After a spectacular home win over the Los Angeles Dodgers, the Houston Astros in Game 6 of the World Series (Wed., 1 o’ clock live on DAZN) have for the first time the chance to score a major coup. The Dodgers, however, have a home advantage again, which should make the task a bit more difficult. The Astros claim the title or extend L. A. for another game this season?
What a crazy World Series it has been! The Houston Astros are leading the playoff series for the second time after a 13:12 win on Sunday evening and will be able to secure the title on Wednesday at night. However, they need a win in the Dodger Stadium, because the last two matches will be played in Los Angeles.
This also means that no designated hitter may be used in Chavez Ravine due to the rules of the National Leage. In the Dodgers two times Joc Peterson and in the last game Justin Turner were officially listed as Designated Hitter, in the Astros this role was taken by Evan Gattis. Peterson and Gattis will probably both slip out of the lineup again.
In Game 6, Astros-Ace Justin Verlander meets Rich Hill like in the highly competitive Game 2. Verlander threw 79 pitches over six innings last Wednesday, while Hill played four innings and recorded 60. Both managers refrained from any relief appearances of their starters, so they are used after regular rotation and rested.
Since the MLB introduced the current World Series format, the away team has also triumphed in 14 out of 28 cases with a 3-2 lead in their backs. The Astros won’t admit it, but they will do their utmost to close the bag already on Tuesday: Only two times in 16 attempts a guest team won the World Series after losing Game 6.
Apart from that, the number of long balls in this postseason stands out: 101 homeruns have already taken place in this year’s playoffs, which is a new record, as are 22 homeruns in a World Series. There have never been 14 different players in the World Series who have beaten a Homer before.
Home advantage:
The Dodgers have won nine of their last ten home games, only Game 2 of the World Series went close to the Astros in the eleventh inning with 6:7. Apart from the volume level and the usual conditions in the home ball park, the balance sheet of the Dodgers from the regular season, with 104 victories the best of all teams, has another side effect.
Two times this World Series has seen extra innings, and especially in tighter matches like this, the advantage of always beating as a second team as hosts and being able to react to the opponent’s performances is not to be underestimated.”Having the last At-Bat in this series can be decisive,”Justin Turner said. The Dodger’s Third Baseman has been given a break in Game 5 as a designated hitter from his defensive duties to heal a calf injury. For the game on Tuesday night, Turner’s gonna come back as an infielder.”The leg’s fine.”
Manager Dave Roberts bets on Rich Hill in Game 6. Last week Hill started against the Astros, but was taken off the field after 60 pitches. Roberts did not want the 37-year-old to meet the Astros lineup for a third time. A decision that is only understandable with the normally strong bullpen of the Dodgers. But what’s normal in these playoffs?
“We’ve all prepared ourselves for such games throughout our career,”said Hill, looking forward to his performance:”It’s a great show to play on such a big stage and leave everything you can on the pitch during the match.”
Hill pitched an ERA of 3.32 in the regular season. On average, he achieves eleven strikeouts per nine innings, which is better than Verlander’s 9.5. Hill doesn’t lack the right attitude:”In retrospect I’ll look back on the game, and no matter how it turns out, you can say I’ve given everything to help the team.”
Weak Astros bullshit:
“Sure, defeat[from Game 5] weighs harder than in the regular season,”admits Roberts,”but already on the flight back to LA. my boys were looking forward to a day out and were focused on the next game. I think the boys are pretty good at putting that away.”
The Dodger’s strong hitter will attempt to deliver a solid performance against a decedent in top form. Corey Seager and Joc Pederson even get a home run in Game 2, so Verlander is by no means invincible.
But even the strongest appearance of the Astros-Ace will have to hope for support from the Bullpen. Relief pitching is the biggest worry in Houston, in the World Series they pitched an ERA of 7.58 in 19 innings, allowing 16 runs and five home runs. The Bullpen still has power for two more games, says manager A. J. Hinch, who brought six pitcher out of the bull pen in Game 5.
All in all, a team with a 2-3 gap was able to win the World Series 20 times. The Chicago Cubs managed to do this last year, and were even able to turn a 1-3 last year.
Justin Verlander:
Since arriving in Houston at the end of August, Verlander has not lost a single game. He stands in this period with a balance of 9-0 and pitches an ERA of 1.53.”It will not be an easy situation for us,” said George Springer after Game 5,”but we fly to L. A.”. and give Verlander the ball. I love it!”
The whole team seems to be relying on Verlander, Hinch too is hoping for a strong, but above all with regard to the Bullpen for a long performance of his star-pitcher:”We want to exploit the momentum that Verlander will create for us” It is a great burden that weighs on Verlander’s shoulders, but this one seems well prepared.
“These are the moments you’re working towards,”Verlander is eagerly awaiting his commitment,”and in the playoffs the focus and intensity is much higher. The World Series demands everything from every single player, even if Verlander is not on the Mound, he feels what it’s all about.
Verlander’s ability to deal with great pressure has already been demonstrated in the American League Championship Series against the New York Yankees. With a 2-3th of a second, he also played in Game 6, where he pitched seven solid innings without a run.
Jose Altuve:
In the offense of the Astros, however, Second Baseman Jose Altuve seems to have rediscovered his rhythm. After a short phase of weakness in the ALCS, when he didn’t make it to base at twelve at-bats, Altuve is now on seven play-off homeruns, with only one missing on the record high from Nelson Cruz, Carlos Beltran and Barry Bonds.
“There’s no time when we don’t believe Jose to be a hit,”said George Springer about his teammate,”I think he’s the best player that baseball has to offer,” Altuve led the MLB in WAR with 8.3, and since April he has been the best average of all the players. 346. With 204 hits, Altuve is also the player with the second highest number of hits behind Rockies-Center-Fielder Charlie Blackmon.
The fans in Houston didn’t scribbled in Game 5 for the first time what they think of their star:”M-V-P! M-V-P!” Altuve could be the sixth player in history to be named both regular season MVP and World Series MVP.
Together with George Springer, Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa, Altuve forms a young and extremely talented core of the Astros squad, which has scored more runs than any other team throughout the season, and it’s surprising how mature the youngsters are in dealing with the pressures of the World Series. They obviously rely on a secret alpha animal.
“I do most of the things I do on the field because of Carlos Correa,”said Altuve,”It’s hard to believe because he’s only 23 years old, but he’s an absolute leader in the clubhouse,” The Shortstop played his first All-Star in his third season,”I’m very happy to have him on my team, he’s also a true friend.”
Altuve and Co. will be trying to attack the bull pen from Los Angeles. The Dodgers-Relievers could not rely on long appearances of their starters to defeat the Astros, they seem exhausted. Roberts will probably also let starter Alex Wood play one or two outfits.
The situation is similar with the Astros. Dallas Keuchel threw 86 pitches on Sunday, but could be used for an inning just like Charlie Morton, starter from Game 4, to take pressure off the weakening reliefs.
“The Bullpens were beaten up a little bit,”Hinch said after Game 5,”We’re going to try to shorten the memory of the guys who collected hits. We are all confident that we have enough to finish this series”, a series that the Houston Astros will be able to win for the first time in the history of the franchise on Tuesday night.
This article was published without prior view by the Major League Baseball.