Astros’ scorched Earth policy leaves the National League’s best in ruins
I’m starting the feel like this is my favorite Astros team of all time.
Against three MVPs and a nasty crowd of hateful boo birds, the walking-wounded, quad A Astros came into Los Angeles and dominated the Dodgers, taking three straight. They outscored the boys in blue 29-6 in the series. Just done beating NL Division leaders the Phillies and Cubs, is this Astros team somehow the best in baseball?
Where to start?
Who’s Ryan Gusto? Well, he’s the guy that shutdown the best lineup money can buy, Shohei Ohtani, Mookie Betts, Freddie Freeman, et. al., going six innings, allowing a run on only four hits and a walk.
Of course, the bullpen was bullets again. With All-Star Josh Hader unavailable, Bennet Sousa, Bryan King, and Bryan Abreu held fort. King in the eighth got Ohtani, Betts, and Freeman, handing the soft underbelly of the Dodgers lineup to Abreu, who struck out three in the ninth.
The Astros’ offense started slow, scoring a run in the third on a Jose Altuve sac fly. They added a run in the sixth on a Zach Short (who dat?) bases loaded eight-pitch walk after being down 0-2 in the count. Recent call-up Short was 3-3 with a double and the aforementioned RBI, his third in the last two days.
The Astros offense for some reason doesn’t seem to trust the bullpen. Not content with a 2-1 win, the Astros decided to go long-ball in the eighth and ninth innings, with back-to-back jacks from Christian Walker and Yainer Diaz.
And then most satisfying of all, Altuve got his third homer in this series in the ninth, but no doubt, the rabid Dodgers fans will conjure some sort of Altuve conspiracy theory to explain his 22 homers in Dodger stadium.
It must be the buzzer in his shoes.
This was the first Astros sweep in Dodger Stadium in 17 years.
The screeching-hot Astros face the Guardians tomorrow At Daikin Park at 7:10 CT.