The Houston Astros tied for the World Championship 1-1 Saturday night against the Philadelphia Phillies, and Astros manager Dusty Baker was undoubtedly proud.
The Houston Astros fell victim to the Philadelphia Phillies in Game 1 of the World Series, but replaced themselves in Game Two, winning 5-2. Taking down the Phillies was more difficult than many expected, so the bounce from Houston in Game Two was impressive. Director Dusty Baker was certainly proud, as he should have been.
Baker spoke about the team’s priorities and how impeccable the show must be to get to Bryce Harper in particular. Baker said Do Hyung Park from MLB.com:
“You’re thinking of who [are] Matches for players coming in that round. We were hoping so [Montero] You will pass through Harper. It’s always on your radar when it’s next level. …we thought about it [a fresh arm]but we just thought who might be better in this situation than who was already there, as long as he wasn’t tired or started throwing balls and things.”
He shared that he expects bowler Framber Valdez to do well, but “you don’t know” what could happen. That’s been evident since first game Justin Verlander, Houston’s most reliable bowler during the regular season, put in an ERA of 9.0.
Of course, he shared his positive thoughts on José Altov as well, noting that “his track record speaks for itself”, and that he “will strike forever.” It’s hard not to respect Altuve just looking at his stats.
He also talked about the importance of winning Match 2 and how it was almost a “must win”, especially since the first two matches were at home. “People have gone home happy and we would like to have a positive attitude across the city,” he said.
Becker discussed back-to-back triples at the start of the game, and said he was “drawing for a fourth” to try to score as many kicks as possible.
Through a disappointing loss in Game 1, the Astros persevered and came close to winning the World Championship.
The Astros win Game 2 after an upsetting loss in Game 1
It was all too easy for Houston to give up after losing their first game with the MVP of the regular season. Although Valdes is a good player and has started Game 2 beautifully, the regular season stats suggest he should have faced more Velez than Verlander did.
During the regular season, Valdez produced an ERA of 2.82, a batting average for .223 and a WHIP of 1.16. Those are good numbers, but Verlander has been on a completely different level this season with a well-deserved Cy Young performance.
He choked on his World Championship appearances, but he has a history of poor post-season performance, so that should have been expected. Regardless, it was disappointing. However, Valdes set a new tone of hope for the team with a better than usual performance.
Valdez was so good that he was accused of using a prohibited substance Because of the number of times he wiped sweat off his forehead. He only allowed to run once in six innings and hit nine. The team stopped and Rafael Monteiro closed the match with a win.
Baker realized how important rotations and the board were in eliminating Philadelphia’s stunning attack, and that his strategic efforts to cash in on his talent were paying off.
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