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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After falling in the divisional round of the playoffs for the second straight season, quarterback C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans believe they’re “really close” to taking the next step and making their first AFC championship game.
The question is what they’ll need to do to get to that level.
For Stroud it will be leaning on a mindset he’s had since his days at Ohio State.
“From Day 1 of the offseason program there has to be a standard set, and that standard has to be … I’m not going to be the one to mess this thing up. Like I’m going to be the one to make this team win the game,” he said. “If that’s Week 1 all the way to the AFC championship. That standard from training camp has to be the standard. I feel like that’s what it needs to be for us to get over that hump.”
The Texans lost 23-14 to the Chiefs on Saturday, their sixth loss in the divisional round and second at Kansas City.
Coach DeMeco Ryans, who has had an 11-8 record in both of his first two years in Houston, said eliminating mistakes should be his team's No. 1 goal.
“The teams that are still standing are teams that don’t shoot themselves in the foot,” he said. “They put themselves in good positions to play complementary football and they do it well. That’s why you’re at the end. So, if we want to be there, we just got to do our jobs and do it on a consistent basis.”
Stroud threw for 245 yards but was hurried and harassed all day in a game where he was sacked eight times. Ka’imi Fairbairn missed a 55-yard field-goal attempt, an extra point and had another field-goal attempt blocked with less than two minutes left, which would have kept Houston’s comeback hopes alive by making it a one-possession game.
The Texans won the AFC South for a second straight season and soundly beat the Chargers at home to advance to play the two-time defending Super Bowl champions.
Defensive end Will Anderson Jr., who has paired with Stroud to help turn around this franchise over the past two seasons, believes Houston has the pieces in place to contend for a title despite another early exit.
“We’re right there,” he said. “I don’t care what nobody says, this is a fantastic team. We’ve got our quarterback. We’ve got everything we need. We’ve just got to keep stacking and keep persevering.”
Dell and Diggs
The Texans could need to add a receiver this offseason with Stefon Diggs becoming an unrestricted free agent and Tank Dell recovering from another serious leg injury.
Diggs had 47 receptions for 496 yards and three touchdowns in eight games this season after a blockbuster trade from Buffalo before a season-ending knee injury.
Stroud has said he’d like to have Diggs back next season, but it’s too early to tell if the Texans will pursue re-signing the 31-year-old.
Dell faces a long recovery after tearing his ACL and dislocating his knee in a loss to Kansas City in December. This injury comes after Dell fractured his fibula in Week 13 against the Broncos in the 2023 season.
Dell was Houston's second-leading receiver behind Nico Collins with 667 yards receiving and three touchdowns. Ryans was asked if Dell's most recent injury could keep him out next season.
“We will continue to assess Tank and see where he ends up,” Ryans said. “It is too early right now to put a timeline on it. We will just give him time to heal and progress, see how the rehab goes.”
Secondary success
Houston’s secondary was a strength of the team this season with the stellar performance of Derek Stingley and the emergence of rookies Calen Bullock and Kamari Lassiter.
Stingley, the third overall pick in the 2022 draft, shook off two injury-filled seasons to earn first-team AP All-Pro honors. The cornerback ranked second in the NFL in the regular season with 18 passes defensed and grabbed two interceptions in Houston’s wild-card playoff win.
Lassiter, a second-round pick from Georgia, started 14 games and had three interceptions in the regular season and had another pick against the Chargers. Bullock, taken in the third round from Southern California, also had five interceptions in the regular season to tie Stingley for the team lead.
“We’ve got one of the best secondaries in this league and a very young and talented secondary also,” Bullock said. “So, it’s pretty scary for what we’ve got in the future, especially with the plays we made this year.”
Offensive line woes
The Texans will look to improve their offensive line this offseason after they allowed 54 sacks in the regular season and 12 more in the postseason.
“In the playoffs, you’ve got to win your one-on-one battles. That’s what the game always comes down to,” Ryans said. “You have to have some pride in who you’re blocking, to get it done and give the quarterback a chance to throw the football.”