A players-only meeting helped the Houston Astros solidify their confidence in one another after two shock home losses, setting up a victory in the World Series on Friday to rejuvenate their championship chances.
The Astros beat Washington 4-1 to make it 2-1 in the best-of-seven Major League Baseball final with games 4 and 5 in Washington yesterday and today.
“It kind of re-establishes us,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. “They threw a big punch at us in the beginning of this series. We’ve got enough experience and enough feel about how series go that we knew [if] we win today [Friday], get a little bit of mojo back on our side, a little bit of momentum, start to swing the bats a little bit better, it was a huge win to sort of re-energize us.”
Photo: AFP
At the heart of the triumph was an airing of concerns everyone on the team was feeling after falling behind 2-0 with home defeats, a hole only three teams have ever escaped from to win the title.
“Some guys said some things I think a lot of us maybe were thinking in our heads, but it’s sometimes nice to hear them out loud,” Astros relief pitcher Will Harris said.
“The biggest thing was we didn’t want anybody feeling sorry for themselves coming in here because that’s not going to accomplish anything. That was the message.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
Four-time All-Star outfielder Michael Brantley, who singled in two runs, said the team meeting let leaders seize the moment.
“We have a lot of veteran leaders in our locker room that have been here before, a lot of guys that played in the World Series and know what it takes,” Brantley said.
“We have a lot of faith in each other, a lot of confidence in one another. Just wanted to make sure we know we still had it, were still going to play as a team,” Brantley said.
“This is a team effort. Everyone is picking up one another regardless of who is at the plate or what’s going on. We’ve got to come out and play a good game tomorrow [yesterday], set the tone and play as a team,” he said.
Houston’s 24-year-old Mexican rookie right-hander Jose Urquidy — who has allowed one run in 4-1/3 innings over two playoff games — was to start yesterday, when the Astros were expected to dig deep into their bullpen against Nationals left-hander Patrick Corbin.
“Just right now after the game ended the manager told me I was going to have the ball,” Urquidy said. “I’m living the dream. I’m very happy. Very few Mexicans have had this opportunity. I’ll try to take advantage of it as much as possible.”
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