Three straight doubles from the top of the lineup led to a pair of runs for the Astros. It was 0: 43.
The Houston Astros went through the first part of the playoffs like a well-oiled machine. Los Angeles and Atlanta were knocked off by upstarts. The Astros won each of their first seven games and went on to win the World Series. They met a Philadelphia team that won 19 fewer games than them during the regular season, which was the second- largest margin between World Series opponents in baseball history.
It was expected that the Astros would cruise.
They lost the first game of the series on Friday night with a five-run lead on the board and their ace on the mound.
The punch was in the face, according to the Astros center fielder. Maybe we need it.
Their reply seemed to support that belief.
The most dominant pitcher in the playoffs was matched up against the Astros. They had three doubles by the end of the first pitch. They had 5 runs by the end of the fifth. The Astros didn't relent, securing the win from Minute Maid Park that evened the Series at a game each.
Jose Altuve started it all with a leadoff double and finished with three hits.
Alex Bregman said that it was great to see Jose Altuve. The crowd got into the game because of that one swing of the bat.
Wheeler was nearly unhittable through his first four starts of the playoffs, with a 1.78 earned run average. It was on pace to be the lowest in the history of the playoffs for his WHIP. His first pitch of the World Series, a sinker down the middle, was hit to the left by Altuve. His second pitch, a curve near the heart of the plate, was driven to left for a run- scoring double. His fourth pitch, a pitch that was slightly up, was hit off the left-field board for a run- scoring double by Yordan Alvarez.
The plan was to attack him early. We have a lot of good hitters and he likes to attack them early in the count.
The Astros became the first team in World Series history to start a game with three straight extra- base hits. It was the first time in the playoffs that a team had three extra-base hits in the first four pitches. Over the past two decades, only three teams have achieved that in a regular season game.
Wheeler said that the game plan against him was to be aggressive and try to get that first pitch. I was expecting that. Is it possible to hit the first two pitches? The thing is what it is. I have to do a better job.
The Astros tacked on an additional run in the first on a two-out throwing error by Sosa, and then two more in the fifth on a home run from Bregman.
Wheeler throws his most trusted pitches at high speeds. A trait that makes him a great starting pitcher is his ability to throw strikes. The Astros made contact within the strike zone at a higher rate than any other team in the majors.
Wheeler's work is hard, according to the person. We can hit.
His profile is different. He attacked as he always does, with a devastating curve and a hellacious sinker, weaving in and out of traffic to allow only one run. The first two hitters in the order were going to be placed on base. The pitcher struck out J.T. Realmuto on a high pitch, then got the outfielder to bounce into a fielder's choice. Nine of the 19 outs came by strikeout and nine by the ground. There were five balls left in the field.
Through three starts, the pitcher has an earned run average of 1.41.
"This guy has been as consistent as any pitcher that I've ever had throughout the course of the year, and he just continued to do the same thing during the playoffs," Baker said. He makes big plays. He is a big pitcher.
The Astros will play their next three games in Philadelphia and need to win one of them to return to Houston. Two glaring positives emerged from their time at home, even though they've lost home-field advantage. They scored 10 runs against Wheeler and Nola. It's possible that Altuve is turning the corner.
Altuve, an eight-time All-Star and three-time batting champion, started the playoffs 0 for 25. He followed with four hits in a row, and then he seemed to break out. In the first, Altuve lined a double to left, grounded a base hit up the middle in the fifth, and lined a single to right in the seventh.
He had a good laugh when he got to first base.
Altuve said that he was getting better at swinging at his pitch. I received a hit on a pitch above my head. It's a hit, so it's great.
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