HOUSTON -- There was no cause for alarm in the Astros¡¯ clubhouse Sunday night. No one appeared to be panicking or wringing their hands in desperation. That¡¯s what six consecutive trips to the American League Championship Series can do for a club. They¡¯ve been here before.
In fact, the last time Houston dropped the first game of a playoff series -- the 2022 World Series against the Phillies -- it turned out pretty well. Perhaps that¡¯s why the Astros so easily flipped the page following a 2-0 loss to the Rangers in Game 1 of the ALCS at Minute Maid Park.
¡°Well, this team is the best I've been around about moving on,¡± Astros manager Dusty Baker said. ¡°And there's nothing you can do. If you're going to lose a game, you'd rather lose it in the first game versus in the middle of the series. And so we know we've got a tough pitcher in [Nathan] Eovaldi tomorrow. But we also have a tough pitcher in Framber [Valdez] on our side.¡±
Rangers starter Jordan Montgomery held the Astros scoreless for 6 1/3 innings to outduel Justin Verlander. The Astros suffered their first shutout loss in the playoffs since Game 3 of last year¡¯s World Series against the Phillies.
¡°In the postseason, you're going up against the best teams,¡± Astros third baseman Alex Bregman said. ¡°They¡¯ve got great players over there, and we believe we¡¯ve got a great team as well. You kind of have to flush it in the postseason. You know it¡¯s always going to be a battle and you know it¡¯s going to be two of the best teams competing against each other. Tomorrow, show up ready to play and come out and try and execute.¡±
In all best-of-seven postseason series, teams winning Game 1 have gone on to win the series 121 of 188 times (64 percent). In series with the current 2-3-2 format, teams taking a 1-0 lead on the road have gone on to win the series 39 of 70 times (56 percent).
¡°We lost Game 1 in the World Series last year,¡± Verlander said. ¡°And that's the great thing about this team. Obviously, nobody is sitting in the locker room right now happy. But it's very matter of fact, ¡®OK, we just got punched, how do you answer?¡¯¡±
If you¡¯re the Astros, it needs to be with some offense. After loading the bases with two outs in the fourth inning against Montgomery, Houston didn¡¯t get another hit for the remainder of the game. The Astros were held to five singles, leaving Verlander with little room for error.
He gave up a run on a single by Jonah Heim in the second inning and another on a solo homer by nine-hole hitter Leody Taveras in the fifth. Verlander threw 6 2/3 innings and struck out five batters in his 36th career postseason start.
¡°I was a bit erratic the first couple of innings, especially fastball control,¡± Verlander said. ¡°I thought it cleaned up as the game went along. I kind of started finding my groove there the last few innings. Obviously, one bad pitch, [and] it resulted in another run to Taveras there. Overall I thought as the game went along, it got better and better.¡±
A pivotal play in the game came after both starters were out. With Jose Altuve at first base and no outs in the eighth, Bregman lifted a long fly ball off reliever Aroldis Chapman that Texas rookie Evan Carter jumped to catch on the warning track in left-center. Altuve had barely rounded second base when the ball found Carter¡¯s mitt and had to retreat to first base.
The Rangers challenged, contesting that Altuve didn¡¯t retouch second base on his way back to first base. The call on the field was overturned after a replay review, and Texas had a double play. Altuve was Houston¡¯s only baserunner in the final five innings.
¡°I thought the ball was over his head,¡± Altuve said. ¡°I didn¡¯t think he was going to make the play he made. It was a great play and I tried to get back to first.¡±
The mistake undoubtedly frustrated Altuve and his manager, but Baker¡¯s been through so much in his life on and off the field that he wasn¡¯t going to let this bother him. Besides, the Astros have a quick turnaround for Game 2 on Monday and know the all-Texas ALCS is just getting started.
¡°Sometimes you've got to say, ¡®Hey, the guy threw a great game tonight against us, excellent game,¡¯¡± Baker said. ¡°And they say good pitching beats good hitting, but when you don't hit, everybody wants to know what's wrong. There's not a whole bunch to say. He threw a real good game against us.¡±