Of course, it didn’t have to be like this. The Rays were up 3-0 in the series and flirted with a historic collapse by allowing the Astros to force a seventh game in the first place. But that short sells a talented Houston club that, trash cans or not, is far from an easy playoff out.
The Astros actually out-hit the Rays, 59-44, in the series and were only outscored by three cumulative runs over the seven games. They brought the tying run to the plate in the ninth inning of Game 7 and were truly only an errant throw, a booted ball, or a wild pitch away from a different result in any of their four losses.
But that’s the maddening thing about playing the Rays — they don’t beat themselves. They pitch phenomenally, they play crisp defence, and they’re managed with a deft touch. Whichever team they contest the World Series with will be in for a tough test.
The Rays and the rest of us will learn that opponent Sunday night. For now, here are your takeaways from a tightly played game which served a suiting end to a suspenseful series.
Randy stays hot
Entering Game 7, Randy Arozarena was already the breakout star of the post-season. Then, a dozen pitches into the bottom half of the first inning, he went and did this:
That was Arozarena’s seventh homer of these playoffs, setting an MLB record for most by a rookie. And only three players — Barry Bonds, Carlos Beltran, and Nelson Cruz — have ever hit eight in a single post-season.
It also gave the Cuban outfielder 21 hits since the playoffs started, putting him just one back of Derek Jeter for the most by a rookie in a single post-season. At this rate, it’ll be shocking if that record doesn’t fall sometime early in the World Series. Just another October night for the ALCS MVP.
When the Astros won the 2017 World Series with a 5-1 Game 7 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, Lance McCullers Jr. threw the first 2.1 innings of the game, while Charlie Morton threw the final four. Three years later, they were both back on the mound in the seventh game of a post-season series — except this time they were starting for opposite teams.
Morton departed the Astros as a free agent after the 2018 season, signing a two-year, $30-million contract with the Rays that looks like an absolute bargain in hindsight. Morton’s made 42 starts since, pitching to a 3.33 ERA and 2.92 FIP with sparkling 10.9 K/9, 2.6 BB/9, and 0.7 HR/9 peripherals.
And he’s been even better in the post-season, allowing only two earned runs over 20 innings spread between four playoff starts the last two seasons. So why would Saturday’s Game 7 be any different?
Morton was on an absolute mission, allowing only a Michael Brantley single over his first five innings, cruising into the sixth on just 49 pitches. He didn’t face a three-ball count until that inning, having retired 13 of the first 17 hitters he faced on three pitches or fewer.
He did it with a steady stream of curveballs, sinkers, cutters and four-seamers, constantly mixing and matching while living on the plate. Morton didn’t get much swing-and-miss, but he didn’t need it, as the Astros either stared flummoxed at perfectly located strikes on the black or put soft contact into play for Tampa’s elite defence to vacuum up.
But the Rays are still the Rays. So, with two runners on and two out in the sixth inning, and Morton not having allowed a ball out of the infield in the frame, manager Kevin Cash came to get him at only 66 pitches. Morton might have had the stuff to get through nine. But it was game 7. And the Rays had a plan.
A lot from Lance
Having stretched their bullpen thin just to reach this position, the Astros needed a lengthy outing from McCullers, who went seven innings during his Game 2 start earlier in the series.
But the Rays knew that, too. And their early-innings approach couldn’t have been better as they doggedly worked deep counts, refusing to chase curveballs off the plate while running up McCullers’ pitch count. The Rays forced him to throw 30 pitches in the first inning, and 20 more in the second. It’s tough to pitch deep into a ball game when your pitch count is surpassing 60 in the third.
McCullers nevertheless proved tricky to square up, locating curveballs, changeups and sinkers for called strikes, while getting swing-and-miss beneath the zone. But when he made mistakes, the Rays capitalized. There was Arozarena’s bomb in the first. And then there was this hanging curveball to Mike Zunino in the second:
You can see it all in McCullers’ body language as the ball comes off Zunino’s bat. It was an absolute bomb, hit 430-feet over the left field wall. That there was no one on base at the time is the only solace McCullers could take from it.
It had to be a frustrating outing through and through, as McCullers was featuring nasty stuff but paid the price for a couple missed locations and never settled into a groove. Ultimately, his inefficiency led to an early hook, as Dusty Baker came to get him with two out in the fourth inning, just as he was about to complete his second trip through the Rays lineup. McCullers gave his best argument for staying in, but the veteran Astros manager wasn’t hearing it.
A bullpen advantage
By the sixth inning, it was up to the bullpens. And that’s exactly what the Rays wanted. The Astros had to lean on leverage relief over the previous three games, as they fought tooth and nail to stay alive in the series. Ryan Pressly had pitched in three consecutive games; Andre Scrubb and Blake Taylor had pitched in two straight; and Chris Javier had thrown long outings in two of the last three.
The Rays, meanwhile, had Nick Anderson, Pete Fairbanks, and Ryan Thompson all rested and ready to go, not to mention Diego Castillo, who was available after throwing just 14 pitches in Game 6. As soon as the starters were done, it was advantage Rays.
And that bore fruit immediately, as the Rays tacked on a run in the sixth off Jose Urquidy to go up by four. Meanwhile, Anderson got four outs behind Morton to carry the Rays’ shutout into the eighth. But then things got a little dicey.
Anderson put a couple runners on with two out, turning things over to Fairbanks, who couldn’t find the zone, walking Michael Brantley on four pitches to load the bases. The next pitch he threw — one of those 91-m.p.h. sliders that are somehow becoming normal in today’s game — ended up in right field off Carlos Correa’s bat, plating a couple.
Carlos Correa delivers (again) and cuts the Ray’s lead in half.
But the nice thing about being Pete Fairbanks is you can throw a baseball 100-m.p.h., which he did on three of four pitches to Alex Bregman, striking out the Astros third baseman to end the inning.
Back out for the ninth, Fairbanks struck out a batter, gave up a single, struck out another, and finished it with a fly ball to right. Job done. Series done. The Rays had a plan and, as usual, it worked.
Odds and ends
• This was just a miserable post-season for Yuli Gurriel, who went 5-for-44, including 0-for-13 with runners in scoring position. In his second-last plate appearance of the ALCS, Gurriel hit into a double play on this absolute cookie:
• The Rays defended masterfully all series long, combining perfect positioning with instincts and athleticism to rob the Astros of hit after hit. This ridiculous play by Willy Adames will get lost in the shuffle but deserves to be appreciated:
• Jose Altuve’s 2020 was easily the worst offensive season of his career. But there’s no arguing with what he did in the playoffs, going 18-for-48 with five homers and hits in 10 of Houston’s 13 games. He’s now a .303/.376/.566 career hitter in 63 post-season games.
• Rays starter Tyler Glasnow was throwing off the bullpen mound throughout the eighth and ninth innings, staying ready to enter the game if things went sideways. They didn’t, which means he ought to be in line to start Game 1 of the World Series on Tuesday against either the Atlanta Braves or Los Angeles Dodgers.
The French league’s legal commission has ordered Paris Saint-Germain to pay Kylian Mbappé the 55 million euros ($61 million) in unpaid wages that he claims he’s entitled to, the league said Thursday.
The league confirmed the decision to The Associated Press without more details, a day after the France superstar rejected a mediation offer by the commission in his dispute with his former club.
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Former football star Reggie Bush was at his Encino home Tuesday night when three male suspects attempted to break in, the Los Angeles Times reported Wednesday.
“Everyone is safe,” Bush said in a text message to the newspaper.
The Los Angeles Police Dept. told the Times that a resident of the house reported hearing a window break and broken glass was found outside. Police said nothing was stolen and that three male suspects dressed in black were seen leaving the scene.
Bush starred at Southern California and in the NFL. The former running back was reinstated as the 2005 Heisman Trophy winner this year. He forfeited it in 2010 after USC was hit with sanctions partly related to Bush’s dealings with two aspiring sports marketers.
VANCOUVER – A fresh face has been gracing the B.C. Lions‘ highlight reels in recent weeks.
Midway through his second CFL campaign, wide receiver Ayden Eberhardt has contributed touchdowns in two consecutive games.
The 26-year-old wide receiver from Loveland, Colo., was the lone B.C. player to reel in a passing major in his team’s 37-23 victory over the league-leading Montreal Alouettes last Friday. The week before, he notched his first CFL touchdown in the Lions’ win over the Ottawa Redblacks.
“It’s been awesome. It’s been really good,” Eberhardt said of his recent play. “At the end of the day, the biggest stat to me is if we win. But who doesn’t love scoring?”
He’ll look to add to the tally Friday when the Leos (7-6) host the Toronto Argonauts.
Eberhardt signed with B.C. as a free agent in January 2023 and spent much of last season on the practice squad before cementing a role on the roster this year.
The six-foot-two, 195-pound University of Wyoming product has earned more opportunities in his second season, said Lions’ head coach and co-general manager Rick Campbell.
“He’s a super hard worker and very smart. He understands, has high football IQ, as we call it,” Campbell said.
The fact that Eberhardt can play virtually every receiving position helps.
“He could literally go into a game and we could throw him into a spot and he’d know exactly what he’s doing,” the coach said. “That allows him to play fast and earn the quarterback’s trust. And you see him making plays.”
Eberhardt credited his teammates, coaches and the rest of the Lions’ staff with helping him prepare for any situation he might face. They’ve all spent time teaching him the ins and outs of the Canadian game, or go over the playbook and run routes after practice, he said.
“I’ve played every single position on our offence in a game in the last two years, which is kind of crazy. But I love playing football,” he said. “I want to play any position that the team needs me to play.”
While B.C.’s lineup is studded with stars like running back William Stanback — who has a CFL-high 938 rushing yards — and wide receiver Justin McInnis — who leads the league in both receiving yards (1,074) and receiving TDs (seven) — versatility has been a critical part of the team’s back-to-back wins.
“I think we’ve got a lot of talented guys who deserve to get the ball and make big plays when they have the ball in their hands. So it’s really my job to get them the ball as much as possible,” said quarterback Nathan Rourke.
“I think that makes it easy when you can lean on those guys and, really, we’re in a situation where anyone can have a big game. And I think that’s a good place to be.”
Even with a talented lineup, the Lions face a tough test against an eager Argos side.
Toronto lost its second straight game Saturday when it dropped a 41-27 decision to Ottawa.
“We’ll have our hands full,” Rourke said. “We’ll have to adjust on the fly to whatever their game plan is. And no doubt, they’ll be ready to go so we’ll have to be as well.”
The two sides have already met once this season when the Argos handed the Lions a 35-27 loss in Toronto back on June 9.
A win on Friday would vault B.C. to the top of the West Division standings, over the 7-6 Winnipeg Blue Bombers who are on a bye week.
Collecting that victory isn’t assured, though, even with Toronto coming in on a two-game skid, Campbell said.
“They’ve hit a little bit of a rut, but they’re a really good team,” he said. “They’re very athletic. And you can really see (quarterback Chad Kelly’s) got zip on the ball. When you see him in there, he can make all the throws. So we’re expecting their best shot.”
TORONTO ARGONAUTS (6-6) AT B.C. LIONS (7-6)
Friday, B.C. Place
HOME FIELD ADVANTAGE: The Lions boast a 4-1 home record this season, including a 38-12 victory over the Redblacks at Royal Athletic Park in Victoria, B.C., on Aug. 31. The Argos have struggled outside of BMO Field and hold a 1-5 away record. Trips to the West Coast haven’t been easy for Toronto in recent years — since 2003, the club is 4-14 in road games against B.C.
CENTURION: B.C. defensive back Garry Peters is set to appear in his 100th consecutive game. The 32-year-old from Conyers, Ga., is a two-time CFL all-star who has amassed 381 defensive tackles, 19 special teams tackles and 16 interceptions over seven seasons. “Just being on the field with the guys every day, running around, talking trash back and forth, it keeps me young,” Peters said. “It makes me feel good, and my body doesn’t really feel it. I’ve been blessed to be able to play 100 straight.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 12, 2024.
