ASTROS LEAD THE SERIES, 2-0
Astros 2-0 ALCS stranglehold revives familiar postseason refrains with new questions
Oct 21, 2022, 12:45 am
Yuli Gurriel has been a difference-maker for Houston. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
With the Minute Maid Park roof open on a cool, gusty Thursday night, the Astros jumped to a 2-0 lead over the Yankees in the American League Championship Series.
The Astros took a tight 3-2 win bolstered by a 3-run Breggy Bomb and another quality start by pitcher Framber Valdez – you were expecting something else?
Valdez scattered four hits over seven innings, allowing only two unearned runs courtesy of a bonehead throwing error by Valdez himself in the fourth inning.
Valdez, like Justin Verlander the night before, got stronger as the game wore on, finishing his night striking out the side in the seventh inning.
The performance was typical for Valdez, a quality start machine. The Cy Young contender had 25 consecutive quality starts this year, a single-season record. He also was the winning pitcher for the American League in the All-Star Game.
Yuli Gurriel added to his torrid hit count in the post-season with two singles, Jeremy Pena continued to exorcize the ghost of Correa Past with another hit and slick fielding. But it was Alex Bregman with the decider, a three-run shot over the Crawford Boxes off Yankee starter Luis Severino.
Astros pitchers held Yankee sluggers Aaron Judge, Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo in check, allowing only an innocent single by Judge.
The ALCS now heads to New York where the Astros can clinch their ticket to the World Series if they win two of three scheduled games at Yankee Stadium.
The Astros do have their worries despite remaining undefeated in the post-season. Jose Altuve’s hitting woes continued Thursday, stretching his hitless streak to 23 at bats. He stands at 0 for the post-season.
Sports network commentators are pouring over facts and figures, spouting obscure analytics to explain the Astros dominance over the Yankees. Not necessary. Here’s the bottom line on this American League Championship Series.
You got eyes? The Astros simply are better than the Yankees. Better hitting, better pitching, better fielding, certainly better in the clutch.
Despite the name on the front of their jerseys and 27 World Series pennants waving over Yankee Stadium, the Bronx Bombers are not a well rounded ball club. There’s no Murderer’s Row in 2022. After a hot start, the Yankees were under .500 during August, September and October. Heading into Thursday night’s Game 2 of the LCS, Aaron Judge was swatting .167 in the post-season. Gleyber Torres was hitting an anemic .130. Josh Donaldson was at .211, Giancarlo Stanton at .200.
Yankee fan might say, well, Kyle Tucker and Altuve aren’t exactly lighting up the scoreboard, either. And Wednesday night, your top hitters Kyle Tucker, Altuve, Bregman and Alvarez went a collective 0-12.
Note to Yankee fan: you ain’t us. Stop it.
After a sloppy start, Justin Verlander blew away Yankee batters in Game 1. Valdez did the same in Game 2. The Astros bullpen kept the Yankees scoreless, topped off by Ryan Pressly slamming the door both nights. Yankee hitters looked like they were swatting flies at a backyard barbecue. The Yankees struck out 17 times, the Astros only twice in Game 1. It was the biggest K disparity in post-season history.
There was talk both nights that Minute Maid crowds were strangely subdued for close, post-season games against the arch rival Yankees. If true, there are reasons. There were plenty of Yankee fans present and they had nothing to yell about. The roof was open Thursday, which allows noise to escape into the night. But mainly, the LCS commands high ticket prices, and rich folk aren’t built for whoopin’ and hollerin’. One positive result of corporate-funded fans super-glued to their seats: no wave.
The series has provided sports talk radio with a hot topic: should the Astros drop Altuve from the leadoff spot in the batting order? True, Altuve is mired in a historic slump in the post-season. But Altuve could take a collar the rest of the LCS, it wouldn’t matter. Don’t forget who the Astros manager is, and why he was hired. Dusty Baker exudes calm confidence in his players. Altuve could go up to the plate with a Wiffle Ball bat and Dusty wouldn’t demote him.
Prediction: I can’t see the LCS going more than five games. Since the LCS isn’t coming back to Minute Maid Park, here’s a tip for fans attending the World Series at Minute Maid Park. Get there early. I got to the stadium at 5:30 p.m. for the 6:37 start Wednesday and walked in without a wait at the home plate entrance. The concession stands had no lines, either. By first pitch, I was fed, rested and ready for baseball.
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Astros keep doing this, and it’s getting hard to ignore
Jun 25, 2025, 10:01 pm
While the rolling Astros have a week of possible World Series preview matchups against the Phillies and Cubs, it’s the Rockets who made the biggest local sports headline with their acquisition of Kevin Durant. What a move! Of course there is risk involved in trading for a guy soon to turn 37 years old and who carries an injury history, but balancing risk vs. reward is a part of the game. This is a fabulous move for the Rockets. It’s understood that there are dissenters to this view. Everyone is entitled to an opinion, including people with the wrong opinion! Let’s dig in.
The Rockets had a wonderful season in winning 52 games before their disappointing first-round playoff loss to the Warriors, but like everyone else in the Western Conference, they were nowhere close to Oklahoma City’s caliber. While they finished second in the West, the Rockets only finished four games ahead of the play-in. That letting the stew simmer with further growth among their young players would yield true championship contention was no given for 2025-26 or beyond.
Kevin Durant is one of the 10 greatest offensive players the NBA has ever seen. Among his current contemporaries only Stephen Curry and Nikola Jokic make that list. For instance, Durant offensively has clearly been better than the late and legendary Kobe Bryant. To view it from a Houston perspective, Durant has been an indisputably greater offensive force than the amazing Hakeem Olajuwon. But this is not a nostalgia trip in which the Rockets are trading for a guy based on what he used to be. While Durant could hit the wall at any point, living in fear that it’s about to happen is no way to live because KD, approaching his 18th NBA season, is still an elite offensive player.
As to the durability concern, Durant played more games (62) this past season than did Fred VanVleet, Jabari Smith, and Tari Eason. The season before he played more games (75) than did VanVleet, Dillon Brooks, and Alperen Sengun. In each of the last two seasons Durant averaged more minutes per game (36.9) than any Rocket. That was stupid and/or desperate of the Suns, the Rockets will be smarter. Not that the workload eroded Durant’s production or efficiency. Over the two seasons he averaged almost 27 points per game while shooting 52 percent from the floor, 42 percent from behind the three-point line, and 85 percent from the free throw line. Awesomeness. The Rockets made the leap to being a very good team despite a frankly crummy half-court offense. The Rockets ranked 21st among the 30 NBA teams in three-point percentage, and dead last in free throw percentage. Amen Thompson has an array of skills and looks poised to be a unique star. Alas, Thompson has no credible jump shot. VanVleet is not a creator, Smith has limited handle. Adding Durant directly addresses the Rockets’ most glaring weakness.
The price the Rockets paid was in the big picture, minimal, unless you think Jalen Green is going to become a bonafide star. Green is still just 23 years old and spectacular athletically, but nothing he has done over four pro seasons suggests he’s on the cusp of greatness. In no season has Green even shot the league average from the floor or from three. His defense has never been as good as it should be given his athleticism. Compared to some other two-guards who made the NBA move one year removed from high school, four seasons into his career Green is waaaaaay behind where Shae Gilgeous-Alexander, Anthony Edwards, and Devin Booker were four seasons in, and now well behind his draft classmate Cade Cunningham. Dillon Brooks was a solid pro in two seasons here and shot a career-best from three in 2024-2025, but he’s being replaced by Kevin Durant! In terms of the draft pick capital sent to Phoenix, five second round picks are essentially meaningless. The Rockets have multiple extra first round picks in the coming years. As for the sole first-rounder dealt away, whichever player the Rockets would have taken 10th Wednesday night would have been rather unlikely to crack the playing rotation.
VanVleet signs extension
Re-signing Fred VanVleet to a two-year, 50 million dollar guarantee is sensible. In a vacuum, VanVleet was substantially overpaid at the over 40 mil he made per season the last two. He’s a middle-of-the-pack starting point guard. But his professionalism and headiness brought major value to the Rockets’ kiddie corps while their payroll was otherwise very low. Ideally, Reed Sheppard makes a leap to look like an NBA lead guard in his second season, after a pretty much zippo of a rookie campaign. Sheppard is supposed to be a lights-out shooter. For the Rockets to max out, they need two sharpshooters on the court to balance Thompson’s presence.
For Astro-centric conversation, join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and me for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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