3 Texas Rangers to blame for letting Astros back into the ALCS
By Mark Powell
Texas Rangers need to blame Bruce Bochy
Bruce Bochy is one of the best managers in baseball. He and Dusty Baker are the two oldest managers in the sport. By no means am I suggesting that experience is invaluable. However, there's a good chance Bochy listened a little too much to his veteran ace leading into Wednesday's start.
Bochy wanted Scherzer to pitch four innings. He did just that, but also gave up five earned runs and essentially ended Game 3 in the first few innings. Texas tried to mount some sort of comeback offensively, but the bullpen was place in a precarious position and failed to hold the Astros at five runs. They were playing from behind all night long.
Bochy watched Scherzer pitch prior to the series and was pleased enough with his progress to let him throw in the ALCS.
"Max is doing well here. He had a nice outing [Wednesday], threw 60 pitches, in that area," Bochy said. "We have some time here before we set the roster, but I have to be really encouraged with how he threw the ball, how he feels."
Clearly, that was a mistake. If the Astros come back and win the series, Game 3 will be something to look at.