Choi's HR jolts TB: 'We always bounce back'
Keegan Matheson
@KeeganMathesonFor an inning, it looked like Ji-Man Choi was the Rays¡¯ savior in Thursday¡¯s Game 5 of the American League Championship Series. In the top of the eighth, he launched a 447-foot blast deep into the right-field seats of Petco Park to tie the game at 3, finally swinging the momentum away from the Astros.
But just one inning later, Carlos Correa¡¯s walk-off home run sent the Astros to a 4-3 win, and it pushed this series to Game 6 on Friday. But Choi¡¯s moment in the spotlight showed just how important he -- or any secondary contributor, for that matter -- can be to this Rays lineup that is still looking for signs of life beyond the big blows. Tampa Bay¡¯s energy has come from its rock-solid defense and steady pitching, but Choi¡¯s home run gave the dugout a jolt of life that rivaled anything we¡¯ve seen in the Rays¡¯ postseason run.
The bat flip didn¡¯t hurt, either, and Choi earned it. This was the third-longest home run of Choi¡¯s career and the club¡¯s second-longest postseason big fly since 2015, trailing only Mike Zunino¡¯s 454-foot shot from Game 2 on Monday.
¡°I felt great. The atmosphere was up and we had momentum going into the ninth,¡± Choi said through a translator, ¡°but nobody said it was going to be easy.¡±
The weight of the moment is what really whipped the Rays into a frenzy, though, as Choi became just the third hitter in club history to hit a game-tying or go-ahead home run in the eighth inning or later. Just like Randy Arozarena¡¯s home runs over the past two games, though, Choi¡¯s wasn¡¯t enough, and Tampa Bay will need to chart a course forward with a more balanced offensive approach.
With young lefty Framber Valdez expected to start Game 6 for the Astros, though, Choi might not even be a piece of that starting lineup.
Choi made just 18 plate appearances against left-handed pitching in 2020, 10 of which came from the right side -- including a home run -- after he made the impressive transition to switch-hitting in live games this season. This could be a situation like Brandon Lowe¡¯s in Game 4, though, in which Choi starts the game on the bench with the understanding that he¡¯s likely to pinch-hit at some point. In Choi¡¯s case, he¡¯d be a great piece for manager Kevin Cash to have in his back pocket for later in the game against a right-hander.
Regardless of how it plays out, the Rays¡¯ offense needs to advance beyond ¡°Arozarena and a couple more blows,¡± which has been the case in their losses in Games 4 and 5. It¡¯s not a matter of selling out for power, because Tampa Bay still wants to keep that. It just needs something else to happen in between.
¡°I don't think we're getting homer-happy,¡± Cash said. ¡°I think that we¡¯ve just got to get back to the basics on what makes us good offensively, and that's definitely don't get in the way of us hitting home runs, but let's try to find a way to get some guys on base before the homer comes. We always talk about all the pitching side. We can defend solo homers. It's really tough to defend multi-RBI homers.¡±
Lowe¡¯s home run on Thursday is a good start, as he immediately responded to Cash hitting him atop the lineup. Lowe was 3-for-41 in the postseason prior to that home run, but he has proven to be a talented hitter capable of changing games, and the Rays need him to fully rediscover that form from the regular season. Austin Meadows, who hit second behind Lowe, is the next hitter Tampa Bay would love to see catch fire, especially with his proximity to Lowe and Arozarena in the order, which could create some of those multi-RBI opportunities Cash covets.
Meadows has hit just .118 with four strikeouts, a walk and zero extra-base hits in the ALCS. Tampa Bay also needs more from Yandy D¨ªaz in the heart of the order if these hitters are reaching base in front of him, as D¨ªaz has struggled throughout the postseason. The walks are still there, but the extra-base hits that the Rays need haven¡¯t been.
¡°We have to get some momentum going for us and try to create that early in the game to get our mojo back,¡± said Kevin Kiermaier, who pinch-ran late as he still deals with a left hand contusion. ¡°To feel really good about ourselves and keep that confidence throughout the game -- we still have that, but it¡¯s just one of those things, it¡¯s been somewhat of a tough two days.¡±
That early momentum Kiermaier highlights might be the key to all of this for the Rays. In the two losses, it¡¯s felt like they¡¯ve been on the ropes throughout the game and hoping to land a haymaker to sneak ahead by one. When Tampa Bay was winning in Games 1-3, it was controlling the flow of the ballgames, which allowed the team's incredible defense and pitching to truly shine.
The tone after this loss was different than that of Game 4, too. The Astros pulling within one game adds a sense of urgency, but to a man, the Rays are confident that Friday will be the day they punch their ticket to their second World Series appearance in club history.
¡°Everyone was down, but we always bounce back,¡± Choi said. ¡°I¡¯m not too worried about how everyone is going to show up tomorrow, because we¡¯ve done it before. We still have to win one more game and they have to win two, so we¡¯re going to try our best to win it tomorrow.¡±
Choi might need to wait a few innings for his shot, but he¡¯ll likely be a part of that effort. The Rays will take it from whoever can provide it, though, because after celebrating game-tying home runs over the past two days, they¡¯re ready to celebrate a game-winner.