Hardly peaking for playoffs
Given the perverse nature of 2020, itwas only fitting that matters took one last regular-season swerve Sunday afternoon for the Astros, setting up the Minnesota Twins as their American League wildcard opponent beginning Tuesday at Target Field in Minneapolis.
Oakland’s 6-2 win over the Mariners, combined with the Twins’ 5-3 loss to the Reds in 10 innings, moved the A’s up one spot in the eight-teamAmerican League playoff bracket and bumped Minnesota into the third seed to face the sixth-seeded Astros in the best- of-three series.
Houston was locked into the No. 6 seed as the AL West runners-up before its regular-season finale, an 8-4 loss to the Rangers in Arlington that dropped the Astros to 29-31 in this beleaguered, truncated season.
The Astros are the first Major League Baseball team, along with the Milwaukee Brewers in the National League, to qualify for the postseason with a sub.500 record.
They earned that dubious distinction on merit with a 6-7 stretch drive against what shaped up on paper as the easiest schedule in the league but turned out to be something considerably different.
Included in their final stumblewere three consecutive losses to the moribund Rangers, including a Sunday game inwhich they squandered a 3-1 lead. The teams split their 10-game season series, but the Astros retain the semi-coveted Silver Boot trophy based on run differential.
With their opponent decided, the Astros will depart Dallas-Fort Worth at middayMonday on a trip of considerable uncertainty.
The odds entering Sunday’s MLB shotgun afternoon start favored a playoff opener against the A’s, whom the Astros have played10 times this season, going 3-7. Instead, they draw the Twins, whom they have not faced in 2020 because of the divisionalonly schedule.
And under any circumstances, the Astros hardly enter the playoffs on a roll, as manager Dusty Baker noted.
“It hasn’t been good,” Baker said of the Astros’ closing stretch. “We’ve got to clean up these mistakes.
“These guys have been there before, and they know what’s at stake. They know not to panic. They knowwhat to do in certain situations.”
Confidence is high among the Astros veterans, including shortstop Carlos Correa and outfielder Josh Reddick, that lessons learned from four consecutive playoff appearances will offset the all too frequent shortcomings of the regular season.
“We’re not going to feel the pressure of playoff games,” Correa said. “We have played somany games in the playoffs that we’re going to bring intensity and energy and go out and beat any team that it is front of us.
“We’re a confident team, and we know we’re good. We’ve got the talent to win theWorld Series again, and we are going to go out there and take care of business.”
With nothing of import at stake Sunday afternoon, the Astros rested some players and gave others early exits ag Globe Life Field against the Rangers. Every position player played save catcher Martin Maldonado, who was resting an injured knee suffered Friday.
Houston built a 3-1 lead on a first-inning home run by Jose Altuve, a second-inning groundout by Aledmys Diaz, who led off the inning with a walk, and a solo homer in the fourth by Carlos Correa.
The Rangers, however, took command in the bottom of the fourth on a three-run homer by Rougned Odor against starter Chase De Jong, Odor’s first of two home runs.
Odor’s three-run shot on an 0-2 pitch in the fourth came after base hits by Joey Gallo and Nick Solak. De Jong then loaded the bases before being lifted for Nivaldo Rodriguez, who gave up a two-run single to Leody Taveras in the Rangers’ five-run fourth.
Odor added a solo homer in the fifth off Rodriguez. In the seventh, Taveras singled, stole second and third and scored on an errant throw to third by Astros catcher Dustin Garneau on the attempted steal.
After replacing De Jong in the fourth, Rodriguez soldiered his way through 83 pitches in four innings to give the rest of the Astros’ bullpen a day off, allowing two runs on five hits with five strikeouts and three walks. Luis Garcia recorded one out in the eighth.
Among the limited bright spots for the Astros was Michael Brantley’s third-inning single to settle his batting average at .300 for the year. Diaz had a solo homer for the Astros in the eighth. Altuve’s 415-foot homer was his second of the series, and Yuli Gurriel launched a base hit at 106.9 mph as he attempts to reverse a recent slump.
However, the Astros also continued their penchant for failing to move along runners, stranding six and going 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position.
“We hit some balls hard,” Baker said. “Altuve hit the ball out of the ballpark, and he’s been swinging better. We’ve got some positive signs. I hope we can turn it on. We’ll see when we get there.”