I really worry about game 6. How long can Garcia, a rookie, last on short rest? Will Fried have a 3rd straight bad game? However, if we manage to win that, I feel pretty good about game 7. Anderson was not impressive the other night. We just let him off the hook. I don’t think that will happen again.
Ian Anderson wasn't that impressive? What game were you watching? Clearly not the one where he threw a no hitter over 5 innings and we had very few hard hit balls the entire night...
he was wild - Astros was impatient and also the stupid ump didn’t help - he constantly called balls strikes to put our hitters behind ….
Anderson never threw anything over the plate, I'll give him that. But the team was just too aggressive at the plate, 3 walks and a hit batsmen when they swung at ball 4 at least 3 times.
What a f***** game tonight. There's a lot of arguments on the board here, and at times it can be frustrating, but at the end of the day, 99% of those who post here all have one thing in common...we love our city and this team. Nights like tonight are everything as a fan. Think about all the unbelievable moments in this game alone: Down 4-0 are giving up ANOTHER grand slam again in the first/early innings - this was the FOURTH grand slam given up in the past 10 games Admittedly I thought it might be over after Duvall hit it - only other time I felt that way with this team was when they went down 3-0 against Tampa Still can't believe Maldonado's game tonight ZACK GREINKE had a pinch hit single - I believe first time a pitcher did that since 1923?!? Phil Maton's performance...I just still can't believe how good he's been in the playoffs (ditto that for the entire bullpen) Last but not least...Marwin turning back the clock to 2017 and coming through with a HUGE hit What a game, what a season! I can't wait until Tuesday night. Atlanta is going to have to EARN that trophy now...the juice box is going to be rocking!
Luis Garcia, Christian Javier, Jake Odorizzi, Brooks Raley all need to step up one more time in Game 6 Still waiting for Sleeping Giant Yordan Alvarez to wake up, he is really needed Game 6 Phil Maton, Ryne Stanek, Kendall Graveman, Ryan Presley hopefully lick it down
Maybe I should barely watch all of the games from here on out because it seems like that's good luck. I was so depressed from Game's 4 and 5, and it just ****ing sucked. Affected my relationship with my wife, with myself, etc. I have a history of chronic depression and the Astros just sent me into a tailspin this weekend, so I didn't watch. I woke up, watched part of the 8th inning, and went back to sleep. Some notes from box score watching was that Framber just isn't cut out for the World Series. Dude is a choke artist. Comes up short when you need him the most. I hope he never starts another game this series. Yes, yes I know he was great last postseason and brilliant for one whole start this post season. But the dude doesn't have it mentally right now in big time big time games. I'm glad we won. Will be debating whether I want to watch it with a friend for Game 6. Go Stros.
What a gut-check type of performance. Martin Maldonado absolutely was the player of the game. He didn't have the biggest hit, but his ABs provided the most unexpected outcomes, and he did it 3x when it seemed extremely unlikely: Top 2nd, 1 out, 2-2 count: connects on a slider in the zone with the pitcher spot behind him, drives in a run with a sac fly. Top 5th, 2 outs: 5 pitch walk, we all saw what he did adjusting his position in the box, got in Minter's head, who has been terrific, to tie the game 5-5, passes the baton to Marwin who came through with a magical bloop single to give us the lead Top 7th, 2 outs, 2-1 count: connects on the 4th straight curveball (Maldy usually can't pick up a curveball if the catcher tells him what's coming), drives in a 3rd run and makes it an 8-5 game with a key insurance run You can easily attribute 5 of the runs to Maldy for either driving them in or passing the baton. In fact, if Altuve had come through in the second inning it could be even higher. All that, from a guy who has been a complete liability at the plate the entire postseason, almost no hard contact, tons of strikeouts, huge DP risk, AND to top that this dude is an even bigger liability in an NL park where he effectively has become the 2nd pitcher spot in the lineup. That black hole at the bottom was a much bigger issue without the DH. Just a gritty, nut-check performance from a guy who has been the rock for this team all season. That being said, it was a terrific all-around team performance. The resiliency to come back after that wretched first was beyond impressive. My body went from anxious and nervous to cold, stiff, and flaccid after we let them jump us 4-0. You could easily see the writing on the wall, and the my stomach was twisted up like a pretzel. I think most of us knew the Astros had the ability to come back from that, but it's still hard to believe some of the ways this team has been able to turn the page and get back to playing good team baseball. After Freeman quickly untied it in the 3rd, you could see it unraveling again, but credit to Strom and the bullpen for shutting it down from there and letting our bats continue to put stress on the opponent bullpen. Despite a ton of usage this weekend, I don't think the Astros pitching situation is as jacked up as many do. The off day will help reset most of the bullpen's availability, and we have to figure out a way to piggy back some combination of Urquidy, Garcia, Odorizzi, and Javier, all with differing levels of recent workload. If Garcia does start game 6, then I expect Odorizzi would be the choice to piggy back as the game allows. Hopefully this game laid the blueprint for how our hitters can attack their pitchers. We have to continue to find that awkward balance of aggressive when needed but remaining disciplined and making them throw as many pitches as possible. The walks last night were absolutely huge. I think it was 3/6 that scored. Some of the sluggish bats are starting to turn it around, but I think it's just about time Yordan Alvarez awakens from his slumber. I can't wait for game 6, but I'm gonna enjoy the **** out of this off day lol
I think going with Garcia on short rest is a mistake. Urquidy only through 14 pitches. Pushing Urquidy back to a gm 7 isn't going to be that much difference (2 days rest). I would go with Urquidy in game 6 and see if you can get 3-4 innings from him (he's on a short leash as is everyone else). I would follow him with Javier for 2 innings. Gm 6 Urquidy 3 Javier 2 Stanek 1 Maton 1 Graveman 1 Pressly 1 Gm 7 Garcia 4 Greinke 1 Stanek 1 Maton 1 Graveman 1 Pressly 1
Did they already say Garcia is pitching game 6? I don’t know the numbers for pitchers on 3 days rest but it always seems like it doesn’t work out. Go with Urquidy or even Odorizzi.
I don't like Garcia on short rest in Game 6. But the Astros can piece together another bullpen game, especially with the DH back in play. But Dusty must NOT use Urquidy in Game 6. Save him for the start in Game 7 if they win on Tuesday. Garcia for 3, Odorizzi for 2, then Maton, Stanek, Graveman, and Pressley. I guess Javier is available, but I could understand Dusty being a little nervous about handing him the ball after Game 4. If you're looking for a bright side going into Tuesday, it's that when Framber hasn't been on the mound, the Braves have scored 1 run in Game 1, 2 runs in Game 2, 2 runs in Game 3, 3 runs in Game 4, and 0 runs in Game 5. And he is all but guaranteed to never pitch again the rest of this series. So if the rest of our pitching staff continues their stellar performance and the Astros offense shows up even just a little, we can absolutely pull off the comeback.
