ALDS Game 3 recap: Astros 4-2, one win away from ALCS

The Astros have two wins in their ALDS series with the Royals and both wins reflected the way they have won games all year long.

  • Great basis. Starting pitching makes it tough for the other team to score. Collin McHugh gave up 2 HRs, but only 2 runs in 6 tough innings in Game 1; Dallas Keuchel pitched like pitch counts are only for mortals giving up one solo HR in 7 innings of brilliant ball to win Game 3.
  • Just enough offense. In game one they rode a bunch of hits from the top of the lineup and a home run each from Rasmus and Springer to score 5 runs. In game 3 the bottom of the order led the way with Carter’s 3 hits including a home run and a double and a key 2 run 2 out single by Castro resulting in  4 runs.
  • Just enough bullpen. Thursday night the bullpen put up 0’s for 3 innings, while on Sunday, they gave one run up in 2 innings to preserve the win.

The Astros have been here before in the playoffs. The 1980 loss to the Phillies was one where the team handed back a 2-1 series lead, losing two extra inning games to break the hearts of all of H-Town. But that was 35 years ago, when only Chad Qualls was alive. (And I guess Chad is not active for this round).

So…..

  • Does Lance McCullers Jr. close this out tomorrow?
  • Who will be the next unlikely hero for this team?
  • Are you worried? Confident?
  • What is the most important thing for this Astros team to do to close out the AL defending champions?
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134 responses to “ALDS Game 3 recap: Astros 4-2, one win away from ALCS”

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  9. 4 straight singles off Harris for 1 run / Sipp comes in and gives up a single and another run. Correa makes a 2 run error. The game is tied with a guy on first and third and no body out. Shades of every frigging time we blew a big lead late in a playoff game.

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    • I had to go outside BEFORE they scored to tie it up. Loaded the bases again…..please someone put me outta my misery. I just can NOT believe Correa’S error…….

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  16. Can’t understand why Hinch keeps using the same relievers over and over. Fiers has been available all series long.
    Gotta think outside the box sometimes

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  18. Yeah Billy, there will be a lot of second guessing, including myself. Up 6 to 2 in the 8th, Fiers is fresh, Fields is fresh, the other guys are all gassed.

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  19. You can go to that we’ll one too many times, before you get burned. Will Harris, and Tony Sipp have pitched their arms off……now you see the results. My hope is that the go to Kansas City and play a CLEAN game. Win or lose, it’s been a magical season.

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  23. This was the time to win it. Can’t stand to see it dragged out now. If I have to eat my words, okay, but this is overreach. It’s not their year. Pain, pain, go away.

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  26. I just hope we don’t have to listen to this crew on FSN1 anymore. We still have life people, and McHugh is going to get the ball on Wed. Oh by the way the Jays are beating the snot outta the Arlington little leaguers!! Wish it could have been a different outcome today, but our bullpen is worn completely out.

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    • No, only a couple of the bullpen guys are exausted. Someone running this team is responsible for this downfall. So many players are not getting a chance. You keep running the same guys out there against the same team. The opposition learns your weakness.
      Crane needs to bump some heads.

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    • Thanks Becky for talking me off the cliff! I’ve been an Astros fan since I was 5 and remember 1986 very well. This has to go down with the Oilers 32-3 implosion. The best news is we have McHugh going on full rest with confidence on Wednesday. Hoping for a big W for the boys in orange and navy!

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    • No idea why they didn’t use him, but on Wed you an bet your last dollar Hinch will throw everything and everyone out on the field to get a win. Right now, the team up the road is on their second starter, and they are STILL getting beat 7-1. Too late to unspill milk, but it looks like it’s gonna be down to te wire for us and the Strangers.
      Go have yourself a stiff drink folks, and we will hash today’s loss tomorrow!

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  28. Had it been mid-inning, I could see wanting bullpen pitchers out there. But to begin an inning with a 4 run lead is inexcusable. I don’t know what the charts and graphs and match ups dictate, but this is the end of the year. The Giants even used Bumgarner in relief last year. You play to win, not to extend the series.

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    • This is my thought. If you’re saving somebody, why? Again I say why? This was the time to pull out the heavy artillery and shut it down. But I’m wasting my breath, just like the old days.

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  30. Easily the most intense and emotional game I’ve ever attended. It’s a good thing my voice had gone hoarse from the cheers of our 3-run inning, because I may have belted 2-innings worth of profanity there at the end.

    I must admit, I had a few tears.

    There’s always Wednesday…

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  32. Brutal is the word—and I’ve seen a whole lotta losses. Just shell shocked. But, as others have said, Wed. is a new day.

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  33. Ya know….our media went in to talk to the players this afternoon, and instead of praising Correa for the homeruns, they wanted to know what happened in the 8th inning that caused the team to lose. THEN…..talked to Gregerson about the bullpen meltdown. I’m pretty pi $$ed off right now at our tv station personal. Correa kind of looked at the guy and said “I missed it, I just missed it…..I’m not perfect” right then I screamed do loud you could here me in New York!!! I’m writing them an email that might just set their computers on fire…….GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

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    • I read similar stuff on Chron.com. It made me furious. Blame Hinch, the pen, but don’t put that on a 21 year old kid that’s destined to be the face of this franchise for decades. He plays his heart out every day. He succeeds when others on the team fail consistently.
      I hope you DO set their computers on fire.

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  34. I put off reading this blog because this loss just hurts really bad, but I ask everyone to just take a step back and consider that The Astros management might be trying to build a culture not just win a game. They show tremendous faith in their players and I think they are more like Ned Yost than anyone realizes. You learn from failure and you become better. They might not win in KC but they will be better. They won’t be satisfied, but they will be better.

    Now back to my Bourbon!

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  35. Pencil, hope the bourbon helps. I just downed a carton of ice cream.

    I just can’t see how any good could come from this. Like Becky just posted, they’re putting this on the backs of the players when the fault appears to me to lie on management. They have faith (or something) in a few players. They’ve used the same lineup and relievers for the last two weeks. A winning team uses their whole roster, not just 12 or 13 players.
    I can’t believe anyone will ever look back on this day and say it helped them become better.

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    • They can always learn from something. The eighth inning at bats were about as bad as it gets. It was a one run game at that point and the difference of the Royal with a sub-.200 avg grinding out a 13 pitch walk against our 9-1-2 meekly going three up, three down was stark.

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  36. I think a lot of people in today’s game forgot that the fat lady hadn’t sung. Yogi taught us better than that! I was wondering if the 8th inning was payback for challenging that call at third. I may be in the minority, but I think those kind of minuscule challenges on caught stealing are BS. Yes, one went against us recently, but I think AJ started that nonsense earlier in the season. Sure if the guy slides though the base or really comes off that’s different. But in this case Valbuena was tangled up in guys legs and falling on him at the same time.- who could tell why his foot came off the bag a half inch. I’m thinking that might just have fired KC up. Hopefully the guys will score a lot of runs for McHugh Wednesday like they have before.

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    • I agree with you, but I believe baserunners (especially those only in the game to run) should be able to properly slide into a bag without spiking a fielder or letting their momentum carry them off the bag.

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