Waiting game to clinch continues
Extra-inning defeat stalls postseason berth as beleaguered bullpen surrenders the lead
Of all the heartbreak, all the blown leads and the absolute disasters associated with the 2020 Astros, none can compare to Friday night in Arlington. One strike separated them from a postseason berth and perhaps a sense of relief for the first time since this pandemic-shortened season began. They handed the baseball to the one veteran in their beleaguered bullpen, only towatch it fall apart.
One strike away from sending his team to the postseason, Houston closer Ryan Pressly yielded a game-tying solo home run to Rangers first baseman Ronald Guzman. Rookie righthander Enoli Paredes allowed two runs in the 10th to blow another one-run lead, sending the Astros to an excruciating 5-4 loss at Globe Life Field.
The winning run scored on a hard-hit grounder to Jose Altuve, who threw home wide of catcher Martin Maldonado. Maldonado remained down for several moments after the play, but eventually walked off of the field with assistance.
Even after the defeat, the Astros can still clinch a playoff berth Friday night if the Angels lose to the Dodgers. Yet, DustyBaker’s bunch
had destiny completely within their control against the Rangers, only towatch it fly away over the right-field fence. The game was a microcosm of the Astros’ misery all season.
Chances came and went for the offense against a pedestrian pitcher. It wasted a brilliant starting pitching performance and allowed the bullpen little margin for error. Houston finished 1for-10 with runners in scoring position and stranded nine baserunners.
Rangers starter Kyle Cody had not thrown more than 74 pitches in any major league outing. He slid into Texas’ starting rotation at the start of September. On Sept. 15, the Astros exhausted him for 74 pitches in just 31⁄ innings. They struck four
3 hits, drew two walks but scored just one run — prolonging their month-long problem with run production.
Friday featured much of the same. Cody controlled the Astros through five innings of three-hit ball. He threw just 39 of his 73 pitches for strikes. Houston had a leadoff baserunner in three of the five innings he worked. Only one run scored, leaving Astros starter Jose Urquidy to battle.
Starter Jose Urquidy authored another compelling case to start a postseason game if the Astros advance there. He’d be on regular rest by Wednesday. Game 2 of the wild card series is scheduled that day. Urquidy put his team there.
He scattered seven hits in seven innings of two-run baseball against Texas on Friday. Seventy-one of his 98 pitches were strikes. Catcher Sam Huff hammered two solo home runs against him and added a single in the seventh. The rest of the Rangers order mustered just four hits.
Since returning on Sept. 5 from a battle with COVID-19, Urquidy has a 2.73 ERA in 292⁄ innings. He’s al
3 lowed two or fewer earned runs in all five of his starts. Houston’s offense lent him two runs of support on Friday.
An uprising arrived in the eighth. Jose Altuve and Michael Brantley worked walks to begin the frame. Alex Bregman struck out and Kyle Tucker lifted a lazy fly ball to left field. A familiar fate felt inevitable. Yuli Gurriel loomed.
Gurriel arrived in an awful slump and a throbbing right hand. He was 12-for-83 in September, still feeling the effects of a slide into second base earlier in the month.
Rangers reliever Jonathan Hernandez offered a first-pitch sinker. Gurriel snuck it down the first-base line. Altuve scored froms econd base. The Astros dugout erupted, perhaps envisioning their playoff destiny.
Pressly loosened in the bullpen as the top of the ninth began.
Springer and Altuve wasted a one-outwalk from Maldonado, giving away a golden chance for insurance.
So Pressly entered with a one-run lead to protect. Three outs separated the club from a postseason berth. The closer procured the first two with ease. Huff bounced out and Derek Dietrich struck out. Guzman loomed as the Rangers final hope.
Pressly raced ahead of the first baseman 0-2. He misfired two four-seam fastballs to even the count. Pressly reached back and spun a curveball. It darted downand in against the lefthanded hitter. Guzman pulled it down the line. It sunk over the fence and deflated the once jubilant dugout.