You have to give the Astros credit. They are the best sports villains I can remember since the Bad Boys were playing for the Detroit Pistons. Everyone hates them. They go 29-30 in the regular season, just barely scraping into the playoffs. They go to Minnesota and blitz the Twins two games to zip. They go to Dodger Stadium -- where they won the 2017 World Series -- and pound the A's. With these two small-market champions out of the way, they go to San Diego for a showdown with the Devil Rays. The Rays promptly whip them three straight, as the Astros look lost at the plate. But then, on back-to-back days, the Astros scrape out consecutive 4-3 wins over Tampa Bay. Suddenly, they trail by only three games to two, and we all have to face the very real possibility that they could be headed back to the World Series, less than a year after everyone denounced them for cheating.
Meanwhile, you should give the Dodgers no credit. Last night, they sent a Hall of Famer to the mound in Clayton Kershaw. The Braves, who were out of pitching, went with Bryse Wilson, a 22-year-old making only his eighth start. The kid outdueled Kershaw, and the Braves rolled to a 10-2 victory. After so many years of disappointing playoff appearances, Atlanta seems to have found a team it can beat.
Another nail-biter between Houston and Tampa Bay. Devil Rays lead 1-0 after four.
ReplyDeleteThe clever Astros strike again. A walk, a single, a sacrifice, and a single, and the Astros lead 2-1 in the top of the 5th. See, you don't have to hit home runs.
ReplyDeleteAltuve whacks a double to score another run, and Houston leads 3-1 in the 5th.
ReplyDeleteHouston continues to build its lead. The Astros now lead 5-1, and it's obvious that we are going to play a Game Seven tomorrow night.
ReplyDeleteIf the Astros win, we would have the first Game Seven in the ALCS since Houston beat the Yankees in 2017, and only the second Game Seven in the ALCS since Tampa Bay beat Boston in 2008.
ReplyDeleteDevil Rays trailed 7-1 going into the bottom of the 7th. It's now 7-2 after another solo home run. It's hard to make up a 6-run deficit when your offense pretty much consists entirely of solo home runs.
ReplyDeleteYour opening sentence is incorrect.
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