What an incredible game that was yesterday. Conventional wisdom says "good pitching beats good hitting" in the postseason, yet Game 5 turned that completely on its head. Here on the east coast, Bregman's walk off single happened deep into the night, and I had to get up early, but nevertheless I was hanging on every pitch right up until he broke through.
Congrats to Astros fans for this thing going at least 7. That's huge already. As for winning the whole thing, seems tomorrow's game is everything. I would call it an elimination game for both teams, because it would be really tough to win an away game at Dodgers stadium after having just lost game 6 with Houston's new ace on the mound.
I have no idea why I've become such a Stros fan this post-season. They were a serious rival to my beloved Redbirds back in the 2000's and there was no love lost then, although of course I really liked a lot of Astros players - the Killer B's and particularly Lance Berkman, who later joined the Cards and played a pivotal role in St Louis winning that crazy Game 6 and the series over Texas.
I was ambivalent about recent WS. Last year I was just cheering against the Cubs, not really for Cleveland. KC - I don't really care about them, one way or another. Was tired of seeing SF win. So, I'd have to go back to the 2013 WS with Cards and Sox to find a series where I really truly cared about the outcome.
Guess Houston has just kind of grown on me over the years. And it does go back. I remember attending a Cards-Astros game in the Astrodome back in 1975, and thinking that it was SO cool to be inside a domed, air conditioned stadium like that. And one of my uncles and his family had defected from Oklahoma to the Houston area back in the early 70s, and so we were visiting them when we went to that game. They are all of course major Astros fans, even to this day. So, I guess it's kind of a cousin thing ... it's like the Astros are baseball cousins.
And presently, I really like the team, particularly Jose Altuve. If I could choose one player to have on my team, it's him. And in fact I did - he was my first pick in my fantasy league draft last spring, and I'll try for him again next spring. He does it all, and has a great attitude.
Go Stros! Get the series win!