,

The Astros save the 2023 season

Perhaps if I had known it was this easy to inspire the team, I would have written this a long time ago….

The Astros needed to win at least two times to assure a playoff spot and three to have an outside shot at the division title. That outside shot became a bullseye after the Astros swept the Arizona D’Backs, while the Seattle Mariners were knocking off the Texas Rangers 3 out of 4, including Sunday’s win when they no longer had a dog in the playoff hunt. They very nobly, threw their ace, George Kirby, out there for 6 strong innings and held off the Rangers 1-0 in the last game of the season.

This cost the Rangers more than the title. It took away resting time for a tired pitching staff. It forced them to play the Wild Card series on the road. And it forced them to take a short puddle jumper from Seattle just a little southeast to Tampa, where they will meet the Rays on Tuesday afternoon.

How did the Astros forge this much-needed sweep at the most desperate time?

  • Great starting pitching – The three starters on the weekend, Jose Urquidy, Justin Verlander and Cristian Javier combined for 17 shutout innings, allowing a total of 7 hits. It rarely gets better than this.
  • Very solid relief pitching – The bullpen gave up two runs (one earned) over ten innings of sterling relief. Ryan Pressly had to overcome a silly Jose Altuve error to post a save in the first game and Bryan Abreu held onto the 1-0 lead to post a save in game two.
  • Jose Abreu stood tall – Abreu hit two monumental shots in the first two games that drove in all three runs for the team without leaving the ballpark, though they would have left almost all parks in the majors. Sunday, he blasted another one, not quite as far as the other two, but pulled it, which caused it to leave the field for a 2 run homer.
  • Hector Neris gets excited, but not too excited – After almost starting an international incident with his fellow countryman, Julio Rodriguez, in the Mariners series, Neris came in for two critical appearances in the D’Back series. After a scoreless inning of work on Friday, he came into a bases-loaded one-out mess created by Kendall Gravemen, got out of it, and then went out and got into and out of a mess of his own the next inning.
  • The Astros decided not to celebrate getting in the playoffs Saturday night and held off until after their division clincher on Sunday. This looked like a brilliant decision as they easily knocked off the D’Backs 8-1 on the last day of the year.
  • Whether we like it or not, Martin Maldonado caught all three games and worked seamlessly with a staff that held Arizona at bay. His bullet down to second to nail Jake McCarthy with no outs in the ninth on Saturday was a critical defensive play that helped hold the razor thin lead.
  • Kyle Tucker had to settle for a 29 HR/ 30 SB season as his Little League home run in the 5th was ruled a triple and an error, a triple and a fielders choice, a home run and then a triple again during the course of the game.
  • The Astros defense helped the pitchers a ton throughout the series, especially on some critical double play turns and some lovely snags in the outfield.
  • And doubling up here since it was mentioned in the first bullet, but the emergency start by Urquidy was one of the most critical of the season, along with being one of the best of the season period.

How will the Astros do in their next series? Let’s see if they will be playing their old buddy George Springer and his Toronto Blue Jays or their old buddy Carlos Correa and the Minnesota Twins.

But that is a subject for another day.

←
→

28 responses to “The Astros save the 2023 season”

  1. MLB has all the times on our series listed as TBD. I don’t want to suggest there is a team I’d rather play than another, but I’m really glad we don’t have to endure the nonsense of Boston/NYY in the postseason and how the FOX crews adore them. I think the only thing worse would be a matchup against a healthy Trout/Ohtani, but it’s possible Atlanta will be equally unbearable this year.

    Like

    Reply

    • Well, Devin there should be no big bias for someone else on the AL side, but yes – Atlanta or the Dodgers would no doubt have the broadcasters on their sides.
      Of course, the Astros are just the World Champs. Why should anyone talk them up?

      I saw where Tucker is going to protest the ruling of his Little League home run as a triple. As I told my brother with our luck with the MLB they will change it from a triple to a 4 base error.

      Like

      Reply

  2. Hi folks – anybody out there? Guess what your team is still playing, and by the time they do play they will be one of eight teams left with 22 sitting at home.

    Like

    Reply

  4. I’m wondering about Scott Servais’s decision to pitch his ace in the meaningless last game of the season against a Rangers club who decided to party into the night in the Mariner’s house, despite the chance that they could win the AL West with a victory the next day.
    When I saw that Servais had not scratched his ace from the start, I thought back to the game he pitched last Monday against the Astros and I began to hope against hope Kirby could do it again.
    I think Bochy letting his players party hard before their job was finished is a bitter lesson for the Rangers.
    Any thoughts on this?

    Like

    Reply

    • If it was Kirby’s time to go, I don’t blame him. Kirby is a professional that probably wanted that start to prove something. That kid is talented. Right now the difference between 13-10 and 3.35 and 18-4 and 2.75 is small. It’s a little bit of command. Of course that is true of a dozen or so youngsters (or own Luis Garcia was right there) but when I watch Kirby pitch I think he has “it.” People can say he led the league in BB/9 at 0.9 (led in a good way), how can you say command, but I think for him it’s the quality of strikes right now. It’s just a few moments in a few of those games, a few pitches that caught too much when he was trying to lean them an inch or two to the left or right or up or down.

      The Mariners have 3 really good pitchers. In my opinion, he is the best of the 3.

      Like

      Reply

  5. Congratulations to KTuck who won the AL RBI title with 112
    After having no triples from April to August, KTuck had 5 in September/October
    Bregman hit for half a cycle last night, so he gets the unicycle award:

    Feeling nervous now I’m facing you
    Feeling nervous ’cause you hit everything I threw
    You turned on my best pitch, it left a scar
    Now I see how you became an All-Star

    You’re so good, you’re so good, you’re so good
    Breggy, you’re so good (I’m gonna say it again)
    You’re so good, you’re so good, you’re so good
    Breggy, you’re so good

    Laid a bunt down in front of you
    Well, you broke for home and barehanded you threw
    I’ll beg your first baseman will make an E3
    You would be blameless ‘cause you shot him a seed

    You’re so good, you’re so good, you’re so good
    Breggy, you’re so good (I’m gonna say it again)
    You’re so good, you’re so good, you’re so good
    Breggy, you’re so good

    I’m telling you now, Breggy, that I’m going my way
    Forget about me baby, ’cause I’m retiring today

    You’re so good, you’re so good, you’re so good
    Breggy, you’re so good (I’m gonna say it again)
    You’re so good, you’re so good, you’re so good
    Breggy, you’re so good

    Oh, oh no

    You’re so good, you’re so good, you’re so good
    Breggy, you’re so good

    Like

    Reply

  6. I copied this from my last post yesterday. I’m still amazed at how we managed to come back and win the division (along with a little help from Seattle).

    If you had given me the odds on the Astros winning the West on Friday morning I’d had probably said slim and none but now you know why I’m not a betting man. And look at the guys who came through. We have been down on Abreu and Maldy all season and rightfully so and then they do what they did this weekend to get us to the ALCS West Championship. Maybe we’ll win another WS and then again maybe not but this has got to be one of the up and down seasons that I can remember since Houston came into the league. I know we’ve been down on the team and it’s players, Manager, and Coaches but for the time being let’s celebrate another Division win.
    Just amazed at Texas and Seattle and the way they just couldn’t get across the finish line. I know Seattle fans are disappointed as are Texas fans for not winning the Division but they’re in the WC. Now it’s the Second season so lets see what happens next for our Astros.
    Congratulations!

    As mentioned, it makes no difference who is going to carry the games the bias is always against the Astros. I’d like to see Diaz get a shot behind the dish but that ain’t going to happen for obvious reasons.

    Like

    Reply

  7. Let’s see ….

    – I already answered Devin above (not to be confused with heaven above)
    – Old Pro – I thought the Astros not celebrating Saturday night was a key to winning Sunday (along with the D’Backs celebrating in their pool). Servais is an old school type hard a$$. I’m sure he wanted to hand it to the Rangers for daring to celebrate when their job was half done. I think Bochy made a mistake
    – Astro Nut – nicely done on your latest parody. I’m not ashamed to say I had the biggest crush on Linda Ronstadt back in the day and always thought she had one of those top 5 female rock voices. A terrible shame that Parkinson’s has taken her ability to sing away from her.
    – Zanuda – on the radio they said that Friday the Astros’ chances of taking the division was 6%, but that Monday it was 100%.

    Like

    Reply

  8. So many things had to go the Astros way. M’s losing two of three from us. Rangers losing 3 of 4 from the M’s, including the hangover shutout. Dopes. I guess Bochie could have thrown then out of the clubhouse on Saturday night, but they would have simply moved down the street to the next bar. So today they woke up groggy with jet lag in a Tampa hotel out of clean underwear and having to play tomorrow afternoon without a rotation.

    And then we got 16 or 17 shutout innings from our starters in Arizona, with the added bonus of going up against a bunch of subs and lower end bullpen guys. So we hit on Sunday! Neris had a great weekend. Maldy did not hit, but as Dan says, he deserves a mention.

    I’m hoping now that theTwins and Jays go 3 games, all close with a whole lot of pen usage. And it’s time for the Astros to play some home ball. For a team that went 39 and 42 on its own field, they are lucky, fortunate, whatever you want to call it.

    And last, I said yesterday that I’m not going to lament Diaz being relegated to a pinch hitters role, or Chas sitting so that Dubon and Brantley can take up left and center. I want to win. That’s my reality. But I’m not forgetting how many baseball games we gave up throughout the 162 game season we just played. This division win, while rewarding, was much tougher than it should have been. Regardless of what happens over the next month, I hope the important people don’t forget all that’s transpired in 2023.

    Like

    Reply

  10. Getting the bye will be huge.

    I was looking over the Rangers/Rays series. The Rangers scuffled the last 2 months. Looking at Heims stats I think he quit hitting around the same time he got injured. He came back on 13 Aug, but hit more like his career stats than early 2023 the rest of the way.

    I think the Rangers may have a slight pitching advantage. Montgomery will match up well with Glasnow. The Rays probably have the better matchup in game 2 with Efflin against what I assume would be Heaney. But the Rangers actually have Eovaldi for game 3, the Rays look they might start Littel on a short leash or just go straight bullpen day. If Efflin does his job a bullpen day in game 3 might be to their advantage given the dumpster fire Eovaldi has been since coming back from the month plus of rest from “dead arm” in August, so the Rangers may go with Dunning on a short leash. The fact that they have to play 3 in a row without an off day could be tough on that bullpen day for the Rays.

    I actually think the Rangers will squeeze past em. I could be convinced that the Rays could win game 3 with a bullpen day though. Their bullpen is really good, it’s going to depend on good AND rested.

    Like

    Reply

    • I lean towards the more experienced playoff team – The Rays – taking out the Rangers but Wild card round is an absolute coin flip.
      Nice write up Steven 

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  11. Maybe a correction is in order. I just read in SI.com that the Rangers “blow out” post game on Saturday night lasted about 30 minutes, based on multiple sources. In fact, Brian McTaggart made a snarky comment via X, or what was Twitter, about the Rangers celebrating prematurely that pissed off many, both inside and outside the Ranger organization.

    Like

    Reply

  14. I’m having a hard time confirming this but my son said Angel Hernandez was fired after some confrontation with Bryce Harper.
    About 20 or 30 yrs too late.

    Like

    Reply

  17. I’m almost positive the Angel Hernandez thing is a social media creation and thus not true. I saw it in my Twitter feed a week ago and yet no mention of it on ESPN or MLB network. I have a feeling it would be big news. 

    Like

    Reply

  18. OK, Dan, I have a few thoughts to share:
    * Singleton, being a September expanded roster callup, I would be surprised if he makes the roster for the ALDS.
    * Since Brown was in the playoff bullpen last year, I think he probably will be again.
    * Urquidy should be the fourth starter, if needed. Just saying.
    * Hoping Bregman and Pena and Alvarez are very motivated after the snubs they got in the Top 50 players in the playoffs.

    Like

    Reply

    • Good morning.  1oldpro, I’ve been pondering the post season roster.  Dubon will start in center when Verlander is pitching.  

      Brantley will likely start in left field against righty pitching, at least at home.  

      Then you’ve got Maldy, Abreu, Altuve, Pena, Bregman, Tucker and Alvarez that will start every game.

      Then you’ve got Chas and Diaz.  Does Kessinger keep a bench job in case an infielder gets hurt while Dubon is playing center for Verlander?  That would be 12.

      If the Astros go into the 5 game series with 13 pitchers, someone will have to go onto the taxi squad. Do they need Seth Martinez?   I’m guessing they go 12/14, at least for the first series and Jake and Singleton retain their bench jobs.    

      I fully agree that Urquidy would be my guy to start a 4th game if needed.  I believe we’ll get important help from Brown in a relief role too.

      And with a bench that will probably include Brantley, Chas, Diaz, at various times, we’ve got more depth than we’ve had in the past.   

      Like

      Reply

  19. – Well, I did say I could not confirm it – but sorry I even shared the Angel Hernandez story. Wishful thinking.
    – Steven, if you are out there – at least after one game, you look more accurate on the Rangers vs. Rays.
    – Am going to post the ChipalattAwards for September today – the awards for the season will be an off-season post
    – I will do a pre-ALDS post after we know who we are playing.

    Like

    Reply

    • Well game 2 is different than I was expecting. Bochy is smarter than I am obviously. I figured he would match up Heaney with Eflin, but knowing the Rays are kind of stuck for a game 3, maybe starting Littell but expecting 2 or 3 innings and turning it into a BP game, with a game 1 win I see why he is turning to Eovaldi. Heaney gives them a game 3 advantage. Eovaldi vs. Littell turns it into a BP game for both. And you never know, Eovaldi maybe catches lightning in a bottle, hits a few spots, gets a few bad at bats and maybe he survives 4. The Rays obviously need not only Eflin to show up and pitch like an ace, they need him to do it for 6 to save some of the primary arms for tomorrow. Bochy is a smart one. Now if had lost game 1, he probably would go with Heaney tonight. That’s why he didn’t have an announced starter for game 2 even going into game 1.

      Dude just outclasses our dude.

      Like

      Reply

  21. Man, the Rangers – Rays game had 19,700 fans at Tropicana Field- the lowest attendance for a playoff game since Game 7 of the 1919 World Series (Reds vs. the Black Sox) – other than the pandemic year of no fans.
    That is hard to fathom.

    Like

    Reply

Leave a comment