So uh...not a great start to this ALDS for the Orioles.
Again, because they were limited to prioritizing Bradish and Rodriguez over somebody like Means, Flaherty and Wells, all of whom were shaky and/or injury-prone at different points this year, the Orioles set themselves up to be pounded a bit by a really strong lineup. This double-digit win by the Rangers, the likes of which they were known for this year, was honestly bound to happen. And because everybody's hot, a lot of the same people are responsible for this one, including Evan Carter, Mitch Garver, Jonah Heim, and Adolis Garcia. Honestly, the MVP for me was Cody Bradford, the relief asset that came in following Jordan Montgomery's decent start, held the Orioles down and let the Rangers pull things out. The O's made it closer than it should have been, but without Bradford it wouldn't have ended at 9.
The Rangers need just one more masterful performance to get back to an ALCS. Without Scherzer or Gray, they'll have to hope Eovaldi, on short-ish rest, will deliver his best material.
This one I also sort of saw coming. The Twins were pissed, and all they needed was a starter they could get hits off of. Framber Valdez is a great pitcher, but he was, as usual this year, too prone to letting some easy ones by. Carlos Correa and Kyle Farmer, among others, made the most of this. Correa having a mega-RBI night in Houston is a pretty big nail in the coffin of the 2017 Astros, and Pablo Lopez shutting out the lineup did a lot as well.
Bringing this series to Minnesota in the midst of a tie will be interesting. The Astros could still figure this team out, and with Alvarez in HR-hitting mode as well, but the Twins will have a bloodthirsty home crowd, and will have Sonny Gray for one of these games, even if it means letting Joe Ryan start the other one with his post-injury shakiness.
I really hope the Twins stay this dominant. It'd make a really fun outcome if they did.
NL shenanigans tonibhg. Let's see where these two end up after 2.
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