5 reasons the Houston Astros will topple the Red Sox…again
By Sam Fels
5. The Astros can hurt you from everywhere. Which is just slightly more places than the Red Sox can get you from.
This sounds stupid when the Sox lineup boasts two guys who slugged over .600 and another over .,500 (Mookie Betts, J.D. Martinez, and then Xander Bogaerts). But it’s the case. There just isn’t a soft-landing anywhere in the Astros lineup.
What’s more terrifying is that if you’re going by recent exploits, the only Astros who struggled at the plate in the Division Series were Jose Altuve, Carlos Correa, and Yuri Gurriel. One of those is a former MVP and one of them is going to be a future MVP. So betting on that trend continuing would be something of a fool’s errand.
The only spot that looks like it might not hold up its end for Houston is Josh Reddick in right field, and he hit .400 against Cleveland. And with Chris Sale and David Price slated to start at least four of the seven games, he’s likely to be sitting for half the time, though that would see Jake Marisnick and/or Tony Kemp enter the lineup.
And while the ‘Stros lineup is awfully right-handed, much like the Yankees’ one that the Sox just dispatched with little more than a yawn and a stretch, it doesn’t strike out nearly as much. The Astros only two regulars who K more than 20 percent of the time, Correa and Marwin Gonzalez. The Yankees were sporting four or five on a given night.
It’s not that the Sox lineup is bad. You can’t be when you psychotically pile up 108 wins. And there are the major weapons like Betts and Martinez. But there are holes in center, second, third, and catcher, just more than Houston has.
Also if you’re going by what just happened (always dangerous in baseball), the Astros have five guys who went over .400 in the first round. The Sox don’t have any unless you include Brock Holt (BROCK HOLT!) and his hilarious cycle in Game 3.