ALMOST PERFECT
Luis Garcia said he felt normal, which was somewhat dubious, considering his early exit from his last start.
The strained knee that sent him to an early shower after giving up a grand slam couldn’t heal that quickly, could it?
Well, as it turned out Garcia’s knee was just fine, but he wasn’t normal Friday.
Not. At. All.
In many ways Garcia was a pitcher he had never been before. He was spectacular. Almost perfect.
The 24-year-old rookie righthander delivered a memorable performance as the Astros advanced to the World Series for the third time in five years with a 5-0 victory over the Boston Red Sox in the American League Championship Series.
The team many love to hate dominated Boston in claiming a 4-2 series victory, and Garcia played a huge role in it. Add this one to the long and growing list of unbelievable moments by this generation of Astros.
This was Mike Scott-type stuff in the most important start of his life.
Garcia had never thrown a baseball as hard as he did Friday. It was incredible.
During the season, he threw one pitch as fast as 97 miles an hour. Friday, he did it several times in what must have felt like an out-of-body experience.
Garcia pitched 52⁄3 innings with seven strikeouts and just one walk.
The last batter he faced, Kiké Hernandez, picked up the lone hit for the Red Sox off Garcia, a triple.
Garcia left to a rousing, welldeserved standing ovation.
Remember when we thought the Astros’ pitching staff was in trouble?
After seeing 21 runners touch home plate in Games 2 and 3, Boston managed to score only one run over the final 26 innings.
Garcia took up where Framber Valdez left off in Game 5, and the Astros now await the winner of the Braves-Dodgers NLCS.
With a hot fastball, Garcia blew through the Red Sox batting order the first time through, then started working in a cutter that the Red Sox had trouble locating.
It was a masterful outing for a guy who is in his first full major league season.
In Game 2 last Saturday, Garcia exited after walking the first batter in the second inning, this after surrendering four runs on a grand slam by J.D. Martinez. The initial word on his injury was “knee discomfort.”
Apparently, the Astros made an adjustment in Garcia’s mechanics, and this resulted in him throwing pain free. And harder than he had thrown all season.
What a perfect time to find his groove.
The Astros’ much-maligned bullpen did the work holding on to the shutout after Garcia was pulled. Phil Maton got the last out of the sixth inning, and Kendall Graveman, Ryne Stanek and Ryan Pressly each worked an inning to finish off the Red Sox.
By winning the series in six, the Astros will be well rested for the World Series, which will begin Tuesday. Houston will host Games 1 and 2 should the Braves advance, but will travel to Los Angeles if the Dodgers win the National League pennant.