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[Top 5 Reasons You Can't Blame] Houston Astros loss to the Nationals

Discussion in 'Houston Astros' started by htwnbandit, Nov 2, 2019.

  1. htwnbandit

    htwnbandit Member

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    Remember that show on ESPN? I think if it were still going on, this would certainly be a candidate for making an episode on. Here's my attempt:

    5. Clayton Kershaw and the LA Dodgers

    The LA Dodgers carried a 2-run lead into the 8th inning of Game 5 of the NLDS. Then Kershaw, known to give up leads in the playoffs despite regular season dominance, allowed the Naitonals to tie the game and ultimately lose in extra innings on a Howie Kendrick grand slam, shocking the LA crowd and sending them to the NLCS to face the Cardinals.

    4. Brandon Taubman

    Following Game 6 of the ALCS, Astros Assistant GM Brandon Taubman made taunts directed at some female reporters regarding Astros closer Roberto Osuna, who was involved in a court case regarding domestic abuse and was serving a suspension when the Astros aquired him from Toronto. The Astros initially supported Taubman and came under fire, and after an investigation the team fired Taubman. This entire ordeal may have caused a locker room distraction for the team, especially Osuna.

    3. Las Vegas

    Both teams came into the World Series as the biggest favorites since 2008. This may have fired up the Nationals who felt disrespected as a team who already beat one 100 win team and swept the NLCS.

    2. Anthony Rendon

    A Houston native, Rendon went to Lamar High School and elected to forgo an advance by the Atlanta Braves to sign with the Rice Owls, and also happens to be a Rockets fan. Rendon was sure to have lots of family watching and appeared to be determined to play the series of his life, making a crucial hit in the 7th inning of Game 7 to help give the Nationals the championship.

    1. Washington Nationals

    The Nationals started the season 19-31. However since then, the Nationals just edged the Astros for the best record since that point, and in the playoffs Strasburg became the first pitcher to go 5-0 in the playoffs. The record of course, does not reflect the rough start to the Nationals, but their record after the 50 game mark put them right with the Astros as one of the more potent teams, with the Nationals having to grind out more wins on the road due to their poor start.
     
    #1 htwnbandit, Nov 2, 2019
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  2. msn

    msn Member

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    Do you mean to say the Nationals earned that win--that they deserved it? No way. The Astros choked it away. They were the best team on paper. The Nationals may have beat the Dodgers, but that was just luck. (/sarcasm)

    Kudos to DC. That was a great, historic win. Like the Astros in '17, they took out three great franchises and have a ton to be proud of.
     
    #2 msn, Nov 2, 2019
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  3. astros123

    astros123 Member

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    Astros choked with RSIP and its bullpen imploded. No reason you don't defend home field once. Cole in the post game referenced this himself. We simply couldn't hit and Verlander couldn't get one win at home. Schezer went 5IP/7H/3BB which wasnt even good. Along along bad hitting and not leaving Grienke/Coleole cost us the series.
     
    #3 astros123, Nov 3, 2019
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  4. msn

    msn Member

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    Ja. It wasn't their pitching or their hitting. Not at all.
     
    #4 msn, Nov 3, 2019
  5. banzai

    banzai Contributing Member

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    There was an article a few months ago saying Astros were not a great fastball hitting team... and the dodgers were. I think that had something to do with how we were hitting against these hard throwing pitchers. We need to work on hitting fastballs.
     
    #5 banzai, Nov 3, 2019
  6. solid

    solid Contributing Member

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    Bottomline, the Nats played better over a seven game stretch. There were many contributing factors including the huge number of runners the Astros left on base. Our elite pitchers only had one really dominant game out of four and the bull pen crashed at the most inopportune time. As always, the best team won.
     
    #6 solid, Nov 3, 2019
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  7. underrated015

    underrated015 Member

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    All I saw was Astros choking the last two games away. Our so called star players were garbage. Will give credit to the National hitters for hitting in the clutch. Maybe they can show our hitters to do that as well. Still not over it.
     
    #7 underrated015, Nov 3, 2019
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  8. RustyHarden

    RustyHarden Member

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    #8 RustyHarden, Nov 3, 2019
  9. msn

    msn Member

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    You missed a pretty incredible showing from Strasbourg, among other things.
     
    #9 msn, Nov 3, 2019
  10. lnchan

    lnchan Sugar Land Leonard

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    Greinke is a star player. He was not garbage. The others impersonated um... Astros legends of the 90s.
     
    #10 lnchan, Nov 3, 2019
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