A mentality to grind and grind away has become synonymous throughout the Houston Astros clubhouse.
Staying true to their identity, they took a step towards their ultimate goal vs an Indians team wishing they could have one inning back.
The Houston Astros defeated the Cleveland Indians 11-3 on Monday at Progressive Field in Game 3 of the ALDS to win the series 3-0 and advance to the ALCS.
It took a while, but the Houston Astros would chip away at the Indians before breaking them in Game 3 to book their reservations for the next round.
Houston Astros’ center fielder George Springer would hit two home runs and left fielder Marwin Gonzalez would put the Astros up in the seventh before pulling away late.
Springer, who won the World Series MVP last season vs the Los Angeles Dodgers for his 5 HR World Series performance, set a new Houston Astros franchise-record with his two home runs on Monday as he now has 10 career postseason home runs.
A.J. Hinch’s team brought their bats and broomsticks with them to Progressive Field as Houston recorded 13 hits while going 6-for-15 with RISP.
Dallas Keuchel, taking the ball for Game 3 at Progressive Field, would give the Astros a stellar performance. The former AL Cy Young winner would allow two runs on four hits and one walk while striking out two over five innings.
Collin McHugh (1-0) would pick up the win out of the bullpen as he shutdown the Indians lineup over two innings, allowing no hits while striking out four.
The ALDS sweep gives the Houston Astros their first postseason sweep in franchise history.
The Cleveland Indians offense would continue to struggle to get anything of note done against Houston’s pitching staff and bullpen as they failed to put pressure on Houston’s explosive offense.
Cleveland would go 0-for-3 with RISP, leaving four men on base as they were mostly outmatched on the day by the superior Astros.
Mike Clevinger, making his first career postseason start, would dazzle vs the Indians potent lineup to begin the game.
Clevinger with the home crowd behind him would strike out four batters over the first two innings, leaning on his curveball to get the job done.
He would encounter trouble in the third inning as a single, walk and hit batsman would result in the bases being loaded with one out. The 27-year-old would strikeout first baseman Yuli Gurriel before getting utility man Marwin Gonzalez to fly out to left to end the inning.
The Indians would get on the board first with a run with one out in the third inning after a RBI sacrifice fly by Michael Brantley off Dallas Keuchel gave them a 1-0 lead.
It wouldn’t last long as the Astros would tie the game at 1-1 on a George Springer home run off Mike Clevinger in the fifth inning.
In need of an answer, Francisco Lindor would provide one as the star shortstop smoked a home run off Dallas Keuchel in the fifth inning to give the Cleveland Indians a 2-1 lead.
With Clevinger exiting the game after 99 pitches, the Indians would go to right-hander Trevor Bauer. Bauer would strand a runner at first with by inducing a pop up by Carlos Correa before striking out catcher Brian McCann to end the inning.
The seventh inning would be a rough one for Indians’ right-hander Trevor Bauer, and put a wrench in Cleveland’s plans to extend their season.
It would be a inning in which Trevor Bauer would commit two costly throwing errors that led to a runner (Tony Kemp) advancing to second base with no outs and another that would turn a play that should’ve led to two outs leading to none.
Making a throw to second base to Francisco Lindor after the Astros had tied the game at 2-2, Bauer’s throw would pull Lindor off the bag and Lindor would be unable to throw out Bregman — who grounded out with one out in the inning — at first base. The costly error would lead to a bases loaded opportunity for Marwin Gonzalez, Game 2’s hero for the Astros.
After getting a 3-1 count, Gonzalez would hit a high fastball out of the zone down the line to left field that would fall for a base hit. It would be a two-run double for Gonzalez, who for the second straight game haunted Cleveland as the Astros now led 4-2.
That lead would balloon to 10-2 in the eighth inning as George Springer and Carlos Correa both homered in a six-run inning as Indians fans started making their ways to the parking lot in a attempt to beat traffic.
Terry Francona stuck with his right-hander Trevor Bauer in the midst of a troubling inning that saw him allow a leadoff single, commit two errors and load the bases with a walk.
With Cleveland’s bullpen woes being what they are, it’s hard to question that decision by Francona, but Bauer’s inability to get out of the inning with no damage done was a fatal blow to Cleveland’s season, which ended with a whimper courtesy of Houston’s explosion late.
Mike Clevinger would give the Cleveland Indians a strong performance in Game 3 of the ALDS. Clevinger would allow only one run on three hits and three walks while striking out nine over five innings.
It was a season in which the Indians dominated the AL Central with a 49-27 mark, but were mostly inconsistent vs non-divisional opponents.
After reaching the World Series back in 2016, the team takes a step back despite a third consecutive division title as they have been swept from the postseason for the first time in the Terry Francona era.
The Houston Astros showed the Cleveland Indians that there’s a difference between playoff caliber teams and championship teams in the ALDS.
Winning in every facet of the game — hitting, pitching, defense — is what won the Houston Astros this series as they outscored the Cleveland 21-6 and out-hit them 34-12.
A.J. Hinch’s team dominance over the Indians was a continuation of what we had seen throughout the regular-season when they finished the season with a run differential of +263, best in the major leagues.
They finished the regular-season with the best starting pitching and bullpen ERA in the MLB and their offense has not waned from the offense we saw a year ago despite injuries throughout the year.
It’s the Houston Astros, hungry to repeat as MLB world champions this postseason and are not resting on their laurels.
What are your thoughts on the Houston Astros advancing to the ALCS? Leave your comments below!
At least 12 people were hurt after reports of gunfire sent people running for cover during a Lil Wayne’s concert in Atlanta on Sunday, authorities say.
Video shows people running away from the area after someone yelled ‘gunshot’ in the crowd. Some people were left injured but officers said there’s no evidence of shots fired.
Lil Wayne was about five songs into his set at the annual A3C Festival when people tried to leave, police say.
A3C posted to Twitter with a statement, “We are still collecting information to determine exactly what happened.” They added, “Please be assured that the law enforcement officers present have confirmed that there were no weapons involved.”
There have been approximately twelve minor injuries reported to police such as ankle injuries and lacerations from attempting to jump fences,” the department said in a statement. “The event location is being cleared out by police at this time.”
The concerted ended early due to panic. Wayne took to twitter with the caption “Hope everyone at A3C is safe!!”
It’s always someone screaming out stupidiy! Smh. Why do people have to ruin other’s fun. Tickets aren’t cheap! People pay money for the goods seats, and for someone to just up and ruin the the night…. smh.
The comedian is back in jail after a misdemeanor assault occurred Friday around 11:13 PM at Atlantic Aviation. The actor was arrested on Saturday (Oct.6).
Williams allegedly assaulted a driver after an argument broke out between the two about taking Williams and his dog to a performance.
Williams was scheduled to show up for a taping for “Wild N Out” last night at the Moda Center. However, he ended up getting charged with assault for an incident that happened in Portland, Oregon, according to Celebrity Insider .
The driver suffered minor injuries to the face swelling, cuts and was treated at a local hospital. Williams left the scene in another car before police arrived.
He then was found Saturday morning and after further investigation he was booked at Multmonah county detention center for fourth-degree assault.
Williams was booked at 12:00 p.m. local time and is being held on $2,500 bail. Police said they discovered that Williams had an out of state warrant which he was also arrested for.
Atlanta Braves fans hope Ronald Acuna Jr. will leave behind memories that they remember years after he’s done playing.
Facing elimination, he gave Braves fans his first playoff moment that helped save their season.
The Atlanta Braves defeated the Los Angeles Dodgers on Sunday night 6-5 at SunTrust Park in Game 3 of the NLDS to make it a 2-1 series.
The Atlanta Braves were dominated in the first two games by the Dodgers arms, but with their season hanging in the balance, would swing their way to a Game 4 on Monday.
Behind home runs from their best hitters in Ronald Acuna Jr. and Freddie Freeman and clutch pitching from their bullpen, the Dodgers will have work to do to advance to the NLCS.
Atlanta would record four hits to Los Angeles’ seven, but the biggest hit of the game belonged to rookie outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr.
Against a shaky Walker Buehler, who after a five pitch first inning lost his control over his pitches, the Braves would finally break through in the NLDS.
After walking in pitcher Sean Newcomb on four pitches with the bases loaded to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead, the Atlanta Braves rookie phenom would make Walker Buehler’s first career playoff start one not to remember.
After a very high strike call on a 3-0 pitch, Ronald Acuna Jr. would blast a high fastball from Walker Buehler for a homer to left field for a grand slam to give Atlanta a resounding 5-0 lead in the second inning.
Sean Newcomb, who during the regular-season was a strike away from a no-hitter vs the Los Angeles Dodgers, would only pitch two and two-thirds innings.
His walk to Chris Taylor with two outs in the third inning would lead to Brian Snitker going to his bullpen for right-hander Kevin Gausman.
The Los Angeles Dodgers would answer the Braves five-run second inning by getting back into the game with two runs. Representing the tying run, Manny Machado’s strikeout would leave two runners on base for Los Angeles to end the inning.
The Dodgers would chip away at the Braves lead quickly as they would tie the game in the fifth inning as Chris Taylor’s two-run homer and Max Muncy blast would make it a 5-5 game.
After keeping the pesky and threatening Dodgers offense off the scoreboard in the sixth inning, first baseman Freddie Freeman wouldn’t wait long to give his team back the lead as he hit a first pitch home run to right field off newly inserted pitcher Alex Wood to give Atlanta a 6-5 lead.
Atlanta would take that lead into the ninth inning where closer Arodys Vizcaino would have his hands full with the Dodgers.
Vizcaino would give up a single to Joc Pederson before Justin Turner would draw a walk to give the Dodgers two men with no outs and a dangerous Max Muncy at the plate.
After falling behind 3-0 in the count, Vizcaino would battle back to strikeout Muncy with a 98 mph fastball low and away.
The Braves would get the second out of the inning after Vizcaino would get Manny Machado offer at a pitch that got away from the catcher Kurt Suzuki and moved the game tying and winning runs up 90 feet.
Vizcaino, facing Brian Dozier would two outs, would get Dozier swinging on a 1-2 slider in the dirt as the Braves escaped with their season still in tact.
Dave Roberts went with the rookie right-hander on Sunday night in a road game vs the Braves only to see that decision backfire. That’s a decision Roberts likely won’t lament given his trust in the rookie who since the end of August had been red-hot for Los Angeles.
Reasons for finishing off a series when you’re up 2-0 in a best-of-five series are obvious, and you could see that in Dave Roberts body language as he watched his young pitcher implode in the second inning.
You could also see that in the Dodgers desperation to get back in the game and try to win it after falling behind 5-0 early.
A Game 4 gives Atlanta an opportunity to force a deciding Game 5, something that would cause a great deal of panic and unrest for Dodgers nation.
Los Angeles would go 1-for-9 with RISP vs the Atlanta Braves. A total of nine me would be left on base.
It was a tough night for superstar shortstop Manny Machado, who in big spots with runners in scoring position in the third and ninth inning struck out.
For the Atlanta Braves, it’s one game at a time with an increased sense of urgency knowing that a loss ends the season.
The Braves couldn’t score a run in the first two games as Hyun-Jin Ryu and Clayton Kershaw combined to go 15 innings with zero runs allowed vs them.
A quick start allowed for Brian Snitker’s young team to exhale some and not press vs a Dodgers team that 1 through 7 are deep in their lineup.
Those exhales would become lesser and lesser as the Dodgers climbed back into the game, but the Braves wouldn’t fold and because of it, will have a game at home to force a Game 5 back in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
What are your thoughts on the Atlanta Braves victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers? Leave your comments below!
The 72′ Miami Dolphins champagne bottles are still on ice after the Los Angeles Rams and Kansas City Chiefs made it through Week 5 with yet another W in the left side of the column.
Also, the 08′ Detroit Lions and 17′ Cleveland Browns (maybe for reasons unexplained) can keep their brown paper bags in the kitchen cabinets after the Arizona Cardinals picked up their first victory of the season on Sunday.
Still, it’s always fun to see this every now and then.
Enough with picking on the Detroit Lions, who can’t beat quarterbacks with more than three years of starting experience but can beat Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers.
NFL Week 5 saw Isaiah Crowell turn into Barry Sanders, Patrick Mahomes first interceptions and Ben Roethlisberger finally remember he has Antonio Brown to the delight of fantasy owners.
Overall a solid week of games, here are my takeaways from the biggest headlines from the week that was in the NFL.
Philadelphia Eagles Continue To Stumble
Whether Eagles fans were angrily booing the referees for what they felt was a bad roughing the passer call on Michael Bennett or their overall play as a team in the first half, there just wasn’t much to cheer for for Philly heading into the half.
The Minnesota Viking snapped their two-game skid with a victory over the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at Lincoln Financial Field.
Wide receiver Adam Thielen would become the first receiver in NFL history to record 5 consecutive 100-yard receiving games to begin the season.
Kirk Cousins finished the game with a efficient performance as he completed 81 percent of his passes while throwing for 301 passing yards and 1 TD to help Minnesota to their second win of the season.
The Philadelphia Eagles are reeling after their latest defeat, their third in the past four weeks and there’s plenty of blame to go around.
Philadelphia’s offensive line, a strength in 2017, has fallen off from last season as they’ve become increasingly incapable of protecting the quarterback.
Carson Wentz in the first half alone was hit five times, one of those hits resulting in a sack and a comedic 64-yard fumble recovery touchdown by defensive tackle Linval Joseph in the second quarter.
The Minnesota Vikings very well may be a team that had its rough patches and will regain its form from 2017, but for Philadelphia the same may not be the case.
Philadelphia’s identity, swagger and in some ways chemistry seems to be greatly diminished from the Super Bowl winning team last season.
The team wouldn’t convert a third down until the third quarter and allowed Kirk Cousins to consistently have a clean pocket to throw the football.
The Philadelphia Eagles unsettling start in 2018 has many now surprisingly pondering if the team will be able to recover and make the NFL postseason.
They won’t have long to lick their wounds as a trip to East Rutherford to face the New York Giants on Thursday is next for Doug Pederson’s struggling team.
Rams Hang On To Top Seahawks In Shootout
The Los Angeles Rams have real concerns defensively, but troubles on that side of the ball are not enough to keep them from repeating a trend each team wishes to repeat.
The Los Angeles Rams defeated the Seattle Seahawks 33-31 on Sunday at CenturyLink Stadium to remain unbeaten this season.
The Rams needed to overcome a fourth quarter deficit for the first time in 2018 to move to 5-0 this season as 39-yard field goal by kicker Cairo Santos with six minutes to go proved to be the difference.
Todd Gurley would rumble his way to a well earned 113 yards from scrimmage and 3 TDs to lead the Rams to the win.
The Seahawks, who were blown off their home field 42-7 last season by the Los Angeles Rams in Week 15, came for a fight today with their division rivals.
Russell Wilson (198 passing yards and 3 TDs) got plenty of help from the Seahawks rushing attack (32 carries, 190 rushing yards) as Chris Carson led the way with 116 rushing yards.
The Rams defense, which looked strong over the first two weeks is looking increasingly suspect they have given up an average of 28 PPG the last three games.
Wade Phillips’ unit is continuing to give up big plays through the air and a steady dose of yards on the ground. Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh got to Wilson for a sack each on the day but failed to factor in much against the run.
Why is this unit struggling to dominate? That was the expectation this season with the new additions. While losing Aqib Talib hurt the secondary, that’s not having a ripple down effect in Los Angeles’ ability to stop the run as they struggled vs the run even with Talib in the lineup.
Flawed on that end of the ball now unexpectedly, Sean McVay and the Rams will take being 5-0 with room for improvement.
Chiefs Defense Stands Up vs Jaguars
All the talk this week understandably was about the matchup of the Kansas City Chiefs top ranked offense vs the the Jacksonville Jaguars top ranked defense.
On Sunday, an unlikely group would make their presence felt.
Kansas City’s defense, which ranked 31st in the NFL coming into today, would be the unit making all of the headlines at Arrowhead Stadium.
Kansas City would force Blake Bortles into three first half turnovers which included a 20-yard interception return by defensive end Chris Jones before the half to make it a 20-0 Chiefs lead.
The Jacksonville Jaguars would be shutdown on a 4th and goal play in the early in the second quarter as head coach Doug Marrone took a gamble on a 4th and 1 play at the Chiefs 3-yard line.
Kansas City’s defense, led by the pass rush of outside linebacker Dee Ford, would keep Jacksonville off the scoreboard until the 3:10 mark of the third quarter where Blake Bortles would connect with T.J. Yeldon for a 14-yard touchdown.
The Kansas City Chiefs went on to win the game 30-14 as they forced Blake Bortles into a career-high five turnovers.
It’s the second consecutive season where the Kansas City Chiefs have started the season 5-0.
Graham Gano Stuns Giants on 63-Yard Field Goal
In a game they had to get to keep their season afloat, the Giants would come to life at Bank of America Stadium on Sunday vs the Carolina Panthers, but it would not be enough.
In a game of momentum switches that featured a Odell Beckham Jr. touchdown pass and grab as well as Eli Manning and Cam Newton trading dueling touchdowns …. and interceptions, the drama was plenty.
The Giants rallied back from a early 17-3 deficit to take a 31-30 lead over the Carolina Panthers late in the fourth quarter after Saquon Barkley scored his second touchdown of the game, a 15-yard touchdown reception from Eli Manning.
Just as was the case the last time these two played, Cam Newton would have the ball in his hands to win the game, but it would be Graham Gano handing the Giants a bitter pill to swallow.
Gano would Stun the Giants on a 63-yard field goal to give the Carolina Panthers a 33-31 victory over New York.
Giants cracked the 30-point plateau for the first time since Week 17 of the 2015 season, but that wasn’t enough to keep New York from falling to 1-4 on the road.
Though a ugly victory coming off a bye week, Carolina can now rest easy after averting disaster vs a team coming in that averaged 18.3 PPG.
Baker Mayfield Leads Browns To Improbable Overtime Win
That’s a way to make amends for a poor performance.
A week after turning the ball over four times and costing his team dearly in a 45-42 OT loss to the Oakland Raiders, Baker Mayfield would lead the Browns to a 12-9 OT win over the Baltimore Ravens.
After letting a 9-6 lead slip away in the final minutes, allowing Joe Flacco and the Ravens to tie the game and send it to overtime, we would be in for an eventful overtime period.
After failing to convert on a 4th and 5 from the Ravens 39 yard-line with under four minutes to play, Cleveland would shutdown Baltimore and force a three-and-out.
Cleveland would begin the possession at their own 16-yard line and it would turn into a 2nd and 21 situation for Cleveland after a 11-yard loss on a end around by wide receiver Rod Streeter.
After a 13-yard scramble on 2nd and 21, Mayfield would turn a quiet Browns crowd into a noisy one after a 39-yard completion to wide receiver Derrick Willis after the two-minute warning.
Duke Johnson would rush for 15 yards on the following play and add 9 more on the next two plays as Cleveland would be set up for a 37-yard field goal attempt with six seconds remaining.
With every Browns fan in attendance having it finely imprinted in their minds that the worse was to come give their struggles at kicker to start the season as well as during this game, their prayers would be answered.
Greg Joseph, who missed a 55-yard field goal and a extra point during the game, would hit a game-winning 37-yard field goal that was low and wobbly but made it through to give the Browns their second win of the season.
It’s been a fascinating start for the Cleveland Browns franchise during the 2018 regular-season.
In the first five games, the Cleveland Browns have played in three overtime games, tying, losing and now winning in those games.
Baker Mayfield (342 passing yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) lit up a Ravens defense that coming in allowed the fourth fewest passing yards at 193.3 passing yards.
Not to be forgotten, Cleveland’s defense continued their strong play to begin the season.
Gregg Williams’ unit would hold the Ravens to 4-for-16 on third down while limiting Joe Flacco to a pedestrian game in which he finished 29-for-56 for 298 passing yards and a INT as Baltimore did not score a touchdown.
What are your thoughts on Sunday’s NFL action? Leave your comments below!
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