Facing a ‘HercuLiam’ task
Raley and ‘oddball group’ of relievers will try tomatch up with baseball’s best bullpen
Alongside the likes of A’s closer Liam Hendriks, who Friday was rewarded with a customized Tshirt to commemorate his role in Oakland’s march to the American League Division Series, the Astros’ bullpen admittedly is more akin to a three-pack of off-the-rack Fruit of the Looms.
“We’re getting it done with an oddball group,” said lefthander Brooks Raley, one of themore unlikely arms on a roster that struggled during the regular season and now will face a bigger challenge during a best-of-five series with no days off beginning Monday in Los Angeles.
Raley, 32, was one of just two traditional relievers who contributed to the Astros’ two-game wild card sweep of the Twins, which featured extended bullpen outings by starters Framber Valdez and Cristian Javier.
But Valdez and Javier are likely starters for the division series, in
which the Astros face an Oakland team that boasted Major League Baseball’s best regular season bullpen ERA.
Hendriks will arrive for the division series with the newly minted nickname “HercuLiam,” be
stowed on him by A’s manager Bob Melvin after throwing 49 pitches in Game 2 of the A’s-White Sox wild card series, then closing out Oakland’s Game 3 win a day later.
Commerce being what it is, apparel manufacturer Breaking Ton Friday was offering a “HercuLiam” T-shirt for sale alongside new shirts celebrating Fernando Tatis Jr.’s bat flip and a “Bracket Busters” shirt honoring the Astros’ wild card win over the Twins.
Raley, meanwhile, is content to be wearing standard issue Astros gear after playing five years in South Korea and catching on this spring with the Reds, who traded him Aug. 9 for a player to be named later after the Astros’ season-long injury woes raced through their bullpen.
“Ayear ago, I wouldn’t say that I thought I would be in a Houston uniform in the postseason,” Raley said Friday. “I’m grateful for it. I kind of feel I’ve found a place and a homeand a role, and I love being here and wearing this uniform.”
As a lefthander on a team that has been short of lefthanded relievers in recent years, Raley, 32, has a prominent supporter in manager Dusty Baker.
“(Baker) said he loves older lefthanders, and he’s leaned on me and given me an opportunity,” Ra-
ley said. “I’ll go to work for that man.”
The former Texas A&M stand
out appeared in 17 games for the Astros with an 0-1 record and a save, while holding lefthanded hitters to a .129 batting average and stranding 12 of 13 inherited runners.
Against the Twins, he relieved Jose Urquidy in the fifth inning of Game2 and retired two batters before allowing the Nelson Cruz double that produced the Twins’ only run.
“We’re getting it done with an oddball group. Everybody knows we don’t have ( Justin Verlander) or (Gerrit) Cole, but we’re finding guys to step up in Framber and Javier and the offense coming through.
“These guys have a lot of experience in the postseason, and you can feel that energy. There’s never any panic.”
With Valdez and Javier back in the rotation, Raley and the rest of the rookie-dominated bullpen will be called on for more extensive work against the A’s.
“We have some good matchups wewant to get to,” Raley said. “It’s going to be about pitching and defense. They have a good bullpen (in Oakland). We saw that this year, and I think our guys are up for the challenge.”
En route to the Astros’ 3-7 record against Oakland this season, Cy Sneed gave up the winning run in the 13th inning of a 3-2 Oakland victory Aug. 7, and the Astros got to Hendriks for a run in a 3-1 loss Aug. 8.
Astros closer Ryan Pressly picked up two saves in an Aug. 29 doubleheader sweep at Minute Maid Park, and Raley, Enoli Parades and Pressly were effective in a seven-inning win Sept. 7 in Oakland.
Otherwise, itwas all Oakland in games affected by the bullpen, with Diekman and Hendriks shutting down the Astros in a 4-2 win Sept. 8 and a 3-1 win Sept. 10, and Hendriks getting the win and Pressly the loss in a 3-2 A’s walkoff win Sept. 9.
“We’ve played Oakland a lot, and they’re a good-hitting team,” Raley said. “They have great atbats and foul stuff off with (newly acquired infielder Tommy La Stella). It will be a matter of limiting damage, having quick innings, and attacking the strike zone.”
Raley hopes to contribute, and he’s happy to have the chance to do so, albeit in what he acknowledges is an unlikely role.
“I’m a 32-year-old with not a ton of experience in the big leagues,” he said. “These guys have embraced us and showed us what we’re good at, and we have confidence. It will be next man up, and Oakland has had our number. We have to play well.”