Supposedly lesser bullpen shows it can hold its own
In the early hours of Monday morning, as the Astros were celebrating their extra-inning Game 2 win over the Yankees, Will Harris already was thinking about Game 3 on Tuesday afternoon in New York.
Such is the nature, he said, of a relief pitcher.
“The only game that matters is the next one when you’re a reliever,” Harris said. “It’s great to get a win, but the only thing we’re looking forward to is trying to do it again on Tuesday.”
They will do so with an understandable lift to their step after the Astros’ 3-2, 11-inning victory that evened the American League Championship Series at a game apiece. Five members of the Astros bullpen accounted for 41⁄3 shutout innings in relief of Justin Verlander, with only Ryan Pressly allowing a base hit amid a crew that combined for five strikeouts and two walks.
And yes, they know many of those on hand at Minute Maid Park wondered aloud, or via social media, or both, whether they could get the job done. They are aware that the smart money has the Yankees, as it did with the Rays, possessing the superior bullpen in their respective series.
“So far, everybody we’ve played has had a better bullpen than us,” said righthander Joe Smith, who retired five batters and allowed a walk in the 10th and 11th innings. “We look at the guys we’ve got, and we know how good we can be.”
In the disparaging face of conventional wisdom, Smith said, “We smile and nod and go about our business, and hopefully we come out on top.”
They did so while competing alongside a Yankees bullpen that sent eight men to the mound in relief of James Paxton, who was lifted after 21⁄3 innings, and allowed three hits and two runs — George Springer’s game-tying homer off Adam Ottavino in the fifth and Carlos Correa’s walkoff blast against J.A. Happ in the 11th.
The order was Harris in the seventh with a man on first and two out, Roberto Osuna with a man on and one out in the eighth, Smith to begin the 10th inning, Pressly with two out and a runner on in the 11th, and Josh James with two on after Pressly allowed the only hit surrendered by the bullpen.
Their collective ledger was 66 pitches, 11 swinging strikes, 12 called strikes, 12 foul balls, 11 balls in play, five strikeouts, two walks, one hit and no runs.
Each, save Pressly, prevailed in moments of stress. Harris struck out Didi Gregorius with a man on to end the seventh. Osuna in the eighth entered with a man on and got the hot-hitting Gleyber Torres on a liner to right and struck out cleanup hitter Edwin Encarnacion before a 1-2-3 ninth inning.
Smith retired the Yankees in order in the 10th and gave way after a walk in the 11th to Pressly, who allowed a single to Brett Gardner before being lifted for James, who prevailed in a 10-pitch showdown with Gary Sanchez on a called third strike to end the inning.
It wasn’t necessarily the order one might have expected in the regular season. The playoffs, though, are a different animal.
“Your game plans are different. You’re going to play matchups,” Harris said. “(Manager A.J. Hinch) was trying to put guys in the best position to be successful with what they throw and how they attack the hitters, and it worked out great.”
The Sanchez at-bat against James summarized the occasionally off-kilter vibe of the evening. Replays showed Sanchez swung and missed on a ball in the dirt, but home plate umpire Cory Blaser incorrectly ruled it was fouled, keeping the at-bat alive.
On the next pitch, James got a called third strike on a pitch Statcast showed to be outside the strike zone, ending the inning and setting the stage for Correa’s walkoff homer.
Catcher Robinson Chirinos said James’ ability to stay focused after the bad call was critical in the game’s outcome and in James’ development.
“It’s easy when something doesn’t go your way for them to go the other way,” Chirinos said. “So JJ stepping up like that was awesome. He keeps growing, and he is going to be a huge part of this moving forward.”
So will Smith, the veteran righthander whose efficiency against righthanded hitters is a key element of the Astros’ bullpen strategy.
“I have a feeling I’m going to see those guys again,” Smith said. “You have to make pitches, because any one of those guys on that team can do a lot of damage on you.”
And while the Astros’ bullpen may be collective Rodney Dangerfields in terms of postseason respect — during the Division Series, Astros fans on social media expressed displeasure with broadcast crews conflating the names of Smith and Harris and coming up with Will Smith — Harris said that’s nothing new.
“That has been a narrative my entire time here,” he said. “We have a lot of guys who can do the job, and we proved that. We look forward to the challenge ahead.”