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Third baseman Alex Bregman made it pretty clear after the Houston Astros swept the Cleveland Indians during the ALDS: This is not how you should treat the defending world champions.
The Astros were in high gear in their sweep of the Indians in the ALDS, with pitching that was suffocating and hitting that was relentless. “Once we hit the postseason,” manager AJ Hinch said, “our guys really, really turned it on.”
With George Springer’s fifth-inning shot, the Astros have homered in 12 consecutive postseason games, tying an American League record set by the Orioles from 1983 to 1997.
The master plan was for Trevor Bauer to be Cleveland’s secret weapon, the October surprise. But the starter couldn’t solve the Indians’ bullpen issues in the ALDS sweep by Houston.
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“I want to end with saying one thing,” Bregman told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt in an interview during the team’s locker-room celebration after an 11-3 win sealed a return trip to the ALCS. “Does Floyd Mayweather fight the first fight of the night, or is he the main event? I mean, does Tiger Woods tee off at 8 a.m.?
“It’s about time the ‘show ‘Stros’ play on primetime television, so we’re looking forward to the ALCS.”
Major League Baseball, which sets the postseason schedule, had all three games of the Indians-Astros series during the day, with first pitch at 2 p.m., 4:30 p.m. and 1:30 p.m. ET.
“I got a sunburn today,” Bregman told other reporters Monday. “I’m not happy.”
Bregman went 5-for-9 in the sweep of the Indians, hitting two of the Astros’ eight home runs while driving in four runs.
The Astros face the winner of the New York Yankees-Boston Red Sox series in the ALCS.
No team has repeated as World Series champion since the Yankees won three in a row from 1998 through 2000.
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