Saturday, October 14, 2017

Saturday Morning Astros take 1-0 ALCS lead Hot Links

*Dallas Keuchel did what Dallas Keuchel does against the Yankees: shut them down. Kenneth made things interesting, but the Astros escaped Game 1 with a 2-1 win.

*Keuchel threw 7IP, 4H/0ER, 10K:1BB.

Keuchel vs. Yankees, career (postseason included): 57.2IP, 37H/7ER, 62K:8BB.

*Astros to have struck out 10+ batters in a postseason game:
Nolan Ryan, Mike Scott, Dallas Keuchel.

*Richard Justice notes that Keuchel is the first pitcher since "at least 1912" to go 4-0 in his first four postseason starts with a sub-1.00 ERA. Aaron Judge:
He just lives on the corners. He doesn't miss his spot. If you go through the whole game, there weren't a lot of pitches in the heart of the plate. He likes to live on the edges, and he commands it well. He mixes speeds well and keeps you off balance.

*Correa, on Keuchel:
He's special to watch. I love playing behind him. You've got to be ready for every single pitch knowing at some point you're going to get a ground ball. He's been consistent all year (Ed. note: He hasn't.) That's what a Cy Young Award winner does.

*Altuve:
We went out there today with the same attitude that we played the last series, and with Dallas on the mound, that would be key for us. It's really fun to play behind him, and we did and it feels really good. We've got to keep the momentum going and play 100 percent [today].

Pitchers to throw 7+ IP with 10+ K against the Yankees in the postseason:
Pedro Martinez, Cliff Lee, Randy Johnson, Dallas Keuchel.

Correa:
I knew it was going to be a close game. But again, we showed another one of our qualities. We don't need to score eight runs per game for us to win. We can still win one-run ballgames.

*Bregman:
I think that's the most locked in I've seen him, maybe all year. Maybe even better than a few of the starts that he had early in the year.

*Keuchel, on his success against the Yankees:
I think it's just pitch execution, and it's just been there more times than it hasn't against the Yankees.

*Correa, on Marwin's outfield assist nailing Greg Bird at the plate in the 5th:
It's one of the best throws I've ever seen from an outfielder. Long hop, low tag right there. It was just perfect. Unbelievable.

*Marwin went from Minute Maid to the hospital, where his wife gave birth to a boy. Marwin:
I am thinking of naming him Jose Altuve or Dallas Keuchel.

*More Marwin:
We're playing as a team. It doesn't matter if you get one or three hits. It doesn't matter who the hero is. We have to win. The goal we put on each other at the start of the playoffs was to play as a team and win. It doesn't matter what happens in the game. The important thing is to win.




*The Astros managed just six hits all night - three from Jose Altuve - and all of them were singles. It was the 3rd game all season without an extra-base hit (it's the second time the Yankees held them to zero extra-base hits), and the first one they won.

*Ken Giles is the first player in history to record two saves in the postseason while giving up a home run in each of those games.

*Teams that have won G1 at home in a seven-game series have gone on to win the series 22 out of 33 times.

*Altuve, ever the sweetheart, would give the MVP nod to Aaron Judge.
Because he hit a lot of homers, a lot of RBIs, he got on base a lot, and I like the way he plays. If I was a GM, I want him on my team because he plays the right way and he's very humble.

Nice sports writing, fella, asking the MVP for whom he'd vote for MVP.

*Whitney McIntosh: The Astros are so joyful they might ruin my sports cynicism.

*New York Daily News' lede: "HOUSTON - They have a problem."

*Newsday is here to calm Yankee fans down.

*The Astros sent outfielder Juan Ramirez to Houston to complete the Justin Verlander trade.