Thursday, October 8, 2020

Thursday Morning Hot Links

Well that was less than ideal. Not the end of the world, but not ideal. Houston had a 7-4 going into the 7th, which translates into a 91.1% win expectancy via FanGraphs. And now the A's have hope, which is the worst possible thing a Team Like That can have. Game 4 is at 2:35pm Central on TBS. 

*FiveThirtyEight still has it 80-20 Astros. It's 78-22 Astros via FanGraphs.

*It was the 22nd time in franchise history that the Astros have scored 7+ runs in a postseason game. They're now 19-3, the last such loss coming in Game 1 of the 2004 NLCS.

*It will be Frankie Montas vs. TBA today. We'll find out who takes the mound later this morning. Is it Cristian Javier, and that's why Javier didn't pitch in Game 3? Or will it be Zack Greinke? The pressure mounts! Montas is coming off a 2020 regular season in which he posted a 5.60 ERA/1.51 WHIP with 10HR in 53IP. He has thrown 2IP (Wild Card Series Game 3) since September 27. In 15.1IP against Houston in 2020 he allowed 14H/7ER, 14K:3BB, a 4.11 ERA / 1.11 WHIP. 

*Chandler Rome: We still don't know what's up with Zack Greinke.

*Dusty, post-game:

I look at it like we're still in the lead. This team's been there before. These guys don't seem really worried about it. We got beat today. We made some mistakes. Hopefully, we don't make those mistakes tomorrow.

*Houston's opponents have scored first in four of the five 2020 playoff games. Houston is now 3-1 in those games. 

*The Astros were 3x8 w/RISP, Oakland was 1x6. Oakland's one hit was just a back-breaking 3-run home run from Some White Guy Who Looks Like He Sells Insurance. Josh James hadn't pitched since September 22. It's debatable on whether or not this was the time to do it, but it was a three-run lead, and I don't know that there was a better option than Raley to clean it up. Just one of those games. And a guy named Chad hit it. That's ridiculous. As to leaving Raley in, I know you try to win every game, but I'm okay with letting him work through it because it saved some arms you'll need today and (hopefully not) tomorrow. It wasn't my favorite move to leave James in, but I can justify it to myself. Josh James:

It's tough, but everybody wants to get put in that situation. You always feel like you're the right guy for the job. You go out there no matter how long it's been, and you compete. Today, I got beat. It's part of the game.

You know who didn't pitch in Game 3? Enoli Paredes, Blake Taylor, Cristian Javier, Ryan Pressly. 

*Our Dude Brian Arbour with the immediate reaction: Dusty played for tomorrow, and lost today.

*Liam Hendriks threw 37 pitches (26 for strikes) but said he'd be ready today.

*SI's Emma Baccellieri: The bad Astros bullpen has been good, and the good Oakland bullpen has been bad.

*Jose Urquidy: 4.1IP, 5H/4ER, 3K:1BB, 4HR. He had given up 4HR total in 29.2IP in the 2020 regular season. He had given up 2HR in a single game three times in his entire professional career, the only MLB start in which he gave up two or more home runs was July 31, 2019, and twice in 2016 when he was with Lancaster.

*Brooks Raley walked the leadoff batter, who later became Oakland's go-ahead run. It dawned on me recently that I have absolutely no idea how Brooks Raley ended up on the 2020 Houston Astros, so I looked it up: he was acquired on August 9 from the Reds for a PTBNL. Putting Osuna on the 45-Day IL was the corresponding move.

*George Springer was 0x4 with 3Ks, the 5th 3K game of his postseason career. In each of the last three times he's had a 3K day, the game following was a 2+ hit game, so that's good news for today.

*Jose Altuve was 3x5 with an RBI. His seven 3+ hit postseason games are the most in franchise history, and tied for the 5th most in AL postseason history.

*Alex Bregman was 2x4 with an RBI. The Astros are now 8-3 in the postseason when Bregman gets 2+ hits. 

*Aledmys Diaz hit a massive game-tying two-run home run, and it was the first postseason home run of his career. 

*How do you justify pinch-hitting Reddick for Maldonado? With Correa on 3rd, Tucker on 2nd, and two outs, and Maldonado's spot up, Dusty put in Reddick against Liam Hendriks. Also, Liam Hendriks looks like this. Ol' Shrek lookin headass.

Righties (Maldonado) vs. Hendriks (a righty) in 2020: .135/.148/.154, 18K:1BB

Lefties (Reddick) vs. Hendriks in 2020: .200/.243/.314, 19K:2BB.

First off, shoutout to Liam Hendshreks. That's a really good slash line, no matter from what side of the plate you prefer. Now:

Maldonado vs. Righties, 2020: .185/.324/.337, 4HR, 12RBI

Reddick vs. Righties, 2020: .236/.307/.358, 3HR, 13RBI

Neither is a *great* option. You needed a 2-out hit. In his career pinch-hitting:

Reddick: 80 PAs, .176/.225/.189, 1XBH, 22K:5BB

All this is to say...whatever. I don't get it. But what other options were there. Reddick could have been a hero. He wasn't. So it goes. Could Maldonado have done it? Maybe! It was a choice between this, Which Smells Worse: Your Butt, or Your Feet? The world will never know which choice actually smelled worse. 

*Bread Peacock had arthroscopic surgery on his right shoulder on Tuesday, and that will likely do it for Break Peacocd's Astros career. 

*The Yankees need Jordan Montgomery, making his postseason debut, to keep their season alive tonight.

*Even a man down in the 2nd Half, the Dynamo beat FC Dallas 2-0.

*Mental Floss: 35 lesser-known inventions of famous inventors.

*A Musical Selection: