The King of New York | Jose Altuve PART 2

on August 26th 2017 a hurricane named Harvey made landfall in Texas near Corpus Christie within days the Houston area experienced flooding Harris County which is home to over 42 million people was approximately 30% submerged over 100 died countless more lives were permanently altered in the immediate aftermath the Astros obviously couldn't return home for their home stand against the Rangers there is an entire debacle with the Rangers refusing to switch three home games but it's not worth getting into Houston played those three games at Tropicana Field they were also supposed to play their next series against the Mets in St Petersburg but Houston mayor Sylvester Turner personally called Jim Crane and asked him to return to minute made Park as soon as they could so on September 2nd against the Mets the Astros returned to Houston they honored the victims of the hurricane with a patch on the jerseys that read Houston strong the rest of this season is for them the Astros absolutely destroyed har [Music] V I'm not sure exactly where to start with this season oh wait I know how Derek Jeter meant everything to the Yankees he had one of the best careers in Yankees history his number two became one of the most iconic jerseys in sports history well after he retired in 2014 the Yankees set out to retire his number two they scheduled that ceremony to be held before the second game of a double header on May 14th who is the opponent well you know who it is why else would I be talking about every everything in the stadium and even the broadcast was in honor of Derek Jeter and it was ESPN's Sunday Night Baseball so the whole country would bear witness to this the Astros in honor of Jeter would start the game with two back-to-back home runs then the Astro who wears number two in honor of Jeter hit a grand slam by the time it was all said and done the Astros made it a N9 nothing lead the Yankees tried to come back but no dice Altuve didn't contribute in that game but as soon as he face to roll his Chapman in a Yankees uniform he nabbed his first hit off of the Cuban Lefty Altuve nabbed his now third consec ative Allstar starter spot I realize I'm spending a bit too much time on these so I'll summarize by saying he went 0 for two with a K the 2017 Astros were Unstoppable they had the highest WRC plus since the Murderers Row Yankees they had the best team WRC Plus in 2017 by 12 points they tied for the highest runs per game of any team in the entire decade of the 2010s alongside the 2015 Blue Jays however they did best that blue jays team in terms of pure runs scored at least so far they were one of the greatest offenses ever come award season Altuve NAB Silver Slugger number four on the career oh also the 2017 Al MVP award all right probably should have mentioned that Altuve was absolutely on fire all summer with a nearly 500 batting average in July his OBP was 523 though it's still far in a way the highest batting average he's ever posted in a month same goes for his Ops he's one of just 19 players since integration to record four 200 hits seasons and he's one of just four of those players to do it consecutively did I mention he won the bat batting title that feels like a given his hits total for those four seasons was almost 100 higher than the next closest batter come October the Asos rolled in as the number two seed ready to face the Boston Red [Music] Sox 2017 was kind of a transition year for Boston they had said goodbye to David Ortiz at the end of the prior season but they still won 93 games in the AL East Crown in game one versus the Astros the Red Sox sent out their Chris Sale in his first season in Boston he's having what is probably the best year of his career however in the first inning he has to face the Astros number two batter Alex bregman was a shortstop in college at LSU that's something you might not have known he was actually drafted by the Red Sox in the 29th round back in 2012 but he chose not to sign in 2015 around the same time karea was winning Rookie of the Year bregman went second overall to the Astros having two franchise Cornerstone Short Stops is a bit awkward so what the Astros did was just slide bregman over to Third Base a good decision in retrospect he also made a brief four-plate appearance stint in the World Baseball Classic with Team USA in 2017 his first full season as the Astros third baseman bregman had an excellent year and his postseason started out wonderfully here's a long drive to deep left field and the Astros are on the board first in 2015 Jose Altuve was terrible in the postseason so let's let's not get our hopes up he clearly just can't handle the Big Mo altu slaps one toward left center field back at the wall then attendi they go back to back and go up to nothing I stand corrected maybe he does have that playoff dog in him in the second the Red Sox very nearly blew their chance at getting a run back but after a review it stood in its 2-1 it remained that way after Altuve grounded into an inning ending double play in the third in the fourth Boston ties it up when Josh reic just barely misses a throw on the sack fly and the bottom half of the inning marwin Gonzalez smacks a double into the Gap and that scores a pair up in the fifth Altuve Altuve drives one to deep left center field is this his second you bet the asro scored some more Insurance runs in the sixth then Altuve is up in the seventh and again he Red Sox lost the game look out here look out now you want to join Babe Ruth on the list he just did Jose Altuve has just become the ninth player in MLB history to hit three home runs in a playoff game joining Alys that is mostly Hall of Famers Dallas kyel is on the mound for Houston in game two and a Jamie Moyer teammate is on the mound for Boston Altuve NAB is a first pitch single with two outs which sets the stage for Carlos karea to drive them both in with a towering home run both teams at a run by the time Altuve drops another RBI in the third the next inning with a runner on third and two outs Boston gives him a free pass in the sixth inning he's given the free pass once again with a base open in the seventh he comes up with the bases loaded he's not intentionally walked because obviously facing a pitcher he homered against yesterday and is probably in jail by the time this video comes out he takes an easy ball one and ball two but what should be ball three is called a strike guess who the home played umpire is yep it's him perhaps needing to expand the Zone Altuve swings at what should have been Ball Four he then strikes out on Full Count not going to lie I'm going to speed through game three and only game three Altuve is a three hit game plus a walk as the Astros blow a 3oh first inning lead to lose by seven game four Altuve opens up the scoring by grounding into a double play in the first Xander Bogarts ties things up with a homer Altuve walks to the bases but kareah Strikes Out Barn Gonzalez cuts down the game tying run in the third Altuve bunts in the fifth but rafhael Des unexpectedly makes a good play to NAB him Andrew benintendi gives the Red Sox a one-run lead with a two-run shot in the fifth the tying run on first altu gets caught looking in the seventh to which he has some words to Mark Wagner Alex bregman faces Chris Sail in the eighth and much like game one he styles on him with another solo shot the Astros take the lead with a Josh reic base hit later in the inning before Altuve ends it with a pop fly the Astros tack on some insurance in the ninth which proves to be invaluable after an error ends up allowing Des to have an inside the park home run with two outs and the last chance for the Red Sox up to bat Dustin padria grounds an easy one to our main man the Houston Astros are headed to the American League Championship Series for the first time in franchise history their opponent who else would it be but the New York Yankees after ditching a couple of old veterans and kicking off a youth movement the Yankees made a dramatic comeback in the 2017 AL wildcard game they then made a dramatic series comeback from down 02 against Cleveland to punch their ticket to the ALCS game one was a rematch of the wild card game from two years prior in kyel vers Tanaka coming off a monstrous ALDS Altuve lines the first pitch he sees just shy of the warning track in the fourth he picks up an infield single for the Astros first hit of the game his hustle got him to First and now it gets him to Second as he nabs the base then his hustle gets houst in a run as he scores on kareah single a couple of bers later and kareah scores kyel got into trouble in the fifth after a lead off single but a ground ball heads right to altua a beans now with two Runners On and nobody out Kyo gets a simple Fly ball for out number one then he Strikes Out Brett Gardner for the second time then on a Full Count with the runners going Aaron judge lines a single into left field Greg bird who is not a fast runner at all is sent home by his third base coach and got a chance yeah I mean what was the thought process there in the sixth Altuve gets a regular single and some more Hustle gets him on second VR wild pitch but karea is caught looking and the side is gone Altuve picks up his third hit of the game the Yankees cut the deficit to one but the Astros hang on for the game one win game two get ready to watch a Hall of Famer at his Peak Justin Verlander is one of the greatest pitchers of all time certainly the best of his era drafted number two overall in the 2004 MLB draft he enjoyed a plentiful career with the Detroit Tigers a couple sa young some no hitters an MVP all the fictions are on this hot dog eventually his career hit kind of a lull in 2014 and 15 but he rebounded with a second place sayong finish in 2016 or first place depending on who you ask with Detroit wanting to rebuild they flipped him to Houston at the deadline for the baseball equivalent to this sandwich I ate one time down the stretch Verlander was so good that it was good enough to Warrant his own separate video but I'm going to go back in time and make it there I did it now back to the future and slash or present Verlander goes three up three down in the first Altuve nabs another first pitch single and karea walks but that doesn't go anywhere broken bat infield single is the only thing the Yankees can muster in the second the third inning features Josh reck making a leaping catch at the wall and then he and kareah team up to NAB Gardner trying to go to third after a review another three up three down by Verlander in the fourth Altuve destroys his Bat on a ground out karea just barely gets this over the wall for the game's first run Verlander starts the fifth with back-to-back KS before a double extends the inning then this weird little wedgie ground rule double ties the game back up in the sixth JV racks up two more ks in another perfect inning speaking of strikeouts Altuve does that in the sixth a walk is sandwiched between a pair of ugly strikeouts followed by a fly out in the seventh in the eighth Verlander strikes out Todd Fraser looking on three pitches then he gets Chase Headley on four pitches and then finally he gets Brett Gardner on five pitches Verlander allows a one out single in the ninth but other than that he gives the Astros offense a chance to walk it off in the bottom of the ninth the Yankees task their closer or oldest Chapman to send this game to Extra Innings to lead off the inning Josh reck waves and misses at a wicked slider up steps Altuve to face Chapman in the bottom of the ninth in a tie game on the very first pitch Altuve smacks a triple digigit fast ball right back up the middle Chapman then throws over his fast ball clocked at 99 mil an hour is outside for ball one then Chapman throws over again another triple digigit fast ball is outside ball two needing a strike or oldest Chapman delivers a mid 80 slider that heads right to the bottom of the zone for strike one a risky pitch as if that gets hung karea would easily send the Astros home happy he tries the slider again and misses ball three back to the 99 heat for a foul ball the count is now full once more Chapman throws over he knows on a Full Count with one out Altuve might be running if he runs then any extra base hit will score him easily but are not going on a Fly ball into right center field Altuve doesn't go and kareah places the ball into the Gap judge quickly gets to it and fires it in all the while Altuve is booking it around the base is determined to score But Here Comes the relay Altuve is going to be out and Marvin Gonzalez who is over three so far is going to have koreon second and two outs I mean this throw is way ahead of him Altuve is hardly even in the frame except I neglected to mention one thing as Astros radio announcer Steve Sparks put it play by Gregorius it's dropped by Sanchez Al scores and the Astros win it two to one game over Astros lead the series two nothing Carlos karea the hero the series moves to New York CC saath starts the game with a perfect inning that ends with Altuve striking out the Yankees jump on the board first with a three-run short porch job by Todd Frasier saus starts the shutdown inning by coaxing two outs but a walk in a single bring up Altuve Sabathia tries a trio of poor outside breaking balls but the count Falls 3 and0 of course Altuve swings at a low strike and chops it but it ends up foul however he does end up drawing the walk when another breaking ball winds up outside but karea can't capitalize with the bases loaded and pops out in the fourth with two outs and runners in the Corner Chase Headley grounds one to Altuve but he just can't make that play Yankees end up tacking on four more in the fourth once again Altuve comes up with two on and two outs but again nothing comes of it he grounds out in the seventh and with the Bases Loaded in the ninth he grounds into a double play to end the game Altuve is the only base runner in the first inning of game four drawing a four- pitch walk he strikes out in the fourth and in the sixth the Astros get a couple of men on for Altuve who walks to load the bases kareah Falls with a strike out but guriel LS a basis clearing double down into the corner before getting hung up next inning starling Castro boots an easy grounder which allows marwin to score the Yankees get one back on a hanging curveball that judge destroys for a homer which brings in Chris divinsky who immediately allows a triple followed by a sack fly Altuve lines out in the eighth the Yankees lead off the eighth with a single Chase Headley follows and picks up a single but he stumbles rounding first kare's relay throw goes to first throw back to Second and he's safe that brings in Ken Giles who trades in out for a run Aaron judge slices one that makes contact with a fan but after a brief conversation he's allowed to keep his game tying double DD Gregorius hits one that rolls just under kare's glove for another single on a 2- pitch the Yankees send DD Gregorius and Gary Sanchez delivers the ball into the Gap that plates two runs Chapman comes in and shuts the door in the ninth and easily the worst game of the postseason so far for the Astros Altuve goes 0 for three while reaching on an air playoff Tanaka as they call him tossed a seven-inning masterpiece while surrendering only three hits the Yankees gave him five runs of support and easily took game five to go up three games to two it looked like the Astros were on the ropes with not much hope left all they could do was hope for a good outing for their starter so who's up for game [Music] six got him out St him out of the [Music] night what a pitch three in a row Justin Verlander was all but unsto stable through the first five innings the Astros offense was equally bad only managing one hit but in the fifth walks by Alex bregman and Evan gtis put two on with one out for Brian mccan he backs one that gets past judge and goes up over the wall for the first run of the game after a walk and a not deep enough to tag up fly out Altuve comes up Bases Loaded two outs first pitch swinging breaking ball base hit got a scores McAn to the plate Altuve delivers three nothing Houston Verlander's shutdown inning starts with a single but then a fly out and strikeout DD gets a single and then Verlander falls behind three and0 on Sanchez he can't allow a walk here but he also can't just throw one right down the pipe so JV delivers a slider on the outside half of the plate it looks like it's going to be a strike but you never know how an Umpire is going to call it in any case it makes absolutely zero sense for Sanchez to oh oh oh no a check swing on three and0 K in it over yeah that's uh that's the worst casee scenario for the Yankees Justin starts the seventh with his first walk in the night and then he hits a batter uh-oh facing Aaron Hicks he falls behind 3 0 again he gets strike one and then gets a gift of a strike two call to stay in this at bat he battles for a few more pitches before striking Hicks out Todd Frasier is expecting a breaking ball and fouls one off for strike one then on Verlander's 95th pitch of the night Frasier [Applause] connects George Springer was was the first Yukon player to be drafted in the first round of the draft since Charles naggie in 1988 this was in 2011 the year before karea went number one he had a good first couple of Seasons with the Astros culminating in his first ever All-Star trip in 2017 from the leadoff spot he provided some serious pop launching countless Springer dingers as they came to be known mostly from that one hole in the order he led the whole team in homers from 2014 to 2017 but at this moment that's not what we need what the Astros need is Springer's glove Fly ball in the air to Center back is Springer at the wall a leap and a catch no doubling off at first but there are two gone in the seventh Chase Headley grounds an easy one to Altuve and Verlander is fired up as he exits the game Brad peacock comes in and surrenders a home run to judge well that's not great but I guess that's why he came second in MVP voting when Altuve comes up to bat the fans chant MVP as if to remind judge who the real MVP was is hit in the air to left back at the wall and it's gone to B the estos add some insurance later in the inning and we are headed to a game seven Charlie Morton was toiling away on the Pittsburgh Pirates with a couple key characters for later on in our story eventually he made his way to free agency where he naed a one-year deal with the Phillies but he would only pitch a handful of games before being lost for the season the Astros figured they could fix him and they handed Morton a 2-year $14 million contract and I'd say they fixed him seeing as how 2017 was the best season of his career so far his game three ALCS start was pretty bad but he's back on the hill to face Sabathia with everything on the line unlike game three Morton was on one three up three down in the First with two KS Morton allows a single and nothing else ending the second with a K Altuve walks with bregman on first but nothing comes of that a perfect fourth with another k then in the bottom of the fourth Evan Gattis a guy who was 0 for so far in the ALCS finally gets one that's into left center field when he connects they go along on the first pitch of the fifth Greg bird Parks a double in the corner Morton sits Starling Castro down on a check swing but then he loses Aon Hicks for a four- pitch walk that gets away and sends bird to third in game three Todd Fraser flicked a home run off Morton that kicked off the Yankees route in game seven he hits a chopper to bregman Greg bird who is not a fast runner at all darts home and the throw home is in time got him yeah I mean what was the thought process there Headley grounds out and the threat is extinguished you'll never guess what happens in the bottom of the inning high drive to right at the wall goodby to nothing two well that's just fine and dandy I do declare the Astros have a pair of runs later in the inning and as it turns out Charlie Morton's day is [Music] done Lance Mull's junor was the son of a pitcher drafted by the Astros the same year as kareah he made his way up debuting in 2015 he was a good pitcher but the trouble with Lance is that he's constantly missing games but when he was on the field he was dominant his absolute best weapon was his curveball which ranked as one of the best Curves in the game in 2017 by curveball runs above average just use run value once techit that doesn't exist yet okay also take note at Uncle Charlie's Uncle Charlie coming in at fourth in fact Lance was so good he actually made the cover of Sports Illustrated or well the grip of his curveball did in game seven he enters the bottom of the fifth and immediately gives up a single to Brett Gardner but he rebounds by sitting the next three down to lead off the seventh Greg bird hits a Fly ball deep into left Center but Springer leaps over marwin for the catch darling Castro strikes out on something way outside then Aaron Hicks Taps an easy one to guriel with mccullers's covering David Robertson's first delivery to Altuve is up and in he's mad but he Strikes Out Altuve in the end to lead off the eighth inning McCullers throws four pitches all balls without a single curveball what follows is mccullar spamming the curveball like it's the only pitch he has a strike out for the first out against Gardner the curve is upstairs then it's perfectly placed for a strike Gardner fouls it off then it's in play outs up steps Aaron judge a guy who has been dominant all season long a guy who is already the face of the Yankees he's unquestionably the scariest hitter in this New York lineup but the Astros have World Series plans schedule so judge in case we don't see you good afternoon good evening and good night mull top of the night strike one foul ball strike two sit down DD strike one foul ball strike two foul tip to Stay Alive sit down Sanchez ball one ball two what the heck with the signals bring it here Lance in the center Springer says he's got it the Houston Astros a three hit complete game shut out from Morton and mccullar the Yankees offense was absolutely dismal in Houston the Astros pitch staff took them behind the Woodshed again and again they pretty much only scored one meaningful run but the Astros aren't done [Music] yet coming off an intensely emotional 7game ALCS the Houston Astros would face the Los Angeles Dodgers in the 2017 World Series game one of this fall classic sees Dallas kyel take the mound against one Clayton Edward Kershaw when I talked about Justin Verlander being certainly one of the greatest pitchers of all time and definitely the best of his era well Clayton's probably the one pitcher who can challenge JV for that Crown from 2005 to 2017 they are neck and neck in war with Kershaw just barely on top of course with 610 fewer Innings that is much more impressive Kershaw starts the game out with a perfect inning the first pitch of Kel's outing is an absolute bomb from Chris Taylor well that's not a great start nothing much happens until the fourth when bregman hits a game tying Homer followed by Altuve getting caught looking on what should have been ball four a two out walk in the sixth brings up Justin Turner who clobbers a ball for two runs Altuve leads off the seventh with a single but he gets erased on a fielders Choice two outs in the ninth this is the very last chance for the Astros to keep going and he flies out on the first pitch darn fun fact about Justin Verlander he has never won a World Series game in his three tries now that's not too big of a deal it's only three games but still the Dodgers send out diet Jamie Moyer or is he more commonly known Rich Hill Altuve is struck out on the high heat which is a term I use ironic Verlander and Hill trade perfect Innings until the third when Hill allows single to reic Justin Verlander who one time hit a home run at Fenway then bunts him over Springer gets a single then bregman lines one that lands right in front of Taylor however it bounces off the brim of his cap and goes straight to jock Peterson who was coming over from left because of that bregman ends up with a single and Springer has to say it second Altuve has seen six pitches so far and all six have either been swinging or called strikes he doesn't have a three-pitch strikeout in the fifth it's a two- pitch foul pop out but still in the bottom of that inning jock Peterson ties the game up in the sixth Cory Seager gives the Dodgers a two-run lead once again it looks like the Astros are going to fall a two-run homer short of their first ever World Series game win bregman starts the eighth with his second unusual ball carum of the night but this time it actually is a double Kenley Jansen comes in and gets Altuve to ground out but bregman does advance to third kareah then scores him but Jansen gets the next two to end the inning to start the ninth marwin Gonzales takes a strike and then chops one foul and then on an 02 count marwin Gonzalez delivers the hit hit that keeps the Astros hopes alivez hits one in the air and left center field back at the wall and is gone tie game in the ninth marwin Gonzalez in the bottom of the ninth Cody Bellinger comes about 10t from a walkoff homer but no dice were going to extras the Dodgers sent out Josh fields to pitch the 10th remember him from the 2015 ALDS he was traded to the Dodgers in 2016 for some no-name Cuban Prospect and he's hung around ever since Fields delivers a 97 mph fast ball right down the pipe with no movement what do you think happens 10 inning Altuve the left center field back at the wall and is gone yeah that's what MVPs do Carlos kareah isn't an MVP but at the same time here's one into left center field off the bat of kareah Altuve and kareah go back to back he ain't no dang slouch OU you're up Josh it's not like you got traded for a future Hall of Famer guel hits a double Josh is taken to a field somewhere and told to look at the rabbits Yasiel P makes it a one-run game in the bottom of the inning but Giles gets back-to-back strikeouts he gets two strikes on Logan forite but he can't get him to Chase and just barely misses on a Full Count to make matters worse Giles spikes one in the dirt that sends foresight to Second Kik Hernandez takes full advantage of that hece hit right field Here Comes foresight throw by reic he is not in time that's it for Giles as Chris divinsky comes in and ends the 10th Cameron May gets a base hit which is weird cuz he's not a very good batter then he steals a b which isn't weird because he's a very good Bas stealer this steel also earns America a free taco from Taco Bell anywh who George Springer hits one into the Gap that easily scores mabin and himself as it ends up over the wall for a home run Austin Barn almost throws the ball away but Altuve is still out after Charlie kerson makes it a one-run game DIN vinsky and P get into a truly nerve-wracking nine-pitch battle but eventually Stu him out and the Astros win it the Astros come out of LA with their first World Series game win in franchise history the first World Series game ever played in Houston the first ever World Series game in Houston with the DH began with a special tradition JJ Watt the future Hall of Fame defensive end for the Houston Texans was invited to throw out the first pitch it wasn't just because of his countless accomplishments and accolades on the football field but because he helped raise $37 million for Hurricane Harvey release Altuve and water are good friends Altuve actually attended a Texans game in 2016 where they came back from a 144th quarter deficit to win an overtime UD Darvish is the Dodger starter and George Springer leads off with the double Altuve gets a hold of one but it dies before the track Springer ends up on third ulie guel sends one of the Crawford boxes for the first run of the game Josh reic follows with a double Evan gtis follows with the walk Marvin and mccan both follow with RBI singles Springer lines a sharp one right for an Out bregman Lines a sack fly into Center to make it four nothing Altuve then smokes a ball that slams off the Dodgers Bullpen for a double however McAn can't score speaking of the Dodgers Bullpen that's where Dave Roberts heads for Kent MAA who gets La out of the inning after a nine-pitch battle with jock Peterson McCullers ends up walking the Lefty ker in as then Works a much easier four pitch walk then a tough call on Taylor loads him up with the Ty he run at the plate and Cory Seager mcculler starts him off with a ball but he swings and misses at the curve Seager then grounds into a double play which is exactly what the AST needed even with the Run scoring McCullers then gets Turner to end the inning Altuve grounds out in the fourth the following inning with Josh reck on first Evan gettis hits this little dribbler that Tony Watson throws away reic books it around the bases and scores on the play in the sixth mccullars leave second and third one out for Brad peacock who surrenders a run for an out on the very first pitch then peacock throws one that goes right through Brian McCann's legs allowing Turner to score Altuve adds both a backwards and forwards K to his line as nothing else happens Astros lead the world series two games to one game four saw 26-year-old Lefty Alex Wood take the mountain for the Dodgers and he's about to pitch the game of his life one two three first with an Altuve ground out three batters three outs in the second a walk and nothing more in the third Altuve grounds out in the middle of a one two3 fourth a perfect fifth and then finally after getting the first two outs in the sixth he surrenders his first hit 31 ball the left no hitter gone shut out gone one to nothing hereon Springer goes deep and his first run as it turns out his night is over however the Dodgers do end up getting that run back in the seventh Altuve grounds out in yet another one 123 Astros Inning on the first pitch of the ninth inning Cory Seager grounds one just past altuve's reach Justin Turner walks on five and then Cody Bellinger picks up his second double of the night which kicks Ken Giles off the mound Joe Musgrove is in he gets P swinging and then the free pass is given to Logan foresight Austin Barnes gives the Dodgers some insurance with a sack fly but like a good neighbor Peter is there as he gives La a trio of insurance runs with the three-run bomb Alex bregman hits a huge home run to cut the lead of four but Altuve flies out to end the game the series is tied at two games a piece the winner of game five in a 22 series usually goes on to win it all so this is the most important game of the series Dallas kyel is back on the mound looking a rebound from his game one loss but he immediately allows the single to Chris Taylor he rebounds by catching Seager looking but he walks the next two batters to load the bases he gets Bellinger to strike out but then Lo and four SI lines a single in the left marwin can't handle it and it results in two runs he gets ped to a 22 count this should be the end of the inning as long as nothing foolish happens for side left gley the throw is wide safe in a run scores well scratch Altuve really put the effort in to keep this throw from going into Center but you can't help but wonder if a taller second baseman makes that play for an out Clayton Kershaw has been having an excellent postseason so far by his standards anyway but usually he implodes near the end of the playoffs so you got to figure the Bottom's going to fall out at some point not in the first as he's perfect with a swinging strike out of Altuve on a breaking pitch game five looks to be a pitcher duel as kyel and Kershaw combined to allow one base runner in the second and third with one out in the fourth Logan forye strikes again with his second hit of the game this time a double P strikes out but Austin Barnes drives in fourth Scythe making it 4 nothing Dodgers Charlie Culberson follows by hitting a weak ground ball to Altuve that he just can't handle in time both yriel and Altuve have made misc so far on defense maybe it's just not their night Kel is out after that the top of the fourth ends without anything else Kershaw falls behind Springer 2 before earning a strike and then losing him on the next two bregman gets the count in his favor but he fouls the pitch off on a Full Count he chases ball four for a fly out Altuve steps up to the plate and gets into a two- strike count but he gets a single into left K capitalizes by driving in Springer and sending Altuve to third after A Brief Review he has a double kareah on second Altuve on third one out Uli represents the tying run you know maybe it is his [Applause] night it appears that guel has tied it kersa Clayton buddy oh we were right there man now in a 44 game AJ hinch deploys col McHugh who walks the lead off batter then the next batter then he gets a strike out and then High Fly ball into right back at the wall gone a crowd silencer Cody Bellinger made sure to let the Houston faithful know how he felt all the Astros can try and do is Rally against Kershaw but he gets the first two outs of the fifth with little difficulty but Springer does COA a walk and then so does bregman that kicks Kershaw off the mound into the game comes kentam Maya Altuve swings and misses badly on the first pitch he watches a slider way outside a change up way downstairs then he fouls a change up in the zone another slider way outside runs the count full mayetta leaves a change up right in the zone and Altuve is just early on it pulling it foul years from now everyone in the baseball world will look at this game and this Astros team in a different more Sinister way Altuve is going to take the brunt of the hate even though he doesn't deserve any of it but that's still to come right now the year is 2017 Houston is recovering from the most devastating natural disaster in its history and their MVP has a chance to give them the hope they need by tying the game right back up they need Altuve to be strong not just strong Houston strong another2 and a high fly [Music] ball de center field [Applause] [Music] [Music] unbelievable Altuve he's done it Jose Altuve has delivered what is still to this date the biggest cwpa hit of his career it increased the Astros chance to win the World Series by 16.66% it's the 41st most pivotal home run in MLB history sandwiched in between all manner of Yankee Triumph and tragedy however in this game it seems nothing can last that's pass him and to the wall Kik Hernandez will come all the way around digging for third is Bellinger and the doors are back on top George Springer do F an out and couldn't come up with it but thankfully that's all the damage La does in the inning into the game comes Brandon Morrow who um well let me try and provide some context for what you're about to watch Morrow is taxed his arm has been counted on to throw 153 pitches so far this postseason he's pitched in every single game except for game four of the NLCS that includes 51 pitches so far in this world series which started last Tuesday Dave Roberts being the manager he is has once again push the Brandon Morrow button in a tie game now what you're about to watch is the entirety of Brandon Morrow's outing in game five it's six pitches in total and it is absolutely the second worst pitching performance I've ever seen in my life the time in between the broadcast coming back from a commercial and going to to a commercial once he exits the game is about 11 and 1/2 minutes but I've shortened it to 30 seconds long be sure to look out for Altuve he's in the middle of it somewhere all right here we [Applause] go hard fly [Applause] B strike one out two now Altuve at second still nobody out and that bounces in there he lifts it into left down the line at the roll goodby that's it it's over in six pitches Brandon Morrow turned an 8-7 lead into an 118 deficit in MLB postseason history no pitcher has ever allowed four earned runs on six pitches or less including the regular season it's been recorded four times although the details on that are fuzzy it's one of the 50 worst playoff outings by w PA although if you set the maximum number of pitches at six which is how many Mor through then it becomes the second worst outing ever now I know what you're thinking what outing could possibly be worse than that for more on that I'll see you in part three okay we got to move on I'm going to be here all day to start the eth Brad peacock allegedly catches Austin Barnes looking on a Full Count Sinker peacock allows a double to Peterson and then plunks Chris Taylor which gets him pulled for Will Harris his first pitch is a double which scores a run sets up second and third one out Turner lines a Fly ball to right which Taylor doesn't tag on it was actually a miscommunication with his third base coach anyway that's Harris out and replaced by Chris dinsky Andre Ethier grounds the second Pitch to guel and that threat is over Brian McAn gets back that run with a solo shot in the bottom of the eighth to lead off the ninth dinsky loses Bellinger on five for strikes out for the first out Chris gets two strikes on P but he just kind of pokes his Bat Out and it ends up into the seats just like that it's a one run game Austin Barnes is next and he hits a single but he hustles as best as he can and he's rewarded with double Peterson chops one to kareah who stands tall and makes the play tying run 90 ft away Chris Taylor at the plate and pretty soon he's in a two- strike count this is what playoff baseball is all about this is what dreams are made of or for Astros fans nightmares Taylor ties it 122 a two strike two out game timeing base hit it's required by law in the Texas state constitution that it's got to happen to your baseball team at least once Seager gives every fan in the building a heart attack with a harmless fly out just shy of the warning track and we are headed to the bottom of the ninth set to lead off is our main man Altuve swings out of his shoes for both strikes one and two B4 sending a fly out about the same distance as Seager did as if gel's day couldn't get any better High Fly ball to left Center back at the wall it's off the wall guel with a two out double he sends one deep but off the wall so I guess it could get better doesn't matter those is were headed to extras the only drama in the top of the 10th comes when Andre Ethier slides under Altuve which could have ended a lot worse just ask Miguel tahada Kenley Janson stays out for the 10th and retires the first two batters before dinking Brian mccan on the forearm Springer walks on five pitches and Derrik fiser is brought into pinch run from aan into the Batters box steps Alex bregman you know I haven't really had the chance to mention him so far he's one for four in this game with his single coming the middle of Morrow's master class but on the first pitch he sees a low and Away cutter he puts to the greatest game in Astros history that's in the air to left here comes fer throw by E Astros win in 10 with all the emotions you would have thought they'd won it all but no this game gave the Astros a 3-2 series lead to claim their first world series title in franchise history the Asos need to go into Los Angeles and win one out of two okay we have got to get moving game six Altuve starts it out with another swinging Miss against Rich Hills curve Springer hits a home run for the third consecutive game to open the scoring Altuve leads off the next inning by this time connecting on the Rich Hill curveball but grinding it to Seager who easily makes that play but the base is loaded Hill is pulled from the game for Dave just go to any literally anybody else perhaps I spoke too soon as Morrow puts on his big boy pants and doesn't blow this game wide open Altuve grounds out against morrow in the sixth the bottom falls out on World Series Verlander with an RBI double from Chris Taylor second and third no outs for Cory Seager as he CL as a hanging slider not for a homer but instead a sack fly Verlander does get out of that inning with no more damage with Runners on the corner and two out ALU has a chance to tie the game but no dice apart from another Homer from Peterson this game is over it all comes down to game seven game Sev evok some of the greatest memories in the sport the action-packed thrilling back and forth 2016 Edition mad buom coming out of the pen for five scoreless relief Innings to clinch a title in 2014 and of course Luis Gonzalez's bloop base hit that defeated the Yankees in 2001 baseball is at its best when the last game of the season is a close action-packed Thriller in 2017 the Astros took the lead after less than two minutes Altuve steps into the box with bregman on second and after a curve in the dirt bregman on third Altuve pokes the bat out and Cody Bellinger decides just to take the out making it two to nothing Lance MCCS junr is on the mound to start the biggest game of his life and the nerves are clearly getting to him as he hangs a curve on the first batter of the game The Curve Strikes Out Seager but then the fast ball hits Turner once again the curveball gets to strike out and the fast ball hits the next batter the bases are loaded for jock Peterson who has been absolutely on Fire In This World Series in fact if the Dodgers win this game he's probably going to be World Series MVP strike one strike two right to Altuve the Astros still lead two nothing after one Brian mccan works a Full Count walk to lead off the second followed by a double Josh reck is not intentionally walked because even with mccullers's on Deck the Dodgers don't want to pitch to Springer with the bases loaded reic is in fact retired which looks like a good decision until Lance chops one that goes straight to foresight and he for some reason doesn't come home with it to prevent the run this was the first time an American League pitcher had driven in a run in the World Series since oh look at that Andy pett it in 2009 Springer gets his way into a 3-1 count but darish fools him with the sweeper right in the heart of the Zone but when he tries the fast ball no such luck and George drills this one deep to left Center fail you can kiss that one goodbye a two-run home run it's not over yet forsight singles bregman makes an excellent play for an out McCullers hits another batter and Chris Taylor is up he lines one 95 mph off the bat with an expected batting average of 630 but it's straight to kareah and fory is off the bag inning over Altuve faces Clayton Kershaw what okay sure fly out see if I care Seager stumbles around first and almost gets caught going back to the bag for the fourth time tonight McCullers hits a batter which is the alltime postseason record Cody Bellinger steps to the plate which is an automatic strike out at this point but that's the last batter Mull's faces Colin mchu enters and gets the Astros out of the jam with no runs allowed Ave flies out into foul ground what might be an out at second is knocked Away by bregman which knocks peacock out of the game for just the fifth time all postseason AJ hinch is going to the Lefty Francisco lirano this time belly makes contact and still produces an out yep that's right another pitcher Bites the Dust for Houston Chris stavinsky battles with P who it's a sharp liner that is caught by guriel entering the game is Charlie Morton he allows is single then an uncalled Full Count strikeout and after getting out number one Andre Ethier comes through with a soft bouncing single that's just passed Altuve for the Dodgers first run of the game this hasn't been the best start to an outing but Morton sits Taylor down on four and then Seager down on the first pitch while dodging some Lumber Altuve walks in the seventh and by this point the Astros just put it neutral not a single Dodger reaches base after the RB single from Ethier by the time Charlie Morton bats for himself in the top of the ninth inning everyone in the building can hear the fat lady singing Chase Utley leads off the inning by striking out on three pitches Chris Taylor grounds an easy opportunity to Altuve for the second out three years prior in 2014 Sports Illustrated published an article with George Springer on the cover it read an unprecedented look at how a franchise is going Beyond Moneyball to build the game's next big thing and then it makes a prediction SI was right on the money because that prediction was completely accurate it read your 2017 World Series champs here's a ground right side could do it the Houston world champions for the first time in franchise [Music] history for winning American League MVP as well as leading the Astros to their first title in franchise history Jose Altuve was named co-s sportsperson of the Year alongside JJ Watt throw the parades acquire the hardware your Houston Astros or World Series champions now what well might as well go over the repeat the Asos handed Altuve a 5year $151 million contract extension that would start after 2020 in Span until 2024 he was the largest contract in Astros franchise history he became the second position player in MLB history to be worth upwards of $30 million annually joining his buddy Miguel Cabrera he was once again the American League starting second baseman in the All-Star game after batting 332 at the break and this time he actually gets his first All-Star Game hit however on July 29th Altuve would be placed on the DL for the first time in his career the ne discomfort bothered him for the rest of the season and you can clearly tell as his stats massively trailed off after June for the first time since 2013 Altuve finished the season with less than 200 hits his 316 batting average was the lowest since his 2015 season all in all this was probably his worst All-Star season to date okay behind his NL All-Star appearance yet despite all that he managed to still grab his Al record tying fifth silver slogger tied with Robinson Canó of the Yankees both of them Trail Hall of Famer Ryan Sandberg for the overall Mark by a second baseman Yankees kind of whipped on the Astros in 2018 winning five out of seven against him Altuve got a hit in all but one of the games but his overall stats weren't great he even struck out against Chapman for the first time and it end of the game that might lead you to believe that the Astros were worse than they were in 2017 nope 103 wins this time breaking the franchise record from 1998 in 2017 the Astros offense was King and the pitching staff merely kept pace at a good level in 2018 the Astros offense was merely good and the pitching staff was uh okay so here's a list of the most pitching strikeouts by a team in MLB history scroll all the way to the top and bingo there's the 2018 stros they struck out hitters at a truly comical level so here's the rotation Verlander led the team in strikeouts and made his first All-Star game with Houston also second saong voting that's cool Charlie Morton struck out just over 200 and made his first All-Star game Dallas kyel and Lance McCullers Jr both struck out guys but they didn't make the All-Star game I'm pretty sure that's all from the rotation I say we move on to the postseason once again rolling in at the two seed the Astros had a date with Cleveland this time in game one there's a total of four base runners for both teams in the first four Innings until for the second year in a row Alex bregman launches a solo home run to give the Astros a one- nothing lead the Astros score another run of the inning brander shuts down the Cleveland bats in the fifth George Springer Bonks one out and then Altuve follows him up with his second career back-to-back Homer in game one of the ALDS a couple more runs are scored by both teams but the Astros still end up with with a blowout win game two Cleveland takes the early lead with a solo home run Altuve has a chance in the next frame but some phenomenal defense robs him of the RBI in the sixth he comes up and grounds one slips out of the box hustles and reaches when Donaldson throws the ball away he doesn't go for second because he was limping a bit towards the end of the play which gets the trainer out to check on him cookie Carrasco is off the mound and replaced by one of the best postseason relievers of all time in Andrew Miller marwin greets him with a second Pitch double that ends up giving the Astros the lead when bregman hustles around the bags and then later bregman gives the Astros some extra insurance and they hang on to win Cleveland once again takes a 1 early lead in game three Springer ties it back up Lindor breaks that tie then in the seventh inning a single and wild pickoff move put Tony Kemp on second Springer swings the ball four but ends up on first anyways sending Kemp to third Altuve comes up puts the ball in play scores the run and beats out the throw bregman then puts the ball in play it's right back to the pitcher wide throw safe at first that's just funny on a 3-1 count marwin could take this easy ball four for for a run but the theme of this inning is putting the ball in play so he pokes it into left and Presto two run score the next inning Springer hits his second Homer of the game Altuve doubles in the Gap bregman is given a free pass a wild pitch gives guel second and third one out and not wanting to give up a homer Terry Frank cona puts him on as well for the third time today marwin comes up with the bases loaded and once again he gets an RBI then another wild pitch scores a run and then kareah Nails the coffin on this series with the three run bomb time for another a LCS trip and once again it's a rematch see when I said 2017 was a transition year for Boston this is what I meant by 2018 they have completed their transition into the healthy grown adult woman they were always meant to be also they scored a lot with the David Ortiz era now 2 years gone they have become the most dominant team in baseball by a long shot however the Astros weren't exactly outclassed splitting a series in early June and taking two out of three in September to finish 4 and3 against Boston overall on the year the two evenly matched teams head into game one both looking to gain the edge in the second inning Chris Sail starts to lose his command a bit which loads the basis for Springer sail gets ahead 02 immediately but he battles back until the count is full and lines a two-run single past the glove of Eduardo Nunes Altuve grounds into a fielder's choice in the fifth just like sail verer gets into some trouble by walking a pair to low the bases he gets ahead 02 on Mitch Morin but loses him and walks in a run upsteps the 2018 American League MVP and mookie bets who's having one of the best seasons ever and grounds into a fielder's choice and doesn't get an RBI but the catcher can't handle this Spike slider and it ends up scoring a run but Verlander does get out of it Kura hits a go ahead single in the sixth huh that's interesting this game is really boring you guys reic launches a straightaway Homer in the ninth altu draws a Full Count walk then bregman draws a Full Count walk then guel drives in all three with a homer near pesky's pole which ties a neat little bow on this game the Red Sox get off to a fast start in game two with a pair of runs in the first but just like in game one the team that scores the first two runs gives up the lead when Springer muscles one over the glove of Steve Pierce for a pair of runs then the next inning marwin once again gives the Astros a pair of runs to take a two-run lead however with two outs and the bases loaded Jackie Bradley Jr hits one off the green monster that bounces in an odd enough way that scores all three runs the game stays scoreless until the seventh when Betts gets on with the walk then after a wild pitch strikeout that advances bets and a passed ball that advances bets another passed ball scores bets because the catcher is bad Betts actually earns a run for his team in the eighth with an RBI single down three in the ninth Altuve does manage to grab an RBI single to bring the tying run to the plate in Alex bregman but he comes up just short of a game tying two out Homer the Red Sox tie up the series three Red Sox batters into game three and it's already one nothing kyel retires his first batter but a runner scores for the first time in his career Altuve isn't playing second base in the postseason his legs aren't 100% so he's dhing here tonight he singles and then scores in the first to cut the lead in half in the fifth he falls down 02 but he battles back to draw the walk bregman hits one that goes under the glove of Des who fails the backhand because he's not a good Defender and Altuve Sprints around the bases to tie the game Steve Pierce unties the game in the six with a solo shot that just stays Fair Altuve lays down a bunt in the seventh and it's a perfect bunt he's on first pass ball puts him in scoring position but bregman can't capitalize in the eighth the Astro's biggest scumbag loads the bases and do smch Morland on the elbow which drives in a run Jackie Bradley Jr continues to his hot Street by blasting gr SL him in the right and like yeah screw you dude game four hey fun fact I was at this game okay fun is in air quotes to see why just a bit Morton hits bets and then he gets an out and then he walks a guy then a pitch gets away and then he strikes the guy out and then he allows a single and a pair of runs well it looks like it's going to be one of those games Springer gets a hit and Altuve can you uh do the thing altu right field back there bats at the track he leaps and and it is out well here comes some controversy rule 6.01 of the MLB rule book States when there is spectator interference with any thrown or batted ball the ball shall be dead at the moment of interference and the Umpire shall impose such penalties as in his opinion will nullify the act of interference upon replay review it's pretty clear that Muk bets catches this ball without the fan closing his glove however the rule then says no interference shall be allowed when a Fielder reaches over a fence railing rope or into the stands to catch a ball however should a spectator reach out on the playing field side of such fence railing a rope and plainly prevent the Fielder from Catching the ball then the batsman should be called out for the spectator's interference and that's where the controversy starts does blue shirt fan or orange shirt fan reach over the line well there isn't an angle that definitively says yes or no because of course there isn't but I would like to point out that dress shirt fan is very clearly extending out fully and in my opinion his left hand grabbing onto the front of the pad in provides enough reference to say that his right hand is behind the line which would then show that orange shirt fan is behind the yellow line and as a very unbias party in this I'd like to say that it was a home run but Joe West's ruling on the field was fan interference and it stands dang as if things weren't heated enough Rick porcel hits marwin on the very next pitch the Astros don't get anything out of the first inning the teams trade runs in the second and third but Springer hits one to the opposite field for a homer now is the tying run Altuve 2016 now Altuve that's deep way back Ben and tendi On The Run it's off the top of the wall altu cranks it up on his way to Second the tag he's safe this is a homer by a matter of feet to make things even worse he's hobbling after the play but he stays in the game reic drives him in but Altuve is visibly limping on his way to score of all the players on the team to untie this game with a homer it's 686 career Ops Tony Kemp who is one that just stays Fair Altuve is up with Springer on but porcello's pickoff throw gets past Pierce allowing him to move up 90 ft but Altuve flies out anyway Josh James is for some reason allowed to keep going with his relief after a fifth inning double that comes around to tie the game kareah gets the better of the same reliever he bested in game one and the Astros once again have the lead James is inexplicably still in this game but hey he gets the first two outs then a Fly ball that stays in the yard but Springer can't Corral it so it's a two bagger surely hinch will pull James now right no you're just going to sit there and watch as Jackie Bradley Jr deposits a two-run check 385 ft in the right field sure whatever AJ that's up to you oh and he's lucky bets didn't go yard too the Red Sox load him up the next time up and Lance mcgs junor enters the game to walk in a run but he gets out of it the Red Sox trickle another Insurance run in the eighth but Altuve comes up with second and third one out his ground ball to a slightly back in field scores bregman but the Astros don't get anything else there with the bases loaded and the MVP at the plate it's going to take a miracle to prevent any more Insurance runs from scoring in the top of the ninth bets lines one to right center but Josh reic makes a spectacular diving catch to save multiple runs from scoring and to keep this game within Striking Distance the lead off the bottom of the ninth guel flies out to Ian Kinsler after his catch reic draws a walk which brings the tying run to the plate in Carlos kareah Kimel can't find the Zone this inning as he walks kareah on five the tying run is now on first Brian mccan FES an 01 pitch for the second out the fate of this game lies on the bat of Tony Kemp he works the count to 3-1 then watches a perfectly placed fast ball to run it full the Astros are trying to stay in this series this might be their last chance can Tony Kemp come through the 32 cor goes it's B four that'll do Tony that'll do into the Batters box steps Alex bregman tying run on second he lines the first pitch he sees to left and then the Astros chance of winning the series and ends right then and there Bend he Dives and he makes the catch just like that a two two series tie is a 3-1 deficit on to game five Justin Verlander has what is his worst postseason start in an Astros uniform so far over five innings he only allowed a solo home run from JD Martinez but in the sixth the socks put two on for Des and he hit the ball to put the pen in on ice look the 2018 Red Sox were one of the best teams ever allegedly and there's no shame and losing to the World Series champs Altuve was dealing with knee problems that forced him to move to DH for the final three games he didn't hit well and AJ hinch even admitted that if it hadn't been the postseason Altuve wouldn't have been playing he underwent surgery to repair the knee a few days after the series was over which is a pretty crummy way to end the year a it for some inexplicable reason the Astros and major league b basball as a whole had a power surge absolutely shattering just about every single season home run record in 2019 of the top 20 single season home run totals by teams and this is all time 10 of the seasons were in 2019 there are all manner of teams here teams that made the playoffs and teams that didn't make the playoffs no matter who you were or what your talent was like if you got a little bit of the bat on the ball it's suddenly a home run this of course extends to Altuve who smashed 31 homers which is by far the most he's had in the season to this point he hit two grand slams this year which doubled his previous career total of one and the day after he hit one of those grand slams he hit his sixth Homer in five games which ties a franchise record he had a literal walk-off at one point it was a funny season for Jose he did get hurt again which caused him to miss a ton of games in May and June and also costing him his six consecutive All-Star trip but that's okay Cleveland is a crummy town anyways but next year's game it's going to be in Los Angeles now that's a town Altuve be sure to make that one I'm sure they'll love you speaking of loving Al Altuve against the Yankees Altuve hit five home runs including his 100th career Homer this is easily his best single season against New York of course including literally bringing AIS Chapman to his knees in their one matchup the stros took four games the Yankees took three and both teams easily won their divisions oh also did I mention the Astros got a little bit better like best offense in MLB history better okay technically they do have a lower WRC plus than those Yankees teams but at the same time people of color weren't allowed to play baseball in 1927 so which offense is really better oh and the Astros also had the SI young winner and Justin Verlander who had a career year at age 36 better than his MVP year in fact all of this and more culminated in a franchise best record of 10755 in a playoff one seed as well as the best record in all of baseball this year the second best record belonged to the Dodgers and all the signs were pointed towards the 2017 rematch but is that what happened [Music] Altuve watches a triple digigit fast ball bounce in for a ball before popping up a low triple digigit fast ball for an easy out following a lead off walk Altuve pops one Skyhigh for the out once again after a lead off walk Altuve comes up he fouls the first one takes the second one then he whacks the third one for his ninth career postseason home run that's about it for game one I mean there was like a whole other half of the game to play but like alte went hitless other than the Homer and the Astros easily tank the Ray's eighth inning rally game two are you ready to strike out my is my name is my is Garrett Cole was toiling away on the Pittsburgh py wait didn't I already say whatever the Astros nabbed him for the low low price of literally nothing in 2018 he was a second time Allstar posting your career high in strikeouts and strikeouts per nine it was a pretty good season for Cole it feels like people forget it now but 2019 Garrett Cole always seemed to take a bite out of 97-year-old strikeout records okay that was hyperbole but he became only the second pitcher with 320 strikeout season in the 21st century he posted the most strikeouts ever by an Astros pitcher he tallied double digit strikeouts in 21 separate games which is tied for the fifth most ever in a single season he managed the 13th highest cap perine ever among starters which is impressive un until I tell you that there isn't an Innings minimum on this stae head search meaning that all of the guys surrounding him pitched fewer than 10 innings in the season listed if you crank the Innings minimum as high as it can go 212 you find that he is a full strikeout per nine head of the next guy he's one of two non- Nolan Ryan right-handed pitchers to strike out 320 batters in a season alongside Hall of Famer Bob Feller his phenomenal year culminated in well not a S Young season thanks to his teammate Justin Verlander there's a lot of debate to be had over who deserve the siong that year but JV probably won it by tossing both a no hitter and getting his 3,000th strikeout which are both Milestone accomplishments in an obvious Hall of Fame career in game two of the ALDS Cole brought his aame he struck out two in the first then he struck out the side in the second all swinging he nabs another K in the third Altuve gets a two out double but it doesn't score Cole then caps the fourth with a swinging strikeout bregman gets Cole a run and Cole responds by getting a trio of rays Swinging with a single mixed in in between that last strikeout brought him to 10 on the day which made it the 10th consecutive game with double digit strikeouts for Cole you better believe that's an MLB record in the bottom of that inning Altuve steps into the box with Runners on the corners and one out on the 01 pitch he chases well outside the zone and grounds one into well that stinks Willie adamus pokes one just out of the reach of kareah Cole works his way to a Full Count and throws One Way outside the Zone that's definitely going to be Ball Four there are going to be two Runners on with no outs and perhaps the ray can score a tying run or even take the lead except yand Diaz swung at that pitch he looks awful while doing it and adamus was running so to make things even worse he gets gunned down at second a fly out then wraps the sixth Tommy fam gets a backwards kick K to lead off the seventh then Gman Choy earns himself a forwards K courtesy of a 100 mph fast ball and then Cole caps that inning with a ground out the Astros rally and grab another run against alilio Pagan Altuve once again has runners in the corners but with two outs he flies one a few steps short of the warning track already with 13 strikeouts Cole is sent out there with 96 pitches for the eighth inning and he racks up his 14th strikeout on the day with just four pitches unfortunately Travis darno racks up quite a few extra pitches but eventually pitch of this at bat to darn he gets him however Cole can't get out of the eighth after a Kevin km double and his first walk of the night he gets pulled and the Astros go on to win the game Cole's game two performance is tied for the third most strikeouts ever in a postseason game behind only two legendary performances game three Charlie Bon's contract ended after the 2018 season with the Astros he parlayed his career year into a 2-year $30 million contract with the Tampa Bay Rays 2019 then became his new new career year eventually ending up in a third place finish behind Verlander and Cole so if the Astros want to complete the sweep they're going to have to go through an old friend and Altuve a drive to center field km goes back he goes way back to the wall and it's gone cuts through that old friend like butter unfortunately Kevin km whacks a three-run home run to grab back the lead l2v responds with the double but Morton sits down the next three batters to get out of the Jam the game is out of hand by the time Altuve comes up again again he strikes out and then lines out later game four starts the lead off single from Springer followed by a trio of strikeouts in game one Justin Verlander allowed one hit and zero runs in seven Innings but he's being asked to pitch on three days rest which is something he hasn't done all season Tommy fam homered Travis stno singled for a run and then Joey Wendell of all people doubles in the third run in the fourth inning Altuve gets a single and with one out Altuve sees a ball off the wall and books it around the bases and um uh-oh thr to the plate is in time well that's not ideal the Rays have added another home run while getting a lucky Line Drive double play that prevents Altuve from having any RBIs but he strikes out anyway in the ninth inning Altuve Works a tough walk versus Pagan then he heads to Third on a bregman single with two outs guriel hits one right back up the middle but the defense is right there and we are heading to a game five Garrett Cole is back on the mound and you know what that means fifth pitch of the atat to Meadows a call strike three Yep this is a going to be an easy one the Astros lead off with a pair of singles the second of which sends Springer to third Altuve then nabs the first RBI of the inning by singling the opposite way gregman nabs a pair of runs with a double guel has made it a 4 nothing game and that's going to be the last run of the inning Garrett Cole does allow a solo home run but he puts it neutral and extends his MLB record for double digit ks in consecutive outings other than an Altuve eighth inning nail on the coffin home run this one ends without anything else notable who might the ALCS opponent be why none other than the New York Yankees this team was better than they were in 2017 their offense was the star of the show hitting the second most home runs of any team in MLB history the one team ahead of them was the 2019 Minnesota Twins who all season chased them for the record fittingly the two teams matched up in the ALDS in which the Yankees made a mockery of the small Coke team outscoring them 23-7 in the three- game sweep for game one of the ALCS I'll turn it over to a fellow YouTuber and noted Yankees fan Mr an that's baseball in game one Masahiro thanks Mr that's baseball anyways with the Astros now down 01 they turn to Justin Verlander to write the ship in game two he is a perfect first inning Altuve lines won for an out verander is still perfect gray get the Astros on the board in this series with an RBI double Verlander is still perfect Altuve gets a single to put two on with one out but Chad green gets out of trouble Verlander's bid for a playoff Perfecto is foiled by a leadoff walk and pretty soon after that is hit in the air to right Center back is morck and is gone there goes the no hit bid also the lead Chad green turns in a perfect fourth but after striking off the leadoff man in the fifth theen Boon makes the call to the bullpen for Adam ovino now ovino is a really good relever the only problem is that when he hangs a pitch here's adino here's a high ball to left well it uh yeah it's not usually going to stay in the yard Altuve comes up with a runner on grounds one that bounces off DD's glove for an infield single in the sixth inning Verlander gets into trouble after a pair of singles with two outs Brad Gardner battles his way to a Full Count the runners will be going so it's Paramount that Verlander gets something easy for the fielders and he does induce what should be an easy one hopper for Altuve except it bounces off Jose and out of where he can get it at this moment it looks like the Yankees are going to have the bases loaded oh hey Carlos Tove Here Comes lameu play at the plate lameu out inning over yeah um this isn't really as bad as Greg Bird's nonsense in 2017 that's just a really good recovery from Korea even though Verlander is at 100 pitches he's still getting outs but after walking taco Legend Cameron mabin he's replaced by Will Harris who easily handles Dee Altuve first pitch swings against Zack with the K Britain for a routine ground out Chapman KS three batters in the bottom of the ninth to send this one to Extra Innings Joe Smith tosses a perfect top half of the 10th and with one out a discipline Altuve draws a four-pitch walk from John leising bregman then gets ahead three 0 before taking well before taking what is probably the hardest swinging Miss of his career before eventually working a full count walk ja hap is in and he retires both hitter C faces in the 10th to end the inning Joe Smith gets a pair of quick outs to begin the 11th but after a walk he's pulled after a single that pitcher is pulled and after all of this we end up with a third pitcher of the inning facing G Sanchez Josh James fast ball is pretty good is everything else well the fast ball is good he rides that fast ball for a pair of foul balls before getting a popup that should end the inning uh where did it uh okay never mind it hit the roof James throws a for a ball then another foul his first slider is a foul so is his second back to the fast ball and another foul ball then a pretty good slider gets The Swinging strike three to end the wait a foul tip okay let's cheack the review anyways him over the outside corner ball don't lie in the bottom of the here's a Fly ball in r back at the wall this game is over well that was fast Carlos kah has for the second time in his career hit a walkoff in game two of the ALCS against the Yankees Welcome to New York it's been waiting for you Jose would you mind greeting the fine folks altu V jumps him oh God my eyes yeah I'm not sure why or how Fox messed up the lighting this badly but they did so prepare to be blinded for the next couple of minutes the Astros load the bases in the first after Altuve but don't get any more runs then facing cold the Yankees load the bases but don't get any runs Reddit goes deep to make it two nothing Altuve Taps one back to srino and oh E1 Altuve nabs a stolen base but nothing comes of it in the second the Yankees once again put some Runners on against Cole but he does what he does best and Strikes Out judge to end the inning after a 1 two 3 third New York puts some ducks on the pond again for DJ leahu but he gets under the O2 pitch and can't grab the lead after the game is delayed because the home played umpire Jeff Nelson took a foul ball to the face Altuve grounds out for like the fourth time this game Cole faces multiple Runners on and two outs he got DD to ground out earlier but this time he doesn't High Fly ball into right this is a serious changing moment with a homer right here DD can give the Yankees the momentum they need to upset the Astros except he doesn't back at the wall it is caught Cole thought it was gone the Yankees bench thought it was gone the fans in the short port are Furious okay okay moving on both teams trade perfect Innings until Springer walks in the seventh he runs on the first pitch and Altuve punches the ball right through the hole to allow him to get to third after Springer gets held up he dances around until the Astros have old wanting to avoid a guriel the Yankees bring up the guriel with the bases loaded however a wild pitch ends up scoring Altuve and setting up the funny anyways guess what happened Fly ball in left okay they can't all be winners other than a meaningless so Sol shot and a slightly more meaningless ground out that's a game three wrapped up Nan's offense is off to a good start in game four loading the bases with two outs Brett Gardner draws a four- pitch walk to make it one- nothing but Gary Sanchez leaves the rest of the runs on the table I'm sure New York wished they could get a few more runs but I'm also sure that the legend of playoff Tanaka can hold down the fort well you know some Legends are a bit exaggerated Altuve falls down 02 but after a few fouls he legs out an infield single another single moves Altuve to third bregman hits a first pitch Tapper that gets Altuve hung up but he stays in the rundown long enough to set up second and third one out for the second and third one out man himself guel doesn't hit a deep enough to score a run and the Astros don't score anymore in the third both pitchers are perfect for the next few frames until the Yankees load them up in the fifth with one out but second verse same as the first as Torres and Edwin incarna both strike out swinging the Yankees certainly would have liked to tie the game but as long as Chad green can keep the Astros a bay oh you got to be kidding well this game is decided the only other thing I will note is that Altuve reached on the Yankees fourth and final error of the game eventually scoring the Yankees were facing elimination and look to rewrite the game for Narrative of sloppiness well Springer gets on with one of those 50/50 hit error rollers then Altuve watches him move over 90 ft on a passed ball Jose grounds out but sends Springer to third after a walk the first pitched bregman gets away and the Astros have their first run with a one-run cushion Verlander's second Pitch of the game is Fly ball into right back at the wall this game's tied great well the lead is gone after a single and a double Verlander gets a strike out to oh no oh no oh no no no no just play that clip that's down the line it is gone okay so Verlander and Paxon engaged in a duel after that not allowing another run through the fifth but in the sixth it looks like Paxton is going to get pulled after in 11 pitches but Aaron Boon lets him stay in the game which gets a huge Roar from the crowd that decision jino HS it in the air to left back at the wall actually does pay off but man oh man would that have been funny that's pretty much it for game five Altuve drew a walk but who cares the Astros turned to Brad peacock to start game six which is a pretty baller move if you think about it I mean the Astros are basically saying we are going to win this game and we'd like Cole to be a little more rested for game one of the World Series or maybe a game seven of if it comes to that peacock gets a quick three up three down the Yankees also start a reliever in Chad green he doesn't do nearly as well giving up a one out double to Altuve and then a two out walk to bregman then guel jumps on the first pitch for30 lead in game six New York gets a run back in the second then they strand The Bases Loaded in the third then Altuve flies out giio orella hits a solo home run the Yankees put Runners on first and second but bred Gardner's Line Drive is snagged by reic for the second out kah's Cannon of an arm is responsible for the third out Altuve walks to lead off the bottom half of that inning and then advances to Third on a single bregman grounds into a fielder's choice that scores Altuve and makes the game 4-2 Aaron judge leads off the seventh by hitting one that just gets over Carlos kare's glove for a base hit Will Harris gets glaber Torres to pop up for the first out after Aaron Hicks battles to a Full Count he hits a little Fly ball to left judge is hoping to get to Third on this so he runs all the way to second but he's not going to get to Third on this play as a matter matter of fact Michael Brantley was Dr smooth with Cleveland for a decade he had a trio of Allstar appearances and a third place MVP finish in 2014 he wasn't a power hitter but he was a good hitter a pure hitter a professional hitter even he made contact on 91.1% of his swings in his career which if that sounds High that's because only eight men have a higher contact percentage and if these names shock you keep in mind this is from 2002 to 2019 didn't have much postseason experience since Cleveland lost the 2013 AL Wild Card Game and Brantley missed Cleveland's 2016 run-of the World Series with a shoulder injury they choked a 20- lead in the 2017 aods to the Yankees and then they got swept by the Astros in 2018 remember that anyways brantley's contract expired after 2018 and he pulled up semi Kevin Durant by bolting for the Astros in Houston he and Altuve were two of the best batters of the decade with the highest and second highest batting average since 2014 but in this moment the Astros don't need his Bat they need his [Music] glove that is trouble and diving catch by Bradley throw behind the runner one of the best double plays in ALCS history I still to this day don't know why Aaron judge was at second when the ball was caught I mean they were down by two runs so it's not like he was the tying run there was one out so maybe he didn't want a double play but there would have been a a runner on first anyways I just don't get it I just don't get it anyways the Astros are six outs away from their second pennant in three years Joe Smith gets a strike out allows a single and then 32 to Second out to Bay Cara double play well now we're three outs away Gio or shella starts the inning with a single Gardner gets fooled by the change up DJ lahu falls down in the count one two but doesn't Chase on a close slider he taps a fast ball but it rolls foul he fouls off another fast ball then a change up up and in is foul back to the fast ball foul ball then the ninth pitch of the ad bat is upstairs to run the count full and then 32 pitch George Springer came about a foot away from making the greatest catch in Astro's history maybe in MLB history if he wait why is why is there a Phillies fan at a playoff game at minime Park that doesn't make any sense anyway the game is now tied and the Yankees keep it that way heading into the bottom of the ninth aralis Chapman is out there to send this thing to extras he's allowed roughly a base runner per inning so far this postseason he obliterates the first batter and makes quick work of the second George Springer steps up to the plate he's the man you want to bat in this situation what with the most home runs in Astros postseason history and all he takes the slider located for a strike on the inner Corner then he takes another slider just under the zone and again but way lower the first fast ball Springer sees isn't even close the second one he sees is closer but again a ball which sends him to first base ALCS winning run aboard into the Batters box steps Jose Altuve the first pitch he sees is a fast ball way up and out of the Zone the second Pitch he sees is in the exact same location the last four pitches Chapman has thrown have all been fast balls that weren't even close to the Zone he just can't locate it so he goes to the slider and locates it for a strike on the inner part of the plate Chapman hasn't been able to locate the fast ball so when his next slider leaks out over the plate Altuve makes the moment his own [Music] see you later see you later see you later asro headed back to the World Series Jose Altuve a walk off two run Homer for that Homer as well as his 1.097 Ops Altuve was named 2019 American League Championship Series MVP the blast sent the Astros to the World Series where their most likely opponent was the Dodgers who were Far and Away the best team in the National League so come game one it was the wait what y you're joking you're joking I can't believe my eyes you're joking me you got to be this can't be the right guy so how did we end up with the Washington Nationals of all teams that was a joke well the Nationals won the NL Wild Card Game in order to advance and face the dodg in the nlds LA took a 2-1 series lead but after a blowout game four they returned to Dodger Stadium for game five things were going great for the Dodgers as they took a 3 to1 lead into the seventh inning Walker ber got into some trouble so Dave Roberts made the always solid move of trusting Clayton Kershaw to get meaningful outs in October that went about as well as you'd expect with Kershaw allowing a pair of solo home runs to tie the game up fast forward to extras and the bases are loaded take the bat and swing that's a grand slam the Dodgers lose in five wow losing to the 2019 Nationals that's crazy couldn't be me and Howe Kendrick of all players to hit the dagger yeah I mean that's pretty embarrassing Dodgers I'd be pretty mad after that all righty then game one time Garrett Cole is back on the mound and you know what that means gar Cole Yep this is going to be an easy one in fact the Astros haven't lost a gar Cole start since early July after a springer walk the first pitch Altuve seas in the fall classic is a base hit into left a wild pitch sends Springer over 90 ft Altuve didn't move up on that but he does steal a base as bregman strikes out guel launches one off the wall and Presto the favorites have a two-run lead this game looks like it's going to be a momentum fueled blowout and you know what this series is probably going to end up the same way well Ryan Zimmerman hits a solo home run the very next inning to cut the lead in half Altuve lines out then Juan stto hits a solo home run to cut the lead to zero now suddenly in a tied game the Astros put a pair on for Altuve who battles his way to a full count the runners go and Altuve Taps one to First where Sher covers and he's out the Nationals also put two on but they capitalize with an Adam Eden RBI this is the first time Garrett Cole has allowed three earned runs to score since August he almost gets a double play to get out of it but it's safe at first then Wan stto launches one that gets over brantley's head and off the Crawford boxes both Runners come around to score for the first time since May Garrett Cole has allowed five earned runs in a game a diving catch by kareah prevents the sixth run from coming across in the seventh Springer starts chipping away at the deficit with a home run and oh there go the lights however Altuve strikes out and the Astros End Up stranding The Bases Loaded in the eighth it's once again Springer chipping away as he cuts it to one with a runs scoring double Altuve chases a ball and lines out to right and then brandley lines out to left the Astros go 1 2 three in the ninth and are down 01 in the series the Astros are down early in game two as an Anthony rendone double makes it two nothing in the first Altuve doubles but then gets caught stealing which comes back to bite Houston when bregman launches a two-run home run to tie it up in the third he gets on with an error brandley gets on with a single but this time bregman can't drive him in in the fifth he singles but brandley flies out in the seventh Kurt Suzuki gives the Nationals the lead with a solo home run from there the Nationals crack open the game like an ice cold Dr Pepper and tally seven more runs to put the game away game three starts with the Springer infield single but Altuve is robbed of a runc scoring double thanks to Victor robas Altuve gets a double but heads over to Third on an error by stto an insane bounce off of annabal Sanchez allows Altuve to score the Astro second run of the night in the fifth once again Altuve gets a hit and Brantley drives him in nothing much happens after that and the Astros take game three Altuve gets a single in the first of game four and scores and then Brantley scores an amazing play from randone robs Altuve of a hit in the third in the fourth Patrick Corbin makes a good play to Rob Altuve of bunt hit and RBI in the seventh Altuve flies out with two Runners on but like 10 seconds later bregman hits a grand slam and puts this one to bed oh except for Altuve is single in the eighth Springer leads off game five with a walk but Altuve grounds into a double play to make that point moot Altuve gets a little flare based hit but it doesn't end up amounting to anything the Astros are now up four nothing after a pair of two run homers after a springer one out walk Altuve grounds into his second double play of the game and the at grounds out the Astros third two-run bomb of the Night comes off the bat of Springer followed by Altuve who lines out game six the Astros sa young winner is on the mound to try and win them their second World Series in three years he allows a run in the first but Altuve sack fly ties it up and then bregman once again hits a first inning home run off Strasburg and this time he brings his bat with him to First Altuve pops out in the third the Nationals get a pair of solo shots to take the lead in the fifth the Astros get a rally going by putting a pair of Runners on in the bottom half of the inning runner on second runner on third one gone Altuve strikes out on three pitches brandley grounds out to end the fifth after a truly wild and insane top of the seventh Washington grabs a pair of runs on a two-run home run from Anthony randone Altuve grounds out in the eighth to cap his first postseason game without reaching base since game six of the 2017 World Series the Nationals have forced a game seven I'm not too worried though [Music] Zach gry is one of the most interesting characters in baseball history but we're here to talk about his pitching after a solid start to his career he won the sa young with the Royals in 2009 eventually he wound up in LA and after he was just kind of okay there he wound up in the other La he made a pair of All-Star games with the Dodgers and played second in the 2015 sa young voting he moved on to Arizona started a Chipotle franchise and made another Trio of All-Star games eventually the Astros traded for him at the 2019 trade deadline where he performed masterfully down the stretch in fact he was so good that it warrants its own video but I'm going to go back in time and make it there I did it now back to the future and slor present he got rocked in his first postseason start got no run support in his second and performed just okay in his third and fourth starts his fifth postseason start game seven of the World Series yeah going to be a big game it was the start of his life three up three down in the first Altuve gets jammed and grounds out grinkie gave up a single but erased it himself with a double play guel picks one for the third out and then gives the Astros their first run with a solo shot the next inning the Astros put two on with nobody out but nobody scores gry takes out number one himself and then coaxes in Easy Out number two and three Altuve leads off the third with the single bregman walks but the AST strand another two Runners grinkie abbs Trey Turner's grounder for the easy out okay now he's just showing off I mean that's crazy he strikes out rendone to stay at the minimum through four Altuve comes up with two on and two out and makes good contact but it's straight to Victor roblas grinkie gets his second strike out of the night on a stto failed check swing this 3-2 pitch might have been strike three but instead it's a one out walk as drbal Cabrera bunts and gry makes the play himself he gets a pop up for the third out in the fifth Korea absi Astros their second run of the game but nothing else comes of it another one two3 inning this time capped with a backwards k Altuve has another runner on but he grounds into an inning ending double play grinkie gets the first out of the seventh and then he makes his first mistake there's that is a rocket to left and the lead is cut in half a 374 ft missile to left field everything can go wrong from here it can all come crumbling down so fast and I'm not going to waste your time Soto walks grinkie day is done will Harris is in the Nationals Take the Lead they add to it and win the World Series in seven there it's over maybe the greatest team ever fell just eight out shy of a championship sometimes the agony of heartbreak is worse than the pain of the malaise well that was certainly painful probably one of the more heartbreaking game seven defeats in recent memory I mean the Astros left 10 Runners on base in game seven of the World Series that's tied for the most ever by the losing team into nine ining game seven the other modern era team to do it well funny enough it's the 2017 Dodgers huh makes you think I have watched very few things in my life that make me cry game 7 of the 2019 World Series is not one of them I'm sure to some Astros fans it sounds crazy but like think about it we already won a World Series 2 years prior and the core is still together for 2020 things are looking up for the Astros we've hit an emotional rock bottom but we can get past it there's nowhere to go but up I mean really things couldn't possibly get any worse [Music] right oh no [Music] [Applause] [Applause] Jose ltu happy to be here