this is why good pitching beats good hitting. The matchup was bad because after Verlander and Cole....the Astros pitching isn't near as good as the Rays. What the Rays staff is doing to the Astros should not surprise anyone.

Ag_07 said:

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Jimbos Cow said:

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My question is, IF the Stros win game 5 tomorrow, who start game 1 of the ALCS? Greinke?

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Yes. Which I don't see as all that bad. He's gonna pitch in 1 of the first 3 regardless and I honestly like him at home instead of at Yankee stadium. He doesn't like Yankee Stadium and the big bright lights. Get him in a game at home in the confines of MMP.

But first lets get there. This offense has got to produce or doesn't matter who's pitching. The Rays have really thrown them for a loop.

I said all along I didn't like this matchup because the Rays could beat us at our own game. Use analytics, matchups, shifts, etc against us and look what's happening.

I worry about tomorrow because that will continue. They'll throw Glasnow for 3 innings then come with Snell and not let our guys see either one of them a second time. We have to adjust and jump on them early since we won't get a second chance at either one of them.

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I agree with this, but it's equally likely that one of these guys from the bullpen slips up and the next guy has to be perfect to get out of an inning. That could spell quick trouble for the Rays. Let's hope that happens.

Baseball is a cruel sport.

That was a wild card game on the road. This is the best team in baseball needing to win 1 game out of 3. Astros choke would be infinitely worse

I am quietly confident for tonight. We are a different team at home. I'm hoping we can shake off last night and win tonight

I think the opposite. All their BP guys will be rested and they've shown no signs of cracking.

Glasnow and Snell on the other hand have been getable. Glasnow looked good he's still green coming off his injury and does throw a lot of fastballs. I think now that we've seen him we'll be more prepared for that invisible FB. Snell has looked so-so in the second half and has struggled. Think he only pitched 3 1/3 earlier this series and he's also getable.

We just have to jump on them early which is tough for us because our mantra has been grind out ABs, be patient, make adjustments the second and third time around, wait for a mistake, and pounce. That doesn't work when guys are yanked and pitchers are being swapped so often.

When is the last time 3 out of the 4 divisional rounds went to a game 5?

And no I'm not surprised at all by what are the Rays are doing to our offense.

I'm just surprised it's working. I thought for sure we were good enough to combat their approach.

Springer has been a dud but he did show signs of life last night. Brantley is the one that I can't understand.

He's been awful after such a solid year. Thing is it's not just this year. He's been bad in the playoffs his entire career. He's currently a .146 career postseason batter. That's putrid.

so much frustration made for a rough night of sleep and a rough morning

You've got to let this go.

Brantley put a good bat on the ball his last two at bats last night.

People keep calling for Tucker over Reddick..but I was more ready to pull Brantley for him. At least with Reddick, Springer, Tucker, you have all + defenders. And Tucker hit better than Brantley all September anyways.

but maybe Brantley figured it out last night at the end.

For me hitting the ball well is a moral victory.

This is the playoffs. Moral victories are useless.

gigemJTH12 said:

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If we lose tonight I am never watching the Astros again and thats a PROMISE

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good riddance

nm

well right now we only have three starters. And the 3rd is a monster part of aforementioned chain of events and he got killed in game 3. So if you lost this series, you can argue we dont have a championship roster. Just a really really good one that wasnt built to win playoff series'.


again, all a moot point when we win Thursday.

To be fair, our batters have seen all of these guys multiple times now. If this historic lineup can't produce, we deserve to lose.

Mr.Bond said:

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dshedd14 said:

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I am quietly confident for tonight. We are a different team at home. I'm hoping we can shake off last night and win tonight

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If we win tonight I'll be absolutely shocked

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Damnit. I was halfway into a super snarky reply before I caught it.

gigemJTH12 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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You've got to let this go.

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why?

if we win its not a huge deal. But if you lose first round with a 107 win team then its a really big, organization altering chain of events.

I think we win Thursday. But its worth bringing up. And its definitely not so dumb to use that emoji.

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It's not an organization altering chain of events. This isn't like football. The best team in the league can easily lose a 5 game series to ANYONE.

Aggie95 said:

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Home teams are 56-58 in winner take all games in MLB playoff history.

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Makes you wonder what the point of grinding out 162 games is if it's just a coin flip at this point

Was it Lebron that said why grind out 82 games for home court when you can lose it in 48 minutes

Could some of these guys used some rest during the dog days of summer? Miley, Brantley, Springer, Reddick, half our bullpen all look cooked

SquirrellyDan said:

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gigemJTH12 said:

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Ag_07 said:

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You've got to let this go.

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why?

if we win its not a huge deal. But if you lose first round with a 107 win team then its a really big, organization altering chain of events.

I think we win Thursday. But its worth bringing up. And its definitely not so dumb to use that emoji.

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It's not an organization altering chain of events. This isn't like football. The best team in the league can easily lose a 5 game series to ANYONE.

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thats not the point.

we traded away 4 of our very top prospects and arent going to be able to resign the best pitcher in the sport because of it. And if it happens, our best team ever lost in the first round because of it.

yeah, thats organization altering.

but we will win thursday 3-0. Cole is going complete game 3 hitter.