Houston Chronicle by Chandler Rome 10/15/2019
The transformation of the Astros’ offense was neither planned nor pretty. The indelible image is one of George Springer standing between third base and home plate awaiting an inevitable tag. Teammates applauded the act when it finally happened.
From the third-base dugout, Astros pitcher Gerrit Cole was a spectator to his team’s seventh inning. A jacket covered his torso. Some doubt existed whether the next half-inning would be his. Houston’s bullpen, all too accustomed to protecting paltry postseason leads, was active.
“The approach from the offense from the get-go has been impeccable throughout the postseason,†Cole said. “A couple of lulls in the Tampa series with some really bad-ass relievers coming in, one after another, posed a bit of a challenge for us. And the Yankees give us the same threat.â€
Playoff baseball will not produce prodigious numbers, not the ones Houston so routinely ran up throughout the regular season. The lineup led baseball with an .848 OPS and .274 batting average.
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