HOUSTON -- The Houston Astros’ biggest stars were immersed in an offensive funk.
Their young starting pitcher was coming off a brutal performance.
And they were facing a red-hot Atlanta team who had their ace on the mound.
Scared?
Come on, these are the powerful Astros, who have made October part of their regular routine.
They pounded Atlanta ace Max Fried in his first World Series start and stormed to a 7-2 victory Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 42,833 at Minute Maid Park, tying the Series at 1-game apiece.
“Our team doesn't worry, and our team's very confident,’’ Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “We have the knack of bouncing back after losses, tough losses because they don't quit. They don't give up. They don't get down.
“That's the secret of sports. You know, on a loss you have to forget yesterday. That's one of the keys. This team is excellent at forgetting yesterday.
“I mean, you go in our clubhouse, I've never seen these guys worry. They know they can play.’’
Oh, did they ever, doing all of the little things, getting the big hits, and catching the breaks.
They landed only body punches in the first six innings, with just one extra-base hit, but then delivered the knockout punch in the seventh with a Jose Altuve homer, and a double by Michael Brantley. Altuve, who was in a 3-for-29 skid since the start of the ALCS entering the game, hit his 22nd home run of the postseason, tying Bernie Williams, and trailing only Manny Ramirez with 29.
Really, the game was won in the second inning with nothing more damaging than a single – but hitting five of them – and turning a 1-1 tie into a 5-1 lead.
It began with a harmless one-out single by Kyle Tucker. Yuli Gurriel hit what should have been a double-play grounder, only for Atlanta to be in the shift, and no one covering. Jose Siri was next to thwart Atlanta’s shift with a slow roller towards second that he beat out for a run-scoring single.
Catcher Martin Maldonado, their No. 9 hitter who was in a 2-for-31 slump, lined a single to left field. It scored Gurriel for one run, which turned into two runs when left fielder Eddie Rosario threw wildly to third base, permitting Siri to scamper home. Brantley capped off the inning with a sharp single to right field, scoring Maldonado.
It was all that Astros starter Jose Urquidy needed, cruising for five innings before turning the game over to the bullpen. It was a far cry from his last disastrous start when he couldn’t get out of the second inning in the ALCS when the Boston Red Sox teed off on him, giving up five hits, two walks, and six runs (five earned) in just 1 ⅔ innings.
Urquidy becomes the first Mexican-born pitcher to win multiple World Series starts, and the first Astros’ pitcher to win more than one World Series game.
The series now moves to Atlanta on Friday where they have pulverized the opposition, winning all five of its postseason games at Truist Field, and 10 of 11 overall.
Atlanta, in fact, hasn’t lost two games in a row anywhere in a month, going 20-5 since Sept. 19, outscoring the opposition, 125-74.
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Yet, these are the Astros, with the most powerful offense in the game, and they proved over and over this season, you can never underestimate their prowess, no matter how bad they looked in Game 1.
“These guys, like I've said many times,’’ Baker said, “they don't worry. Or else if they do, they worry internally. You don't see any difference in anything that they do from day to day.
“To me, that's true confidence when you don't worry.’’
The only one with the concerned look on its face is Atlanta. They accomplished what they wanted with a split in the first two games, turning this into a best-of-five series, but they’ll be playing the rest of the series with only two established starters after Game 1 starter Charlie Morton broke his leg.
“They are so dangerous,’’ Atlanta manager Brian Snitker said, “and so relentless.”
Atlanta found that out, up close and personal, on a balmy night deep in the heart of Texas.
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