Brantley’s bat lifts Astros in win
In finish to 3-game sweep, ‘Circle of Life’ fan Brantley circles bases twice
Michael Brantley broke character on a bus ride during the Astros’ peculiar post-All-Star break road trip.
The team played “Circle of Life” on the vehicle’s speakers. Brantley rarely displays much of a mood but evidently enjoys this song, “The Lion King,” or some of both. George Springer remembers an instance when his stone-faced friend claimed he would one day use the song as his walk-up music.
Springer spread the rumor. The team razzed the reserved veteran, urging him to unleash his plan.
“I said he didn’t have (the) hair on his chest,” Springer said.
On a Sunday morning, with a sweep of the Texas Rangers in sight, Brantley barked back. The team sought stability after a frenzied return from the AllStar break, a stretch during which starting pitching was optional and an alleged abuse of unwritten rules rocked their clubhouse.
Brantley embodies such strength. His demeanor
does not change. His heartbeat is calm, regardless of the situation. In a lineup inundated with injuries all season, Brantley’s presence has remained a constant.
Springer sat on a prescribed Sunday off. Brantley brought his bat to the box in the first inning. The song started from the speakers, and Springer began to sing. So did some of the teammates around him. Brantley saw one pitch, pulverized it to right field for a two-run homer and returned to the dugout. The song serenaded him upon entrance.
“He cracked a smile,” manager A.J. Hinch said, “which is hard to get Mike to do.”
For only the sixth time in his 10-year major league career, Brantley struck multiple home runs. His two-run shot in the first started the scoring. A prodigious eighth-inning solo job finished it, securing a 5-3 win and authoritative sweep of the Rangers.
Jose Altuve added a solo home run in the fifth, furthering the Astros’ record abuse of the Rangers. Houston’s 36 home runs against Texas are the most by any opponent since the franchise relocated to Arlington in 1972. And two more games remain between the intrastate rivals in late September.
There is perhaps no more apt Astros record this year. It is 2019, and baseball seems to subsist solely on strikeouts and soaring shots into the stands.
“It’s part of the game and the way it’s going now,” Hinch said. “Whether it’s the bats, the balls, the players, the elevation in the swing — take your pick on what it is, but it’s daunting when the ball is in the air.”
Five Houston pitchers produced 13 strikeouts. The Rangers struck out 41 times in the three-game sweep. The Astros hardly fared better, punching out 12 times on Sunday against Rangers righthander Lance Lynn.
Lynn leveled the Astros across seven superb innings. No other opponent has a game of 11 or more strikeouts against Houston this season. Lynn has accomplished it twice in 11 days. The righthander relies almost solely on two fastballs and still flummoxes Houston.
All but 18 of Lynn’s 118 pitches were either two- or four-seam fastballs. Mixing both liberally and locating to either side of the plate allowed him to keep the Astros off-balance. Seven of the Astros’ nine starters struck out at least once against him. Five punched out multiple times.
“That’s what he does every time,” Brantley said. “He’s a great pitcher. He goes out and competes and throws a lot of different fastballs. They all move in different directions. We had to try to get a pitch early and put a good swing on it. Try not to do too much.”
Brantley and Altuve ambushed first-pitch fourseamers. Both baseballs landed in the Astros’ bullpen, a pull-side shot for Brantley and an encouraging opposite-field demolition from Altuve.
“I didn’t think the ball was going to go that far,” Altuve said. “It’s a good sign for everybody when you drive the ball that way. I’ve been working really hard, and I’m not going to stop working right now. I want to get better every single day.”
The two home runs offered Rogelio Armenteros ample cushion in his first major league start. The righthander finished five innings of one-run ball with six strikeouts.
He and Jose Urquidy have momentarily allayed fears of the Astros’ stripped starting pitching depth. The two rookies teamed to toss 12 innings, allow two earned runs and strike out 15 batters in the last two games. Neither required an opener.
“Any time we’re running starters out there that are throwing the ball well, it has a way of stabilizing the pitching staff,” reliever Will Harris said. “The two guys that threw the last two days — being young rookies to come (into) division games like that to throw the way they did, it’s the reason we swept them.”
With Ryan Pressly unavailable after a taxing week in Anaheim, Harris was handed the eighth inning and asked to secure Armenteros’ first major league win. Danny Santana stroked a one-out single. Elvis Andrus blooped another into no-man’s land beyond first base. The baseball landed just inside the foul line and allowed the tying runs aboard. Harris fell behind 3-0 to the next hitter, Nomar Mazara, with a base open. Joey Gallo loomed on deck.
“It was looking dark there,” Harris said.
Against Mazara, Harris battled back with three cutters. The Rangers right fielder tapped the third for a fielder’s choice. Gallo struck out on four pitches, swinging through an elevated 93 mph fastball to end the at-bat.
Harris, often stoic and devoid of theatrics, leapt from the mound, pumped his fists and shouted into the air.
“That’s a big, gamechanging moment,” Hinch said. “He’s one of the more dangerous home run hitters, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to avoid.”
Brantley began the bottom of the frame. For a fourth time, Circle of Life’s catchy opening blared across the speakers. For a second time, Brantley deposited a dismal pitch into the right-field seats.
“They called me out on it, said I wouldn’t play it for my walk-out song. So I delivered,” Brantley said.
“I’ll keep it for a little while.”