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HOUSTON – Scribbles in my notebook after the 7-2 loss to the Indians in Houston. They are 0-1 in the top 5 of the American League series:
1. After the match, Francisco Lindor, of the tribe, explained how much the Indians had beaten the Yankees 2 to 0 at ALDS last year … and lost the series in five games. He mentioned that the Indians were 3-1 in the 2016 World Series … and that they had lost the next three games against the Cubs. His point was not a reason to panic when he lost 0-1 in a best-of-five series.
2. OK, we're going with that. But the Indians have interest in winning the second game Saturday in Houston. If World Series champions Astros reach Cleveland with a 2-0 lead, you can imagine the pressure the players will feel.
3. The problem with Lindor's discussion of how a series might change is that Indians were on the wrong side of both of these examples.
4. I know that if the Indians win the second match, what happened in the first game loses its advantage for the tribe and the fans. But Corey Kluber's poor performance is worrisome. Receiver Yan Gomes and Kluber both insisted that the problem was to get a pitch in the end zone that turned into three solo circuits.
5. Houston star Alex Bregman was one of three Astros to break free from Kluber: "He had a dominant career, he lives on the edge of the board … we were able to take a few steps in the middle from the board … a few mistakes … and you do not make a lot of mistakes. "
6. Houston Manager AJ Hinch added, "I can not say enough positive things about our attack on Kluber and others, we were excellent at the attack … and a great plan of match will be played. "
7. All this may be true, but when Kluber is Cy Young's double winner, Kluber, no game plan is very effective against him. Justin Verlander, the starter of Houston, beat Kluber, which set the tone. Verlander imposed a pair of points on the tribe in 5 1/3 of the round.
8. Kluber insisted that his fights in the playoffs of last season (12.79 ERA) had no negative impact against the Astros: "That has no bearing on today. ; hui ". Director Terry Francona gave almost the same answer after the match.
9. If I'm Francona and Kluber, I make the same kind of statements. I do not want to complicate even more the post-season throws by adding the burden of the story. But Francona and Kluber both know that the last four starts at the end of the season have been mediocre: a 10.20 ERA.
10. It was the first appearance of Yonder Alonso in the post-season and he was almost helpless in front of the board. Three among bats, three withdrawals on catches. There were many slow, sharp swings.
11. Jose Ramirez hit two soft courts at first base. He sees one ball breaking after another, with changes between the two. This is what happened after the break of the stars. Ramirez has long been a fastball. But he also had a soft shot that helped him hit the ball more in the center of the field. He went into the game beating 0.407 against Verlander, but he did not have a good run all day and went 0 to 3.
12. The Indians only had three hits. Do not forget that most playoff games tend to be unimpressive. The playoff teams usually have a large pitching staff and you see the best of these teams in these games.
13. The Indians were 3-in-30. All the hits were simple: Michael Brantley, Lindor and Gomes. Lindor had the ball hard two more times. But it was a lame showing the plate.
14. Francona said that he wanted to bring Trevor Bauer into the game "to get rid of rust". He added that Bauer "could probably start every game" if necessary.
15. Carlos Carrasco will start for the tribe in the second match. He is 4-2 with a 3.45 career silver medal against Houston. Carrascio is usually very good, but sometimes has a stink to start. This can not happen Saturday.
16. Cody Allen was relieved and left a circuit. It was his 12th of the season. Jayson Stark, Athletics, tweeted that only 13-year-old Neil Ramirez had allocated more human resources this season to the relief teams. Ramirez is also with the tribe, but not on the playoff list.
17. The struggles of Allen (4-6, 4.70 ERA) and Andrew Miller (2-4, 4.24) explain why Bauer is remembered for this series. But starters must launch well for the strategy to count.
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