Why he didn’t start warming up a reliver at the top of the 5th when JV gave up a lead off double is beyond me. We already saw him struggle in the 4th. That should have been the red flag to be overly cautious
Come on man the dude is a recent cancer survivor! I mean I like sports but get some perspective. I am sure that dude is just happy to be alive. The Astros are the ones that traded for him. If you want to blame someone look at Altuve. This dude has been an absolute ZERO in the playoffs. Very Bagwell-esque. Old school Stros fans will know what I mean.
I can't go back and read all 100 sumn pages of this thread but has anyone talked about how there's a bit of a 2008/2011 NY Football Giants vibe with this Phillies team? They have no business being here. They peaked at the right time and have just taken out teams tin the playoffs that they have no business beating. It doesn't bode well for the 'Stros.
23 earned runs given up by the Astros 12 are by Justin Brooks Verlander All season long JV gets that's 3rd out in the 4th inning before any damage is done. But not in the World Series. Dodgers started hiding Kershaw and they finally won a World Series because they didn't get down 0-1. Valdez and especially McCullers needed to pitch at home to get this series started. What a waste of a tremendous season and a tremendous pitching staff the likes we will never see again. At this point there is no way you sign Verlander. What's the point? Unless your goal is just to get to the World Series. Then sign away.
They need to sit Alvarez, Altuve and Diaz , Trey down and tell them forget HRs… I would love more controlled swings from those players or walks
I'm trying to look at the bright side of things, so here are some positive takeaways from Game 1: 1) Our starting pitcher can't be much worse going forward. Verlander was even crappier in Game 1 of the ALDS, and the Astros proceeded to have great starting pitching in the next 5 games before McCullers struggled in Game 4 of the ALCS. And even he wasn't as bad at Yankee Stadium as Verlander was last night. 2) The Astros scored 5 runs despite getting nothing from Altuve, Alvarez, or the DH spot. And they did it against one of the Phillies' best starters. 3) The Phillies treated last night like Game 7 and used everyone out of their bullpen, even their Game 3(or possibly now Game 4) starter. They can't do that every night. 4) The Astros bullpen was great once again. Luis Garcia did give up the homer, but he's a starter and will hardly ever be used in relief. 5) The Astros had the winning run on 2nd in both the 9th and 10th innings. 6) And most important of all, the Astros lost by only one run. It's easy to forget, but despite being undefeated prior to last night, 4 of their 7 wins had been by a single run and a couple of them had been by 2 runs. They've been getting all the breaks so far, so it's not a shock that at some point, it would go the other way. Game 2 is a must win for the Astros, but if they can even the series, they've got a great shot at taking this. The Phillies gave us everything they had last night and still barely eked out the victory. I'm not saying they can't do that 3 more times, but they have zero margin for error.
Game yesterday was so frustrating. Altuve- We keep on waiting for him to start hitting, but he has been horrible. If he doesnt do anything today they need to move him down in the lineup. Alvarez- Needs to step it up, has been bad after the Seattle series. Mancini- Needs to be benched, would try Hensley. Dusty- Managed the game Horribly. Moment Verlander was in trouble in the fifth with runners on first and second he should of taken him out, he also left abreu in too long, and when going to the 9th he should of kept Montero in. By using Pressley in the 9th, they had to win it that inning since the middle of the lineup for Philadelphia was up in the 10th, and we used our closer for their bottom of the order in the 9th. Then he went with Garcia in the 10th, instead of going with Stanek. This is not the regular season, he needs to manage the game better and show some urgency. You cant just leave Verlander in there and hope he gets out of trouble, he should of been on a short leash in the 5th inning after the way he looked in the 4th.
Other the First game, as bad as Verlander was, we almost won in the 9th. Phillies made a great game saving catch. Win tonight and we are back on track.
Honestly I never went into this series thinking we would go 2-0 with as hot as the Phillies are playing. So if we get out 1-1 I think we are good and need to take the games against their lower pitching.
The Phillies still have to win 3 of 6 games. They only have half of a reliable bullpen The Astros just scored 5 earned runs against Nola in 4 1/3 innings. And scored 6 earned runs in 3 innings against their #3 starter less than a month ago. The Phillies have no #4 starter And they taxed their bullpen last night in game 1. The Astros bullpen Gave up 1 run in 5 innings last night in a loss and have STILL Been nails in the playoffs. I still think the Astros are favored and expect them to win.
I agree! Yep! He also should have replaced Mancini as DH before the game even started. Dusty needs to recognize when it's time to pull a guy, and Alvarez and Altuve need to start hitting that ball to give us a chance.
Altuve - I don't see Dusty ever moving him out of the leadoff spot. And if he does, he'll wait til the Astros are facing elimination like he did last year with Bregman. Alvarez - He's actually been bad SINCE the Seattle series. He was hitless in the 18 inning game. That carried over into the ALCS, although he did get hits in Games 2-4 and was actually pretty solid in the clincher. But I agree, he's overall in another one of those postseason slumps he similar had in 2019 and 2021. Mancini - He should never play again in this series in any capacity. I was fine with him getting the start yesterday as a last shot at solidifying his spot as the DH, but he blew it. Dusty - I kinda got what he was doing with the relievers. It looked like he wanted to preserve them for Game 2(save for Abreu who pitched two innings) and despite the loss, he managed to do that. But yet, letting Verlander pitch the 5th and going with Garcia over Stanek in the 10th was dumb. I also was really pissed that he let Mancini hit again in the 8th. He gave that 3rd out away when a pinch hitter getting on base would've set up 9-1-2(or better) in the 9th inning.
I predicted this series would go to 7 but I don’t know about the 3 straight in Philly. They split one at Minute Maid.
If the Astros even the series tonight, I'd favor them to win the series. I did pick them in 6, so that kinda does price in losing one of these first two at home.
