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After losing their final 3 games of the regular season, the Astros have flipped a page, going undefeated in their first three games played thus far in the postseason.
Their momentum was kickstarted with a sweep of the Twins in their wildcard series with back-to-back wins. They didn’t lose any steam after the series either. They lapped the Athletics in runs in Game 1 by a score of 10-5.
The Bad Boys Of Baseball
It’s no secret the AL West rivals have some bad blood between them. This came to the forefront when the A’s Ramón Laureano charged at Astros hitting coach Alex Cintrón after the two exchanged words between the basepath and dugout during a regular-season game in August. The pair are both back on the diamond for the series.
It only adds to the drama that the backdrop of the ALDS series between the two teams is Dodger Stadium. This is the site where the Astros hoisted the World Series trophy just three years ago.
With the knowledge we know now, that trophy is invalid to some.
Sean Manea, who will take the mound in Game 2, said this about the 2017 champions in July when asked about the cheating allegations brought against the Astros.
“Everything they’ve done, the World Series title, it really doesn’t mean to me anything.”
The talk hasn’t stopped the Astros from stepping up to the plate this postseason, especially Astros shortstop Carlos Correa who has found his stride just at the right time.
Correa’s 3-5, 2 HR and 4 RBI performance on Monday made Correa the first shortstop in MLB history to record two multi-home run games in a postseason.
Have a day @TeamCJCorrea!!#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/JCEjAGbB30
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 5, 2020
But as much as the Astros have been villainized, Correa said this hasn’t changed the team’s mindset.
Rewriting History
The Athletics first base slugger Matt Olson has been quiet thus far this postseason but had his first hit of the playoffs come in the form of a solo home run in the Athletics Game 1 loss.
Despite the Athletics dropping the game, Olson said he isn’t concerned about their series outlook.
Olson mentioned the Athletics have won three consecutive games after dropping the first game of the series throughout the seasons. However, they haven’t performed the feat in a best-of-five playoff series since the 1974 ALCS vs. the Orioles.
After two consecutive seasons of losing in the wildcard round, the A’s are looking to turn their fortune around. They will look to defeat a streaking Astros team on Tuesday in Game 2 at 4:37 p.m. on TBS.
