Game 1 & Game 2 offer little promise

The scene was set for the American League Division Series between the Oakland Athletics and Houston Astros. The A's got the best of the Astros this season by going 7-3 head to head versus them. The deception of this head to head record was how tightly contested the 10 games were. 7 of the 10 games were decided by less than 2 runs, and 3 of those 7 were by one run. The ultimate differentiator between the 2 teams in the standings this season was the A's record (26-14) and Astros record (19-21) against divisional opponents. Having said all this, most fans and journalists knew this series would be different than the regular season results.

Preface

Of the 3 games against the White Sox in the Wild Card Series the A's scored first in only one of the games. Yet, they were able to survive and advance. A huge key in this Division Series is/was the ability for either team to score first and put the pressure on the opposing team.

Game ONE

Khris Davis (yes, that Khris Davis) was able to get the A's going with a 2-run homer to right center field. You know he's going well when he's able to drive pitches to right center rather than roll over to shortstop. In the next inning (3rd inning), Murphy came up and drove the ball out to dead center field making the score 3-0.

The biggest difference between the Astros from the regular season and postseason, aside from health, is their experience and deep lineup. To validate that, the Astros were able to prove their worth with two home runs in the subsequent shutdown inning to notch the score at 3-3.

The A's were quick to respond going up 2 runs with the opportunity to display the top bullpen in the major leagues. Wendelken looked to be cruising through the 6th inning with two consecutive outs. It wasn't until a harmless ground ball hit by Josh Reddick was bobbled by Marcus Semien enabling him to get to first on an error. Martin Maldonado then singled, which in turn was probably the tipping point of the game as he came into the ballgame hitting .215 in the regular season. Even with the Maldonado single the probability of the A's winning was at 81.9% according to ESPN.

After that, you know the story and saw what ensued with the home run derby the Astros put together.

Game TWO

This wasn't a must win game, per se, but any rational person knew going down two to love in the best of five series typically doesn't end well. In the past ten seasons, there have only been three teams to accomplish this comeback feat (Giants, 2012; Blue Jays, 2015; Yankees, 2017).

Going into the game you felt good with Manaea on the bump against Valdez and the Astros. Whether you view the Astros as cheaters, good players, or a bit of both, you knew they would put up a fight.

Similar to game one, Khrush Davis was able to get the team out to a quick start with a home run to dead center field. Again, a quick counter punch by the Astros put them ahead on a George Springer 2-run homer the next half-inning. Although it was early in the game it was a gut punch for a team that had gotten out to leads in two straight games only to see it dissipate.

After the 5th inning, the game was a bit of a snooze fest to everyone watching. If there were/are any takeaways for both teams it is that the bullpens looked crisp; Outside of a 'get it in fastball' by Petit to Springer, which was launched to left field for a solo home run. Although the A's had 18 outs to muster up 3 or more runs it wasn't meant to be for an offense that looked over-matched.

What's Next?

Here are five keys for the A's in another win or go home game:

1. Get an early lead. Or, maybe not with how things have gone in games 1 & 2.

2. Pitch inside. The Astros have been able to get their arms extended, and we've seen the results from how that goes.

3. Get Luzardo into a groove. The A's pen has been taxed through 2 games, and it'd be nice to see Luzardo give them some rest. Similar to how Valdez pitched today for the Astros in Game 2.

4. Work ahead. The Astros have veteran hitters that know when to attack the first pitch, and when to work the count. The majority of the Astros hits have come in ab's where they've had the upper hand in the count.

5. Attack on offense. There were too many instances between the first 2 games that the A's hitters took a pitch down the middle only to swing at terrible pitches in the dirt or above the zone.