A couple observations. Even though the Astros lost, it was good to see Cole be able to straighten out and pitch relatively deep into the game. That will only help Cole's confidence later in the series and more importantly, will rest the top of the Astros pen for games 4-7 when fatigue from the pen can figure in. The Red Sox have to feel good about a split, as they could have easily lost both. What they cannot feel good about is getting only 9 innings from their starters after the first two games. The Red Sox already are light on relievers as they have been having Sale and Porcillo pitch out of the pen during normal rest days. I will be curious to see how much blame internally the Astros put on McCullers and how much they put on Maldonado for the passed balls allowed. The fact that McCullers was pulled the way he was doesn't sit well for him. However, it wasn't just Lance that had the issue. Maldonado had at least one other passed ball and Verlander did not look happy on the passed ball in his start. Last time that the Astros starters had a problem with a catcher (Stassi) he was phased out. Maldonado has an absolute cannon and is elite at throwing runners out and supposedly at calling games. However, he lead baseball in passed balls. With the Red Sox issues, I am going to be curious to see if the Astros stress being selective at the plate. The aggressiveness of Gurriel and Maldonado really bailed the Red Sox bullpen out of a few spots where they looked like they were on the ropes. That could mean some playing time for Kemp. Will Sale be available out of the pen between starts like he was against the Yankees? At what point (if ever) do the Astros wear out the Red Sox pen like they did the Dodgers. The Astros right now are in a good position bullpen wise (other than Rondon) but lets see how deep Dallas K goes, I think he may have a short leash if the Astros fall behind.
What a weird night for Cole. He was utterly dominant in 4 of his 6 innings, and uncharacteristically bad in the other 2, including an unfathomable error that likely rattled him and led to an additional run in the B1. While potentially burning Porcello last night as they were in win-at-all-cost mode. I don't believe I've said anything about this but two things have struck me about Maldonado: 1) for a Gold Glove catcher, he seems to have an inordinate amount of balls scoot by him; 2) and stuff like this I hate to bring up - but I've noticed some... nonchalant-iness when it comes to retrieving passed balls. Was it the Seattle series where someone went 1st to 3rd because he lollygagged? I don't know... He certainly has a tremendous arm (and maybe that's why he's "slower" - his arm can make up the difference). But I've been a little underwhelmed overall. I suspect McCann will start game 3 with Keuchel. Will be interesting to see who Morton selects. (BTW, Jerome Solomon brought up I thought a fair point - did Maldonado catch McCullers this year? That curveball is a beast if you haven't seen it before.)
Sanchez had more PBs. That said, Maldonado is tough to watch as he has two good skills (framing, throwing out runners) and two bad skills (hitting, blocking). The blocking doesn't bother me nearly as much as the hitting. He's one of the worst hitting catchers as well.
Sorry, I missed Sanchez. The bat bothers me, and I still am a little puzzled that we didn't get Ramos.... but I am not sure we would be getting a lot more from McCann at this point.
The issue of the nonchalant demeanor of Maldonado was an issue in the past for him. I know there were comments made in the past by pitchers that he did not seem as locked in as the pitcher was. The Astros staff certainly does not take the nonchalant perceived effort of catchers well. Stassi several times took grief from the Astros veteran starters. No doubt Verlander and Keuchel are demanding, but lets see if Maldonado is out there when Verlander takes the mound next time.
Pitch framing and blocking skills are often opposing skills. If a catcher goes all out to catch/block a low breaking ball, it will likely be called a ball even if it crosses bottom of the zone. MM tends to try to frame too much on pitches that have little chance to be called strikes.
My biggest concern going forward is Maldonado's inability to block well. Sox -- and every team -- are gonna get runners on. Everyone will advance when **** hits the fan.
I think the squeaky wheel got the grease. He was moping when he didn't join his teammates on the field. Imagine the tension in situations we couldn't see - behind the scenes.
He caught Lance twice before the DL stint (7/29 vs Texas & 8/4 vs. LAD). That's it. I'd imagine relief pitcher Lance's curve is a bit different than starting pitcher Lance, too. Still, outside of his double, that was a bad night for Maldanado. Way too many mistakes. McCann definitely starts tomorrow. If he hits, I wouldn't be surprised to see him for Game 4, too...especially with the high curveball rate of Morton.
Yeah, I disagree. Not an "expected" loss. I'll take Cole getting the dub 90 times out of 100. This loss stinks because of the G1 win. I can guarantee in that clubhouse, it was an expected win. G3 is going to be tough with Eovaldi pitching great, from Houston (even though we lit him up last go around). IF we take G3, pressure shifts to BOS G4 because Verlander G5 is the nail in the coffin. Winning yesterday meant Red Sox were done in 5.
winning both games in boston wasn't going to happen. this series is going to be tough regardless. whoever was expecting anything different were kidding themselves. the stros will still get out of this series in the end but it won't be the smooth sailing like the cleveland series.
While that was a reasonable expectation going in, once they win the first game the outcome of winning both got a lot more likely. I don’t think it was 90% as implied though. Either way, I hope the clubhouse is a little disappointed they let a winnable game get away and they take away confidence from knowing they kept the game close even when they weren’t executing well. They don’t need to be perfect to win, so they dont have to pressure themselves to be perfect.
i think that clubhouse is just fine. they did what they were supposed to do and that's win one on the road and shifted the hca. now they get to come back home and handle their business. In no way am I worried about hou's confidence.
