Adolis Garcia Hits Grand Slam to Seal the Texas Rangers’ ALCS Game 6 Win Over Houston Astros

Posted on October 23, 2023 by Tom Castaneda

Two days after getting into an altercation in Game 5, Texas Rangers slugger Adolis Garcia delivered a resounding message to the Houston Astros and their fans in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series (ALCS) on Sunday night.

With Texas leading 5–2 in the ninth inning with the bases loaded, the 30-year-old Cuban professional baseball outfielder and MLB All-Star stepped into the box having struck out in his previous four at-bats.

As was the case all night, a fiery chorus of boos shrouded Garcia from the Astros faithful still heated over his exchange with pitcher Bryan Abreu and catcher Martín Maldonado for hitting him with a pitch.

The tense moment would prove not to be too much for Garcia, however, he mashed a monster grand slam to extend the lead and silence the crowd inside Minute Maid Park in the process.

Garcia’s 375-foot bomb not only marked his fifth homer of the postseason but, given the lingering tension, also gave the outfielder and Texas a strong measure of revenge in a must-win game.

With Sunday’s game now in the record books, Garcia and the Rangers, after keeping their season alive, will look to keep the momentum going with a win in Game 7 on Monday to advance to the World Series.

Houston Astros Slugger Yordan Alvarez Named American League Championship Series MVP

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Yordan Alvarez is celebrating his ALCS performance with a special trophy…

The 24-year-old Cuban professional baseball player, a designated hitter and outfielder for the Houston Astros was named the American League Championship Series Most Valuable Player (MVP) after almost single-handedly leading his team to the American League pennant.

In the final three games of the ALCS — a run that started with the Astros facing a 2-1 series deficit to the Boston Red Sox — Alvarez went 9-for-13.

In Games 5 and 6, he outhit the entire Red Sox roster on his own, 7-5. His ALCS performance peaked at Minute Maid Park in Game 6: 4-for-4 with a single, a double, a triple, a run and an RBI, as Houston finished off the series with a 5-0 victory over Boston.

“It was all about focus,” Alvarez told ESPN‘s Marly Rivera after the game. “That’s all I wanted to do. I wanted to do damage and that’s what happened.”

Alvarez’s showing in the ALCS surprised even himself, especially after a 2020 season when he only played two games and underwent surgery to repair a torn patellar tendon in his right knee, along with arthroscopic surgery on his left knee.

“I didn’t really imagine myself being able to come out of that surgery on both knees and be able to do this as quickly as I did,” Alvarez said. “So it was really unbelievable for me to be able to come back and do what I did. Just super happy to be here and be able to contribute like that.”

Throughout the series, Astros manager Dusty Baker noted the exceptional impact Alvarez made in the middle of Houston’s lineup — and how his power bat changed the trajectory of the team’s season.

“He is a big boy in the middle,” Baker said.

Alvarez is the second Astros player with 11 hits in a playoff series, behind only Jose Altuve‘s 12 in the 2020 ALCS. He became the fifth player in MLB history with 11 or more hits in a single series against the Red Sox, joining a club with Hideki Matsui and Bernie Williams (2004), Lou Brock (1967) and Buck Herzog (1912).

Baker noted Alvarez’s all-fields approach, which has drawn comparisons to the way David Ortiz consistently drove pitches on the outer half of the plate the other way. During the 2021 season, Alvarez pulled baseballs 36.4%, and hit them up the middle and to the opposite field 36.3% and 27.3% of the time, respectively.

His average exit velocity of 93.2 mph ranked ninth in MLB, ahead of Manny Machado, Juan Soto and Bryce Harper, according to Baseball Savant.

“He hits the ball in the opposite field and it stays straight,” Baker said. “It doesn’t have a slice on it, and everybody knows he can pull the ball, but he also has power the other way. He is only going to get better. Like last year at this time, we didn’t have Alvarez, and we came close to going to the series last year without Alvarez. And now we have Alvarez, and we’re very, very grateful and thankful that we have him.”

After the game, Alvarez gave credit to Baker for his support throughout the season.

“He understands how it is to be a ballplayer,” Alvarez said. “He understands what guys go through every day. I got a chance to spend time with him in spring training as well. He has been really helpful to me, and I’m thankful for everything that he has given to me in this time together.”

Alvarez’s three extra-base hits in a potential series-clinching game tie Carlos Correa for the most in Astros history, and he joins Yuli Gurriel and Craig Biggio as the only Astros with consecutive three-hit games in the postseason.

That historic performance did not go unnoticed by his teammates.

“Yordan was, like, something else,” said Astros pitcher Luis Garcia. “He was really clutch, everything.”

Alvarez’s successful 2019 campaign for Rookie of the Year — where he hit .313/.412/.655 with 27 homers, 26 doubles and 78 RBIs with 3.7 bWAR in 87 games — served as his introduction to the national stage, but he cemented his place among the best designated hitters with his 2021 season, hitting .277/.346/.531 with 33 homers, 104 RBIs, 35 doubles and a triple with 3.2 bWAR this year.

But none of them meant as much as winning the ALCS MVP trophy.

“It means everything,” Alvarez said. “It means everything. I think there’s a lot of things that I could say that’s behind that trophy, but all I can say is it just means everything.”

As the spotlight got brighter, so did Alvarez’s performance at the plate. The ALCS MVP trophy served as a cherry on top.

Luis Garcia Helps Lead Houston Astros to American League Championship Title

Posted on October 23, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Luis Garcia is celebrating an Astros-nomical feat…

The 24-year-old Venezuelan professional baseball pitcher helped shut out the Boston Red Sox to help lead the Houston Astros to 5-0 victory in Game 6 of the American League Championship Series on Friday night.

As a result, the Astros win the 2021 American League pennant and will advance to their third World Series in five years. The Red Sox, conversely, will head home for the winter, having lost the best-of-seven series by a 4-2 margin.

The Astros received a stellar start from Garcia, a rookie right-hander, who atoned for his poor performance in Game 2.

Garcia threw 5 2/3 scoreless innings, holding the Red Sox to a single hit (an Enrique Hernández triple in the sixth) and a walk. He struck out seven batters and showed no ill effects from the knee injury that plagued him earlier in the series.

The Astros were paced offensively by Yordan Alvarez, the ALCS MVP. He delivered a pair of doubles as well as a triple. He drove in one run and scored the other.

Nathan Eovaldi, pitching just two days after his Game 5 relief appearance, permitted five hits and a walk across 4 1/3 innings. He gave up a run and struck out four batters.

The Astros will await the winner of the National League Championship Series between the Atlanta Braves and the Los Angeles Dodgers. The Braves lead that series by a 3-2 margin heading into Saturday’s Game 6 at Truist Park in Atlanta.

Carlos Correa Hits Career-High 25th Home Run to Help Houston Astros Clinch AL West Title

Posted on October 1, 2021 by Tom Castaneda

Carlos Correa has blasted his team to another title…

The 27-year-old Puerto Rican professional baseball shortstop hit his career-high 25th home run with a three-run shot, as the Houston Astros clinched the AL West title with a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Thursday night.

It’s the fourth division title in five seasons and 10th overall for the Astros. They’re in the playoffs for the fifth consecutive season, extending a franchise record.

“That sounds pretty special,” Correa said.

The Astros will open the AL Division Series on October 7 against the Chicago White Sox — home field for that best-of-five matchup is still to be determined. Houston went 5-2 against the White Sox this year.

Houston was a wild-card team last year in manager Dusty Baker‘s first season with the club. So where did this division-clinching victory rate on his list?

“Every time you win, it ranks higher than the last time. And you never get tired of winning,” he said.

Correa’s huge hit in the fourth inning allowed the Astros to put a recent stretch where they dropped five of six games behind them and let the celebration begin at Minute Maid Park.

“We are where we are because of him,” Astros star second baseman Jose Altuve said.

Astros mascot Orbit dashed onto the field waving a huge orange flag that touted the team’s division title as the players cheered and embraced after the final out.

“I’m proud of my team,” Altuve said. “They went out there every single day this season to make this happen.”

Tampa Bay, which has already clinched the top seed in the American League playoffs, put runners on first and second with no outs in the ninth but didn’t score.

Rays rookie Wander Franco went 0-for-4 to snap a 43-game on-base streak, which tied him with Frank Robinson in 1956 for the longest such string in MLB history among players 20 or younger.

Yuli Gurriel singled to start Houston’s fourth and Kyle Tucker walked. Correa followed with his towering shot that smashed off the wall in left field to put the Astros up 3-0 against Ryan Yarbrough (9-7).

The charismatic shortstop put a hand to his ear to encourage the crowd as the rounded third base on the home run trot.

Lance McCullers Jr. (13-5) didn’t allow a hit until Ji-Man Choi singled to start the sixth. There were two outs in the inning when Brandon Lowe homered on a ball to right field that sailed just inside the foul pole to cut the lead to 3-2.

Anthony Rendon Leads Washington Nationals to First World Series Title

Posted on October 31, 2019 by Tom Castaneda

Anthony Rendon is a champion…

The 29-year-old Latino professional baseball player helped the Washington Nationals clinch their first World Series title after defeating the Houston Astros 6-2 in Game 7 on Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park.

It’s the first time in World Series history that the road team has won every game.

Rendon and Howie Kendrickhomered to power the Nationals, who had finished the regular season as a wild-card team, to victory.

Starter Max Scherzer kept the Nationals in the game, throwing five innings and giving up two runs. Patrick Corbin, a starter turned reliever for this game, pitched three scoreless innings to earn the win.

Daniel Hudson pitched a perfect ninth to earn the save.

Astros reliever Will Harris, who gave up Kendrick’s go-ahead home run in the seventh inning, took the loss.

The Nats broke it open with a run in the eighth and two runs in the ninth.

The Astros struck first. Yuli Gurrielhit a leadoff home run in the bottom of the second inning to make it 1-0.

In the bottom of the fifth, Houston’s Carlos Correasingled off Rendon’s glove to score Gurriel, who had grounded into a force play and gone to second on a walk to Yordan Alvarez. That made the score 2-0.

But the Astros couldn’t score again, leaving 10 men on base.

While the title is the first for the Nationals’ franchise, it is the second for the city. In 1924, the Washington Senators, now the Minnesota Twins, defeated the New York Giants four games to three.

Meanwhile Juan Soto was 2-for-3 with a walk in Wednesday’s Game 7 win for the Nationals. The 21-year-old Dominicanphenom walked and scored on Kendrick’s two-run home run in the seventh inning, then drove home Adam Eaton with an RBI single in the eighth. Soto hit .333/.438/.741 with three home runs, two doubles, seven RBI and six runs scored in the Fall Classic.

Soto reached base in all seven World Series games, and was kept off the bases in just one of his 17 postseason games. He also figured mightily in several Nationals wins.

He’s just the fourth player to hit a World Series home run prior to his 21st birthday. He turned 21 the day of Game 3, then homered in both Games 5 and 6.

Jose Altuve Leads Houston Astros to World Series for First Time in 12 Years

Posted on October 22, 2017 by Tom Castaneda

He’s already considered the best hitter in Major League Baseball… But now you can also call Jose Altuve a “closer”…

With the Houston Astros needing to win both Games 6 and 7 to move on to the World Series for only the second time in franchise history, the 27-year-old Venezuela professional baseball player made sure they sealed the deal.

Altuve, a five-time MLB All-Star, notched three hits, including two home runs, in the final two games, with his solo shot in the fifth inning of Game 7 on Saturday night spurring a 4-0 victory over the New York Yankees and a celebration at Minute Maid Park.

“He’s the best hitter I’ve ever seen,” Astros shortstop Carlos Correa said after Game 6, and he might as well play that comment on a loop after almost every game.

The Astros are now back in the World Series for the first time in 12 years and head to L.A. to face the Los Angeles Dodgers in Game 1 Tuesday night.

As usual, the Astros were led by Altuve, the 5-foot-5 engine of the most prolific offense in baseball since the 2009 Yankees.

In Game 7, Altuve’s big hit came in the fifth inning. He ripped a line drive that sent Yankees right fielder and Rookie of the Year candidate Aaron Judge back to the wall. Judge, who robbed Yuli Gurriel of a home run in the second inning, wasn’t going to bring this one back, but Altuve couldn’t be sure. Judge is 6-foot-7, after all.

Altuve sprinted down the first-base line, bat in hand. When the ball cleared the fence, he flipped his bat toward the first-base coach’s box, where it was finally retrieved by a bat boy.

Like the rest of the Astros’ offense, Altuve went ice cold in the middle three games of the series. He went 0-for-New York, as the Astros lost three games in a row for the first time in more than a month. After his first two at-bats of Game 6, Altuve’s hitless streak had grown to 0-for-12.

But in his final six plate appearances of the series, beginning in the fifth inning of Game 6, he went two-run single, homer, groundout, walk, homer, strikeout.

“[He’s] the best hitter on the planet, and I think he had three days in New York without hitting — whatever,” Correa said. “I knew he was going to come back.”

Houston Astros Officially Sign Correa‎

Posted on June 8, 2012 by Tom Castaneda

Signed, sealed, delivered! Following his historic first round pick in the MLB draft, Carlos Correa has agreed to a contract with the Houston Astros for a signing bonus of $4.8 million.

The 17-year-old Puerto Rican shortstop was at Minute Maid Park on Thursday for the official announcement and met with players and took batting practice with the team.

“We’re absolutely thrilled to have him as a part of our organization,” said Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow. “It’s a monumental day for us and for him and for the city of Houston. We’re delighted.”

Correa picked the No. 12 jersey he donned on Thursday because he was the top pick in 2012 and because he admires fellow Puerto Rican player Roberto Alomar, who wore the number.

Correa will head back to Puerto Rico to graduate from high school this weekend before joining the Rookie-level Gulf Coast League on Tuesday. And, he’s thrilled to be able to get a deal done quickly so he can begin his baseball career.

“It means a lot,” said Correa. “I want to play baseball. I want to play for the Houston Astros. I don’t want to lose time. I feel comfortable signing early. I like this team. I just want to work hard.”

Correa is the highest draft pick ever from Puerto Rico. And, he’s also the first shortstop to get drafted first overall since Tampa Bay selected Tim Beckham in 2008, and the fourth shortstop taken with the top pick since 1994.

St. Louis Cardinals players Carlos Beltran and Yadier Molina, both from Puerto Rico, came onto the field early before their game against the Astros to meet Correa and talk to and pose for pictures with his family. Beltran was excited that Correa was chosen first in the draft.

“It really means a lot,” said Beltran, adding that he called to congratulate him on draft night. “I think Correa is a hero in Puerto Rico being the first pick overall. At the same time, it’s going to motivate a lot of kids back home in Puerto Rico to continue to play the game of baseball.”

The Astros, who fell to a franchise-worst 56-106 last season to earn the top pick, are hoping Correa develops into a superstar. And he seems ready for the challenge.

“I just want to get to the big league level the quickest that I can,” said the baseball phenom. “I want to be a leader. I want to be the face of the franchise. That’s what I want as a player. I will work hard right now to be a great player, an impact player in the big leagues.”

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