Now that we’ve seen what the Astros were able to pull off in in the American League Championship Series, what will be the biggest key to the team unlocking a second World Series title?
Opinions are of course as prevalent as statistics in sports, so chime in below and let us know what YOU think.
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As we saw, a lot of things went right at the right times in the team’s pursuit of the American League pennant, so we’ll start the conversation with 5 things that could be critical components of a successful World Series run, in no particular order.
FIVE KEYS TO SUCCESS
#1 - THE BULLPEN
They were much beleaguered in the regular season to the point where Astros General Manager James Click made several moves at the deadline to bring in relievers such as Kendall Graveman and Phil Maton. Both pitched in Friday’s ALCS-clinching 5-0 win over the Red Sox.
And there was a point where things looked dire for the Astros. In the first four games of the series, Astros starters did not last past the third inning. In the crucial fourth game, Zack Greinke was lifted after four outs. And yet, the bullpen in that very important Game 4 kept the Astros within 2-1 long enough for Jose Altuve to hit the tying homer and then for the subsequent 9th-inning run explosion that certainly created a momentum that has yet to stop.
#2 - TORRID HITTING WITH 2 OUTS
It’s one thing to drive in runs consistently - it’s a whole different territory to do so consistently with two outs in the inning. And the Astros did just that. In the clinching game, four of the Astros’ five runs came with two gone in the frame. For the series, they scored 27 of their 36 runs with two outs. That’s a whopping 75 percent of their runs! If this trend continues, that would certainly be huge for the Astros.
#3 - STRONG PITCHING (Of course it helps)
Framber Valdez sturdied the ship in Game 5 to alleviate the stress on the bullpen, followed by Luis Garcia’s strong effort in Game 6. There haven’t been encouraging signs yet that would point to ace Lance McCullers Jr. returning during the World Series, although he could be activated off the taxi squad. For the moment, though, the Astros will be rolling with the staff that got them through the ALCS. They were enough of a winning rotation to win the American League. Will that be good enough in the World Series?
#4 - HAVING A HOT BAT LIKE YORDAN ALVAREZ
Baseball’s a team sport, but sometimes an MVP comes along whose performance is a pivotal factor in a group’s success. In the ALCS, Yordan Alvarez hit an obscene .692 (9-13) over the final three games, all of them Houston wins - not a simple coincidence. Alvarez was simply unstoppable.
If his bat is anything close to that hot in the World Series, or if another Astro bat gets hot like that - it might be awfully hard to beat Houston.
#5 - PLAYOFF EXPERIENCE
Perhaps you think playoff experience may impact the 2021 results. After all, this is the Astros’ third trip to the World Series in five years. The Braves’ last trip to the Fall Classic was in 1999. The Astros certainly have seasoned players, but they’ll be facing one of the Braves’ most seasoned players in Game 1. Braves’ starting pitcher Charlie Morton won Game 7 of the 2017 World Series as a member of the Astros.
So what do you think will be the biggest factor for the Astros to win the World Series? Is it one of the keys above or something different? We know you have an opinion. Share it in the comments below!