Coming into this series, I was surprised to see lack of respect for the Astros. They have been to 6 straight ALCS's and last year down 2-1 in ALCS to Red Sox and minus Justin Verlander who was hurt--they won 3 straight games in blowout fashion to win the pennant.
Last night all we heard is the roof is open and wind is blowing and yet the Astros with some subtle tweaks to the hitting approach got a win. First of all, Alvarez hit a double play ball which he beat out on sheer hustle giving Bregman an at bat. He knew Severino would try to bust him inside and he took that inside heater over the short wall in left. My question is how come Yankee power bats could not do the same? Stanton's final AB he looked clueless.
And lack of hustle from Yankees has been obvious in post-season--Torres not hustling on DP grounder in Guardian series leaving Judge without an at bat in that inning plus the comical scene where Donaldson was called out as both he and Yankee first base coach were trying to enjoy a Cadillac run around the bases on a hit that fell short of the fence. After last night's game the Yankees embarrassed themselves further by Severino calling Astros "lucky" and Boone blaming open roof stadium.
As we head to a 4PM start in Game 3 tomorrow should the Astros blame a potential loss on shadows saying this game should be played at night? No, they won't --they will employ best at bats possible in those conditions. And I can tell you they will hustle every moment no matter what the situation. And Baker's use of his bullpen could be the key in this series. It has already put Yanks in an 0-2 hole.