The Astros played like Whataburger was on the line— Whataburger® (@Whataburger) October 6, 2017
*(Houston) Keuchel took a little while to settle in, eventually throwing 5.2IP, 3H/1ER, 7K:3BB.
Keuchel, Innings 1-2: 48 pitches, 3H/1ER, 3K/1BB
Keuchel, Innings 3-5.2: 48 pitches, 0H/0ER, 4K:1BB
Keuchel retired 13 batters in a row.
*Springer, who hit a home run (2x4, BB, RBI)
For us to come out and score off of those guys over there is obviously huge for us. (Sale and Pomeranz) are two quality arms who have started the games, and we've been stringing along with some quality at-bats and scoring early.
*Correa, who went 2x4 with a walk and 4RBI:
You've seen it throughout the whole season. One through nine, everybody can do damage, everybody can go deep. That's the good thing about our lineup, there's no holes in our lineup, and we feel very confident, no matter if we went 0-for-4 the day before or if we went 4-for-4.
*Alex Rodriguez broke down Carlos Correa's swing.
*The Astros had the bases loaded twice, and went 0x5.
*Dustin Pedroia, who is basically Matt Damon in The Departed at this point, summed it up:
They've played it great. They've done everything right, and we haven't done anything right. Hopefully, getting back home and getting in front of our fans will give us a boost and get us back in this series.
*More Pedroia:
We just got our ass kicked twice. Confidence is irrelevant at this point.
*Mookie Betts told Tyler Kepner:
We can only be ourselves. We can't go out and bang like them. We can't do a whole lot of things that they can do, but we can do what we can do. And what we do got us in the playoffs, and I'm pretty sure it can win us the World Series, too.
*Red Sox manager John Farrell:
They're very good, they're deep, and they have got a number of ways to beat you. So we fully respect and understood the opponent, and they're playing like that.
*The Boston Globe's Pete Abraham:
There was a sort of grim resignation in the Red Sox clubhouse that Houston is a much better team.
*Boston Herald's Jason Mastrodonato:
Forget about talent. The Red Sox simply didn't look ready to play.
*Boston Herald's Michael Silverman:
But yesterday's brutal Game 2 Division series loss exposed the most glaring weakness this team possesses: That it's offense, a punchless and moody group of hitters who put their worst on display when the team needed them the most in the 8-2 loss.
*Hinch:
We won't take anything for granted. This is a team that's very, very laser-focused on winning the series. You don't win the series with two wins - you win it with three.
*Richard Justice says the Minute Maid crowd shows Houston's resilience. Keuchel:
Just to be at home, everybody is so comfortable here, and we played so well. I know we played better, record-wise, on the road this year, but just being back at home at Minute Maid, where everybody's gone through a lot...it just means a lot to us to be here and for the fans to be out here.
*Jenny Dial Creech says these Astros look like something special.
*Providence Journal: Of the 56 teams to be
*MLB announced that the Astros and Red Sox will play afternoon games as long as the Cleveland/New York series is still going on. Like it's 1922, or something.
*Brad Peacock will start G3 at Fenway on Sunday afternoon. Hinch, on the decision:
He's had an exceptional season as a starter. He's filled a couple different roles, and he's earned this start. I think his effectiveness, his calmness, his ability to throw strikes, he's got real weapons, he gets a ton of swing and miss. His season speaks for itself, which is why we would turn to him in Game 3.
Charles Morton would start G4. McCullers is presumably ready out of the bullpen to close out the series on Sunday. Or whatever afternoon/not-convenient time MLB has decided to play this series.
*FiveThirtyEight says the Astros won G3 5500 out of 10000 times in simulations.
*Carlos Correa has worked with Jim Crane to send another plane full of supplies to Puerto Rico, which pretty much everyone in the contiguous 48 states has forgotten about. Don't do that.
*Alex Speier wrote about the Astros trying to stay ahead of the analytics curve. Luhnow:
It's a double-edged sword. If (other teams are) following things we did first, it means, a) it works; and b) our advantage is gone, or dissipating. That's why we're constantly trying to figure out how we can gain small advantages in multiple areas.
*FanGraphs: Has the era of the super-team arrived?
*Former Fresno manager Tony DeFrancesco has been hired by the Mets to manage their PCL team in Las Vegas.
*Oh hey here's a surprise, Jon Heyman picked Aaron Judge over Jose Altuve for AL MVP.
*Elsewhere in the postseason:
ALDS: Cleveland came back from an 8-3 deficit to beat the Yankees 9-8 in 13 innings. Edwin Encarnacion looked like he really hurt his ankle and I did not enjoy replays of that play. Cleveland has a 2-0 lead.
NLDS: Chicago held Washington to two hits, winning 3-0 to take a 1-0 series lead.
NLDS: Taijuan Walker became the latest playoff pitcher to not last two innings as LA beat Arizona 9-5 to take a 1-0 series lead. J.D. Martinez hit a home run, though.
*This is extremely my jam: 20 lost indie Britpop bands of the 2000s. (I'm sorry but The Bravery is not "lost.")
