Alex Bregman unhappy with Astros' hapless ALCS opener against Rangers: "We didn't get the job done"
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve had a leadoff walk in the eighth inning at Minute Maid Park that sent the home crowd into a frenzy. In fairness, they had not had much to cheer about up until that point.
The Astros were trailing 2-0 at the time and Altuve's walk provided some hope of a comeback with the top of the order set to follow. Houston had struggled to get any real momentum and had been held to just five hits, all of which were singles. With the speedy second baseman on first, fans were hoping for a late rally.
Unfortunately, a careless error from the eight-time All-Star cost the Astros. At a critical stage of the game. Altuve forgot to touch second on a fly ball and was called out after an appeal from the Rangers.
Altuve's teammate Alex Bregman spoke to reporters after the game. He touched on the mistake and where it all went wrong for the Astros on the night:
"We didn’t get the job done over the course of nine innings today," said Bregman.
It all started when Bregman rocketed an 87 mph slider from Aroldis Chapman into left field. Bregman made great contact and the ball looked to be heading to the wall but was caught by outfielder Evan Carter. That forced Jose Altuve to return to first. The 33-year-old veteran missed the tag at second and was later called out at a critical stage of the game.
"After review, Jose Altuve was ruled out after not retouching second base FOX" - FOX Sports: MLB
After the double play, the Rangers bullpen went on to record the last four outs of the game to give Texas a 2-0 win and a 1-0 lead in the series.
The Houston Astros will look to bounce back in Game 2 on Monday
The loss was a massive blow for a Houston team that entered the series as the favorites. Justin Verlander, a three-time Cy Young winner, started the game but was unable to lead his team to victory.
"The roof will be closed today for Game 2 of the ALCS. Show up early. Wear orange. Be LOUD." - Houston Astros
Dusty Baker will look to make adjustments to find a way to spark the Houston offense. The club is looking to win their third World Series in seven seasons, but they are currently just three games away from elimination.