Houston gets back into the series with a win on the road
Astros playoff report presented by APG&E: Houston takes World Series Game 3 in D.C. to get back on track
Oct 25, 2019, 11:10 pm
Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images
Jose Altuve scores on a night of much improved offense in World Series Game 3
After falling into a 2-0 hole with losses in both Games 1 and 2 in Houston, the Astros had to get things back under control with a win in Game 3 to avoid going down 3-0. They accomplished that mission, getting a 4-1 victory by getting a much better offensive night, including performing better in scoring opportunities. Here is a recap of World Series Game 3 from D.C.:
Final Score: Astros 4, Nationals 1.
Series: Nationals lead 2-1.
Winning Pitcher: Josh James.
Losing Pitcher: Anibal Sanchez.
Houston strikes first
With their offensive woes on display in the first two games, George Springer tried to quickly turn the tide with a leadoff infield single in the top of the first inning of World Series Game 3. Jose Altuve nearly scored him with a long drive to center field, but instead would be the first out on a terrific running catch by Victor Robles. Springer would steal second, but be stranded as the first runner in scoring position. They would get on the board in the top of the second, getting a one-out double by Carlos Correa, who would score on a bloop single by Josh Reddick, making it 1-0.
The @Astros silence the crowd. #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/NZMzb8Z4hl
— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2019
The next two batters would reach base, bringing up Zack Greinke, who would put down a sacrifice bunt to put runners on second and third for George Springer, who would groundout to strand both runners. Altuve led off the top of the third with a double and was able to advance to third as Juan Soto would have trouble with the ball in the left-field corner. That set up Michael Brantley for an RBI infield single, extending the early lead to 2-0.
Greinke holds the lead but unable to complete five innings
Meanwhile, Zack Greinke was able to work in and out of trouble through the first three innings. He worked around a two-out double in the bottom of the first, then after allowing back-to-back singles to start the bottom of the second, was able to get a strikeout and double play to strand both runners. He faced another jam in the bottom of the third, loading the bases with two outs before getting a pivotal strikeout to leave all three Nationals on base.
Got out of the jam with the s l o w filth. 😳 #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/dyzn8r8Cke
— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2019
Washington would get on the board in the bottom of the fourth, getting a leadoff walk that would score on a one-out RBI-triple by Victor Robles to cut Houston's lead in half at 2-1. Houston was able to get the run right back in the top of the fifth as Altuve and Brantley combined for a score with a one-out double then RBI-single, making it 3-1.
Greinke would continue into the fifth, but after two outs and putting runners on second and third after a two-out double, would see his night ended as Houston went to Josh James, who would get the final out of the inning. Greinke's final line: 4.2 IP, 7 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 0 HR.
Chirinos homers as Houston's bullpen holds on to the lead
In the top of the sixth, Robinson Chirinos pushed Houston's lead to three runs with a one-out solo home run, making it a 4-1 game. Kyle Tucker would pinch-hit in the pitcher's spot next, and after a lengthy at-bat against Anibal Sanchez, was able to work a walk to end Sanchez's night and cause Washington to dip into their bullpen. Tucker stole second and was able to advance to third on an errant throw, but despite the Astros loading the bases would not be able to add any more to their lead.
DOINK! #WorldSeries pic.twitter.com/2fk9byxoG3
— MLB (@MLB) October 26, 2019
Brad Peacock took over on the mound for the bottom of the sixth, but after back-to-back one-out walks was lifted in favor of Will Harris, who would finish off the inning. He would return for the bottom of the seventh and be able to retire the Nationals in order, getting five big outs for his team, heading to the eighth with a 4-1 lead. Houston tasked Joe Smith with the bottom of the eighth, and he was able to work around a one-out single to send the game to the ninth.
The Astros then turned to their closer, Roberto Osuna, in the bottom of the ninth to hold on to the three-run lead. He would do so as Houston would avoid going down 3-0 in the series and would instead make it a much more competitive 2-1 deficit heading to Game 4.
Up Next: World Series Game 4 will get underway on Saturday with another 7:07 PM Central start time. The Nationals will start Patrick Corbin, who before his one-inning relief appearance in Game 1 of this series last started a game in NLCS Game 4 where he went five innings during which he allowed four earned runs. The Astros will give the nod to Jose Urquidy, who last pitched out of the bullpen in ALCS Game 6, where he went 2.2 innings while allowing a solo home run.
The Astros playoff report is presented by APG&E.
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Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo 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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