Every single player should have formed a single-file line, walked past Charlie Morton's locker, shook his hand, and apologized. Morton's masterful performance in Game 4 was absolutely wasted by an offense that clearly wanted a 3-1 lead WITH EACH AT-BAT, and by Will Harris and Ken Giles, who have proven throughout this postseason that they are not to be trusted. Game 5 tonight: Keuchel v Kershaw, vol. 2. The Series is now a best-of-three with potentially two games in Los Angeles.
*Giles:
I didn't do my job. I let the team down. I'm going to be ready to go tomorrow to pick these guys up.
Bro the only thing you better be picking up today is Whataburger, for everybody else.
Hinch:
We've got to get 27 outs. You've got to keep trying to encourage them to do their part and come in and do well. It seems like right now for some of these guys, it's one pitch and things unravel a little bit. That's what happened to Kenny in the ninth.
*But don't worry! Giles isn't going to watch video or look at his mechanics to see if he can get right:
I can't rely on that stuff. It all lies within me. I need to take care of business with myself before I worry about anything else.
Giles this postseason: 7.2IP, 12H/10ER, 10K:5BB, 3HR. 11.74 ERA / 2.22 WHIP.
*Ken Davidoff: Giles is Houston's version of Dellin Betances.
The Astros are locked into a tight World Series, and they must plan to win this thing without their closer, who has turned to jelly under the October glare.
*Springer:
I love those guys. I love all these guys in there. This game's hard. They're not out there trying to fail. I hope skip keeps giving 'em the ball. I have the utmost confidence in them, and I'm glad they're on my team.
*Charlie Morton threw 6.1IP, 3H/1ER, 7K:0BB. His one run came thanks to Will Harris. Bullpen: 2.2IP, 4H/5ER, 2K:2BB. McCann:
He had everything going tonight. The sharpness on his pitches was as good as I've seen. He had it all working.
Hinch, on taking Morton out:
Charlie had done his job. He'd had a little trouble in the sixth, and then obviously was misfiring a little bit in the seventh. In these types of games when it doesn't work out, you obviously look at what could have been.
*Former Pirates beat writer Travis Sawchik walks us through data and anecdotes to detail Charlie Morton's breakout season.
*Musgrove, on the 3-run home run to Joc Pederson:
The Pederson pitch is right where I wanted it - fastball up out of the zone. He just beat me to it. That's baseball. You get away with plenty of fastballs down the middle of the plate that guys foul off. You throw one up out of the zone where you want, and they beat you. I'd be more upset if I threw it down the middle, and he hit it out.
*Tyler Kepner writes about the quick-hook of starters in the playoffs:
In the modern game, especially in the World Series, relievers are more like peacekeepers than firefighters. You call for them before the blaze starts, just to keep things stable.
*Oh don't forget the Astros were held to two hits - both home runs - by George Springer and Alex Bregman. Three-through-nine in the lineup were a combined 0x20, but with only 3K:2BB.
*Bregman can't wait for tonight's Game 5:
I know everyone in here wishes the game was right now. We want to go back out there and play and - I don't know if redeem ourselves is the right word - but we want to go back out there and play right now. This is the World Series. This is going to be a dogfight.
*FanGraphs gives the Astros a 53.7% chance of winning the World Series.
FiveThirtyEight gives to the Dodgers at 56%, with the Dodgers at a 52-48 edge for Game 5.
*Yuli Gurriel will be suspended for the first five games of the 2018 season. Washington Post's Thomas Boswell writes about a racist taunt that fueled a stunning display of civility.
*Hinch's bond with the players is paying off, writes Brian T. Smith.
*FanGraphs' David Laurilia talks Jose Altuve and batting average.
*Wright Thompson on Houston and the Astros? Okay.
*David Schoenfield asks if this is one of the all-time great World Series.
*Mike Oz spent some time with Hailey Dawson, who threw out the first pitch last night.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
