The Changeup: Astros Just Won’t Quit, Dodgers Also Live to See Another Game, Fri 10/16

AL: HOU beats TB 7-4 (Series Tied 3-3)

NL: LAD beats ATL 7-3 (ATL Leads Series 3-2)

Astros beat Rays

Houston Has A Lot of Fight in Them. Houston is resilient. I actually love watching Game 7s, but I really didn’t expect the Astros to rally all the way back from their 3-0 Series deficit. I’m genuinely impressed with their performance and am excited to watch Game 7 tomorrow. 

It Was a Close Game Until It Wasn’t. TB was leading 1-0 going into the 5th, but the 5th is when everything began to unravel. TB Starter Snell started the inning off with a walk and a single, then got pulled and replaced with Castillo. I don’t really understand the decision to pull Snell so early given he was perfect up until then and only had 2 runners on base. I can sympathize with the fact that the 7 consecutive games structure is forcing ballclubs to use unconventional pitching strategies, but I can’t wrap my head around this decision. Reliever Castillo allowed 4 runs to score in that 5th inning, but only 1 of them was charged to him (2 were Snell’s and 1 was a passed ball error). Castillo only pitched the one inning today, making it a disastrous outing for him. 

Dodgers beat Braves

Taylor Tries to Nab Freddie But Rolls His Ankle Instead. In top 8, Dodgers LF Chris Taylor fields a hard hit Freddie Freeman double and fires it back to 2B to nab him. After fielding the ball, Taylor crow hops precisely on the left field line, kicking up an epic dust storm of white chalk under his cleats. This is a truly beautiful play and looked like something straight out of a movie. Taylor’s throw is perfectly on line to 2B but a bit low, so Turner never got it into his glove. It’s really too bad, because the throw had Freeman beat by a mile. Unfortunately, Taylor also rolled his ankle making this play. He was visibly in pain afterwards and clutching his ankle, but was eventually able to walk it off. The Dodgers still took him out of the game to allow him to rest.

About the Author

Bonnie Young runs the Amplified blog. She shares her insights on market trends from US to Asia and interviews founders shaking up the tech scene. She has been passionate about baseball since the age of 13 and regularly attended A's games before the pandemic. Bonnie is currently looking for a growth equity or VC role in the Bay Area. You can reach her at bonnieyoung@berkeley.edu

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