ALCS: 4 key takeaways from Game 1 between the Rays and Astros
Game 1 of the ALCS between the Tampa Bay Rays and Houston Astros is complete, what did we learn?
Framber Valdez and Blake Snell started Game 1 of the ALCS for their respective teams, the Houston Astros and Tampa Bay Rays, and they both performed exceptionally well.
Both teams are familiar with this situation, because they faced off in the 2019 ALDS. The Astros won that series 4-2.
This time, the Rays took Game 1 to take a 1-0 lead in the series as they look for revenge. The final score was 2-1.
The game was tight all the way up until the end with a few key hits and outstanding pitching that led to the Rays’ 1-0 series lead.
Nonetheless, the ALCS will be a competitive series and will be fun to watch.
I am rooting for the Rays to make World Series appearance and fight for its first World Series title, but at the same time, watching an Astros vs. Dodgers rematch would be just as enticing.
First, we learned Framber Valdez and Randy Arozarena are stars and will continue to be in the future
The Astros incurred a major loss to their pitching staff when Justin Verlander hit the injury list. There were major question marks as to who would replace Verlander in the Astros rotation.
That question was quickly answered by Framber Valdez’s performances in the 2020 season.
Valdez had a 3.57 ERA in 10 starts with 9.7 K/9 ratio.
The young 26-year-old wowed many fans and he was named the game one starter of the ALCS.
The southpaw pitched well in the Wild Card and ALDS with 12 innings of two-run baseball, and nine strikeouts.
Valdez is very talented for his young age and he shows that he loves the game. He smiles and shows his emotions on the mound which makes his outings fun to watch.
I expect Valdez to be a key piece in the rest of the ALCS, and a future star, making multiple All-Star appearances.
Tampa Bay’s Randy Arozarena is another star in the making like Valdez. Except Arozarena burst onto the scene very late in the season and made his mark once the postseason started.
The 25-year-old outfielder is red hot and is the key offensive piece in the Rays lineup. Brandon Lowe has struggled and thanks to Arozarena, the Rays are thriving in the postseason.
Arozarena hit another home run in game one to tie the game in the fourth inning against Valdez.
The ALCS was all about the home runs
Home runs have been a key theme in the 2020 postseason and it showed again.
The first run of the game was Jose Altuve’s solo shot in the first inning against Blake Snell.
Altuve hit a long 388-foot home run on a 2-1 fastball.
Later in the fourth, Arozarena hit a 413-foot home run to tie the game. Arozarena put together a great at-bat and got a 1-2 fastball on the outer half of the plate.
The only other run came from a Mike Zunino single that brought in Willy Adames in the fifth inning.
The Astros have many power batters in their lineup and I expect home runs to be a key part of their offense.
As far as the Rays, Arozarena has been the only home run hitter in the postseason so it will be interesting to see how their runs will be produced in the rest of the series.
The Rays offense has been a one-man show so far, so Arozarena might need to hit a home run every game.
Pitching will decide the ALCS
Framber Valdez continued his hot pitching by going six innings and giving up only two runs.
He gave up four hits, walked four, and struck out eight. Walking four batters is uncharacteristic of Valdez who averaged only two walks per nine innings in the regular season.
One of the walks that came in the fifth inning ended up scoring on a Mike Zunino single.
Besides that and the solo home run to Arozarena, Valdez managed to keep the Rays under control despite the four walks.
Blake Snell put together a solid performance as well. Despite only pitching five innings, he limited the Astros to one run.
The one run came from Jose Altuve’s solo shot in the first inning. Snell gave up six hits, walked two and only managed two strikeouts.
It was not his best performance from the 2018 Cy Young winner but it was enough for the Rays, as the excellent bullpen took over in the sixth.
The Astros had the bases loaded with one out in the bottom of the seventh inning, but Diego Castillo was able to induce a double play to end the inning.
In the ninth inning, Altuve came up with a runner on second base with two outs and Castillo closed the game out with a strikeout. Another clutch situation from a pitcher.
The Rays went with John Curtiss, Ryan Thompson, Aaron Loup and Diego Castillo after Blake Snell’s five-inning outing and they did not give up a run.
The Astros bullpen did just as well as the Rays despite losing. Blake Taylor, Enoli Paredes and Boorks Raley combined to relieve Valdez and give the Astros a chance. Together, they stuck out five without giving up a run.
That is what playoff baseball is all about, the bullpens will need to be at their best in this series especially for the Rays. I consider the Astros stronger on the offensive side, so the Rays bullpen will be put to the test.
As far as the Astros, the question mark is the rotation and bullpen. We know they can hit, and the Astros proved they are capable of controlling the Rays as they got out of some runners on scoring position situations as well.
Houston’s star players continue to stay hot in the postseason
The Astros’ top of the order has been hot in the 2020 postseason and they did not slow down in game one.
Although the only run they scored came from a solo home run from Jose Altuve, the top of the lineup played well.
Altuve collected two hits, including the solo dinger.
Brantley was one for three, and Bregman was two for four.
Correa did not get any hits in game one, but it is an encouraging sign for Astros fans who faced a solid pitcher in Blake Snell.
The Astros left a good amount of runners on base, but they did put up a fight with some quality at bats. Altuve had a chance to tie the game in the bottom of the ninth but ended up striking out for the final out.
Expect the Astros hitters to stay hot, and it will be fun to see them matchup against Tyler Glasnow and Charlie Morton this series.