Thanks to the late Eastern start and the parade of relievers, I only made it to the 5th inning last night before I decided to pack it in. It’s a bummer, because it seems I missed a helluvan ending to the ALCS.
After a tense eight innings that saw the Astros holding onto a two-run lead, D.J. LeMahieu battled Astros closer Roberto Osuna for 10 pitches before homering to tie the game:
An incredible at-bat by DJ LeMahieu vs. Osuna:
1) Cutter 95: Ball
2) Fastball 98: Swinging strike
3) Fastball 98: Foul
4) Slider 90: Ball
5) Fastball 97: Foul
6) Fastball 98: Foul
7) Changeup 85: Foul
8) Fastball 99: Foul
9) Fastball 98: Ball
10) Cutter 94: Game-tying home run— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 20, 2019
Young LaMahieu, he in savage mode. #NextManUp pic.twitter.com/lKD2NV29oh
— New York Yankees (@Yankees) October 20, 2019
Yankees fans, who no doubt started to see their team overcoming a 3-1 deficit to force a Game 7, were overjoyed.
But it was all just a setup to Altuve and Chapman:
https://twitter.com/astros/status/1185777750298132481
The smile there from Chapman, as he was probably processing the shock. You’d think he would know how to handle giving up shocking homers in decisive late postseason games.
Savages, indeed:
This quote from Carlos Correa to @Buster_ESPN is something: "It’s a great series. We knew they had a great team. Like they call themselves, they’re savages. But in this jungle called the American League, we’re the apex predator."
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) October 20, 2019
So, it’s Astros-Nationals for the 2019 World Series, and that sure seems like a fair matchup, given the rotations and lineups and stars. The series opens Tuesday night in Houston
Incidentally, that leaves two days now with no games on the schedule, and teams able to make managerial announcements if they choose …
If the Cubs are going with David Ross, they could make an announcement soon. If they’re still considering Joe Espada, then it’s extremely likely they’ll wait until after the World Series to decide anything. And now, with the Yankees eliminated, we get to see if the Cubs are indeed planning to interview someone with the Yankees (bench coach Josh Bard would be my guess).