Astros catcher Martin Maldonado drops the mic on A’s via Twitter

The Houston Astros catcher poked fun at the Oakland Athletics after eliminating them from the postseason.

Upon eliminating the Minnesota Twins from the Wild Card Round, Carlos Correa let it be known that the Houston Astros were back. That was met with plenty of criticism at the time, because they were a 29-31 team that swept a team that has been consistent postseason underachievers. Oh, and they were found guilty of electronically stealing signs during the 2017 MLB season, which still isn’t sitting well with fans due to the team’s insincere apology. The Astros shut the mouths of every one of their haters after they decisively defeated the Oakland Athletics 11-6 in Game 4 of the ALDS on Thursday. Now, they’re onto their fourth consecutive ALCS appearance.

After the game, Astros catcher Martin Maldonado decided to kick their AL West division rival following the game. Prior to their series, Athletics relief pitcher Liam Hendriks said they “want to take out the Astros.” So, Maldonado threw that quote back in Hendriks’ face with a simple tweet.

Everyone but Houston is big mad

The Astros bats came to life after Correa’s statement to their detractors, but Maldonado wasn’t really one of them. This series, Maldonado was 2-for-14 against the Athletics with his lone RBI coming on a solo home run in Game 2 of the ALDS.

But, that was more than enough, as Correa, George Springer and Jose Altuve picked up the slack against the Athletics. Houston is without ace pitcher Justin Verlander on the mound due to Tommy John surgery, so they’ve adopted the strategy of outscoring the competition to make it easier on their starting rotation.

Houston will now await the winner of the Tampa Bay Rays-New York Yankees series. The Astros know that they are the most hated team in the league, and they are relishing in it like professional wrestling heels. Hey, it makes for some good television and helps get baseball fans emotionally invested in the games, which is exactly what MLB wants.