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We Let 'em Off the Hook: Angels 5 Astros 4

 It is one of the classic rants from a coach or manager. Dennis Green entered a press conference steamed that Arizona Cardinals had allowed the Chicago Bears to come from behind to win a Monday Night Football game. Green took the mike and started yelling, getting off a number of gif-worthy quotes. The one that sticks out in my head this morning--we let 'em off the hook.

Such is my attitude about the Astros 5-4 loss on Monday night. The Astros had the Angels on the ropes early, and they let 'em off the hook.

The first three Astros reached in the bottom of the first. A run was in, runners were at 2nd and 3rd, and Yordan Alvarez, Yuli Gurriel, and Carlos Correa were due. They were set up for a big inning. But didn't get it. Alvarez struck out. Gurriel popped up the catcher. And Correa struck out. 

In the bottom of the 2nd, the first 3 batters reached as Angels bulk guy Jose Suarez was wild, having walked Jason Castro on 3 pitches.  But Jose Altuve hit into a double play, providing Suarez a lifeline. Suarez continued to be wobbly, as Michael Brantley doubled to drive in a run and Alex Bregman walked.  But Alvarez again could not deliver, popping up to third base. 

To me, this is where last night's game was lost. The Astros had 8 of their first 12 batters reach base, but only 3 scored. They left 5 runners on base in the first 2 innings, on their way to 11 LOB for the entire game. 

In the 6th, Luis Garcia gave up a pair of 2 strike homers to back-to-back hitters, and Brandon Bielak's combination of a walk and bad BABIP luck led to a lead that the Angels would not relinquish.

It is a game that is imminently to watch as a baseball fan. The Astros seemed the better team on the night, but the could not seize the game at the key moments, while the Angels were able to use sequencing luck to take a one-run victory. Sometimes, that's how baseball go. 

To me, the goat of the game was Yordan Alvarez. He was not able to drive in runs in the 1st and 2nd when up in a big spot. While this is frustrating, this happens sometimes. Alvarez is an excellent hitter--one of the best in the game--but sometimes even the best strike out.

One of the things that I also noted in reviewing reaction to the game last night was the split between the team, who focused on the missed opportunities in the first two innings. Here, Dusty addresses the inability to drive in runs early in the game. 

This contrasts from the reaction of many fans, who focused on the bullpen. In this tweet from a sports talk radio show emphasizes the Astros bullpen, not the hitters.  

I'm not going to sing the praises of the Astros bullpen or tell you I feel confident when Brooks Raley or Joe Smith enter the game. What I will tell you is that the concerns about Brooks Raley are quite overblown. While he has a 8.36 ERA this season, it's mostly due to bad luck. His FIP is 3.75 and his xFIP is 3.39.  He is striking out 29.7% of the batters he has faced this season, 20.3% more than the 9.4% of batters that he is walking. He is in the top 1% of the league in two measures of soft contact--exit velocity and hard hit percentage.  

In the end, last night was one game.  A frustrating and annoying game, but one game in 162. In his postgame interview, Alex Bregman said "I think the biggest thing for us is to flush it and move on to the next pitch and come back tomorrow ready to play."  Here-here. Let's hope they can. 

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