Phillies still in the driver's seat. Houston has scored 0 runs in 20 of their last 21 innings, and Verlander has yet to prove that he can pitch worth a damn in the WS.
I just don't like it being called a no hitter when it's multiple pitchers. If one guy has a single and a triple and another has a double and a home run they didn't combine to hit for the cycle.
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
I just don't like it being called a no hitter when it's multiple pitchers. If one guy has a single and a triple and another has a double and a home run they didn't combine to hit for the cycle.
It definitely feels a little different when it's a combined no hitter but it's still the same accomplishment, just shared. Multiple players are going to get way more at bats so hitting for the cycle is different.
Only the second no hitter in WS history so it's definitely noteworthy.
Now I'm rather happy they keep the off day for travel. Gives Javier the opportunity to pitch some innings in a potential game 7. He hasn't just been lights out in the playoffs, he was possibly the Astros best pitcher in the second half.
It definitely feels a little different when it's a combined no hitter but it's still the same accomplishment, just shared. Multiple players are going to get way more at bats so hitting for the cycle is different.
It is different but I don't agree that it's the same accomplishment, any more than a no hitter in a 7 inning game is the same accomplishment. It's about one guy grinding his way through 27 or more plate appearances. It's not noteworthy for example that Ryan Pressly threw about 15 pitches to get 3 outs without conceding a hit in a 5-0 game... that's not even a save.
A no hitter is about a pitcher playing amazingly well, when it's a combined no hitter it just has more the feel of the team that's getting no hit failing.
Anyway, topical video:
__________________ "The great promise of the Internet was that more information would automatically yield better decisions. The great disappointment is that more information actually yields more possibilities to confirm what you already believed anyway." - Brian Eno
Well if it was easy, this wouldn’t be the first combined no hitter in WS history. IMO that makes it worthy of attention, and there’s a reason there’s a special term for it which differentiates it from a “regular” no hitter.
As for tonight, two things I’m watching.
Verlander obviously.
The Phillies bullpen is not deep and can Alvarado bounce back? Usually when a reliever has weigh outing in a series, things get worse. The Astros had some gritty at bats and two strike base hits in the 5th last night. That could carry over IMO.
I just don't like it being called a no hitter when it's multiple pitchers. If one guy has a single and a triple and another has a double and a home run they didn't combine to hit for the cycle.
I think a comparable would be if a hitter has a homer, triple, and double in a game, and at his final at-bat needs a single. For some reason he can't do the at-bat (perhaps injury) so a teammate pinch-hits for him and gets a single on that at-bat. Hence a "combined cycle". Definitely not a real cycle but still noteworthy.
JV with a beauty, getting better as the game went along, similar to game 1 against the Yankees. 4 K's in a row at one point, doing exactly what he needed by getting to the bullpen with a lead.
Astros kind of stole that one, with a xBA a good 100 points below the Phillies.
But defense was the difference. Good defense saved some runs, and bad Phillies defense likely cost them a run.
Sure feels like a 7 game series to me. Day off means Astros can trot out all their best arms if the game stays close. If Gurriel is out though, that leaves very few Astro hitters swinging the bat well. Hopefully Tucker and Alvarez come alive.
7 Phillies reached base in the first 3 innings. Defense bailed him out in a huge way in the 4th. Far from a beauty. However, a big improvement from his game 1 performance.
7 Phillies reached base in the first 3 innings. Defense bailed him out in a huge way in the 4th. Far from a beauty. However, a big improvement from his game 1 performance.
Lol let it go. He bailed himself out with some big pitches too.
The Astros collectively as a team got the job done in game 5. Let's just leave it at that.
Seems like the Stros should have it wrapped up in game 6, but Philly has been overcoming the odds all playoffs long and can very well do it again. Should be interesting to see how things unfold.
