across his austere face. Harris awaited his outfielder’s arrival at the first-base dugout.
Delirium was well underway inside.