The Cycle, Issue 103: The Astros Win The Pennant
Recapping Houston’s pennant-clinching Game 6 victory, bidding farewell to the Red Sox, and an important update about Saturday’s NLCS Game 6
In this issue of The Cycle . . .
I recap the Astros’ pennant-clinching win in Game 6 of the ALCS, hand out my own ALCS hardware, bid farewell to the Red Sox with their Wait ‘Til Next Year entry, and discuss the upheaval in the Dodgers’ pitching plans for tonight’s Game 6 of the NLCS.
My apologies for the late arrival of this issue. The last two days I’ve been dealing with, to borrow an injured-list phrase, a non-COVID illness, and last night that triggered a migraine, which prevented me from writing. I’m feeling better on both fronts, now, however.
American League Championship Series
Astros 4, Red Sox 2
Game 6
The Houston Astros won their third American League pennant in five years Friday night by defeating the Boston Red Sox 5–0 in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series. Twenty-four-year-old rookie righty Luis Garcia, who was hit hard in Game 2 and left that game in the top of the second inning with a right knee injury, made a small correction to the angle of his right foot against the pitching rubber, and it appears to have made all the difference. With his entire foot flush against the rubber Friday night, Garcia’s push knee was properly supported, and that stronger base spiked Garcia’s velocity and effectiveness. Through the first five and two-thirds innings, he allowed just two baserunners—one of them reaching on a wild strike-three pitch to start the game, the other on a one-out walk in the second inning—and stranded both of them.
Meanwhile, the Astros took an early lead against Red Sox starter Nathan Eovaldi when, with two outs in the bottom of the first, Alex Bregman singled, and Yordan Alvarez, who would be named series MVP, drove him home with a double off the heel of Kiké Hernández’s glove near the wall in right centerfield.
That 1–0 score held until Hernández drove Garcia from the game with a two-out triple high off the wall in left center in the top of the sixth, the first and only hit Garcia allowed on the night. However, Phil Maton came on and got Rafael Devers to pop out to shortstop on his first pitch to strand Hernández.
The Astros added an insurance run following a leadoff triple by Alvarez in the bottom of the sixth, but the Red Sox threatened again in the top of the seventh against Astros reliever Kendall Graveman. With one out, J.D. Martinez walked and Alex Verdugo singled him to third to put runners on the corners with one out. Sox manager Alex Cora then sent up lefty Travis Shaw to pinch-hit for Christian Arroyo. Shaw worked a full count, which prompted the Sox to put Verdugo in motion on the 3-2 pitch. Graveman’s pitch was a 96-mile-per-hour heater which Shaw swung through for strike three, after which Martín Maldonado fired a perfect strike to Carlos Correa at second base, who let the ball travel and made a brilliant, no-look, Javy Báez-style tag to nab Verdugo for an inning-ending double play.