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HOUSTON – The Houston Astros came close to organizational hell to get to the point where they could give Roberto Osuna the ball in the final legs of the first leg in October. They saw their club split, at least in the beginning, by the controversial trade that brought him to Houston in July. They have been criticized by the national media. They endured ruthless treatment from fans on the road. But, according to their own calculations, it would be worth it if Osuna made the biggest outs in the biggest moments of October.
What happened Tuesday night at Minute Maid Park with Osuna on the mound will then be perceived by some as karma, by some as a gigantic starter in a high pressure situation and by fans of the Boston Red Sox as a sign Furthermore. their team – the best baseball all season, if not a decade or more – is about to win the last baseball award in a few weeks.
If Boston's 8-2 win in Game 3 of the American League League had been centered on another round than Osuna started, it would have been a fine example of a close game broken at the top of the eighth with a single mammoth swing of the bat – that is, the imposing driving of Jackie Bradley Jr. to the right field for a grand slam.
But because Bradley's blast hit Osuna and that Osuna was acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays while serving a 75-game suspension for an alleged domestic violence incident, and because the Astros did so. this profession knowing full well that there was only one result: this would be considered a success – and this was not the result – this collapse of the eighth inning, though the Astros had to withdraw from this series, could define their season.
Bradley's grand slam off Osuna was followed by a battered strike by Mitch Moreland, who succeeded a decisive goal, following another striking hitter, batting cleaver Brock Holt. Both strays were scored by two catches and two outs, and the Astros were trailing, while Osuna was about to escape from her messy sleeve.
Thanks to the combination of the Cleveland Indians' three-game sweep in the playoff series and the lack of backup situations in games 1 and 2, Osuna, installed at the close of the Astros shortly after the deal, does is not presented in 10 days. . Even if it was not a backup situation either, it was a big round in a 3-2 match, with the Astros confident of their chances of equalizing or winning the match twice against the defective carrier. Red Sox.
We will never know if the Astros would have managed to go home in the eighth or ninth goal, or if they had gone to the front. All we know is that their season is now clinging to a slender ribbon as they follow the Red Sox two games to one with Match 4 on Wednesday night.
The Astros' loss was only their second in 12 playoff games at Minute Maid Park since the beginning of last October, a victory that earned them the first title of the World Series franchise the first night. of November. The 43,102 spectators who rushed into the stadium Tuesday night could have been forgiven for thinking that they were there only to witness a new stage of the coronation of a month. On the contrary, this year's Astros team seemed to be even better than the champions of last year.
For most of Tuesday's night, the match looked like a step back from a distant past, like maybe 2011, in which battleshows were few in number, flyballs remained mostly in the park and the ball was constantly in play. As such, it was also a game primarily focused on defensive games, whether they were made or not. Most of them followed the path of the Astros.
In the third, left-field player Tony Kemp jumped from the fly to the wall, saving at least one or two points. Although the Red Sox disputed the call and the detectives on the Internet began to create GIFs suggesting that the balloon had scuffed the wall, the call was suspended.
The bouncer was on the third baseline of Astros star Alex Bregman in fifth, facing the Red Sox starter, Nathan Eovaldi, who was sneaking under the glove of Rafael Devers – a playable game that has instead become a doubled RBI.
And there was the series of dazzling defensive games that Bregman has made: one of a variety of diving, a charge and a powerful shot, a setback on the line and an unhinged throw to the second.
Although the Astros lagged for most of the match, everything went exactly where they wanted. They had five innings from Dallas Keuchel and had the best scorer. Craig Kimbrel, the closest player to the Red Sox, was about to score ninth with a lead of one point until the eighth-round attack rendered his use useless .
Although the perception of the Astros is that of a team that has won a World Series title in 2017 and has managed to improve even further in 2018, it is almost entirely because of. a handful of launcher acquisitions – starter Gerrit Cole and relievers Osuna and Ryan Pressly -, who have performed dramatically since their arrivals. But the fact is that the Astros offensive is far from the one that led the majors in the points and the percentage of strikes on base plus slugging in 2017.
Bregman's emergence as a bona fide superstar is half-hidden by the fact that nearly every other important member of the Astros formation has fallen precipitously this season. Jose Altuve lost 120 points of OPS compared to his winners of the MVP 2017. Carlos Correa, handicapped by back and oblique injuries, lost 213 points. George Springer lost 109 points, Josh Reddick, 125, Marwin Gonzalez, 174, Brian McCann, 119 and Yuli Gurriel, 66. As a result, the Astros slipped to sixth place in the top rankings and seventh place in OPS.
The Astros have still won 103 games and swept the Indians, but against the Red Sox, which has 108 wins, they have trouble getting on the right track. And yet, they were still about to return Tuesday night, and everything was within their reach – until, until Osuna rushed into the field, did not do any more. noticeable noise from the crowd, then imploded in the sight of all. everyone. The only question left is whether he took the Astros season with him.
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