Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch might want to consider giving Jose Altuve more days off.
A night after he was out of the starting lineup for the first time all season
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Altuve, who pinch-hit in the ninth inning on Tuesday night, said getting a little break gave him a chance to regroup.
”It felt good. It’s always good to sit down and think about how you feel,” he said. ”And I came back strong today.”
The game was tied in the bottom of the sixth when George Springer’s 15th homer this season made it 2-1. Two pitches later Alex Bregman sent an 87 mph slider from Rays’ starter Nathan Eovaldi (1-3) into the seats in left field for his 11th home run.
But the Astros weren’t done yet, as Altuve put one on the train tracks atop left field for the second time on Wednesday night to push the lead to 4-1. It was the first time the Astros had hit three home runs in a row since May 2, 2008 when Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee did it against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Altuve got a little amped up after seeing the balls by Springer and Bregman leave the yard, and once he got in a hitter’s count he was looking for a ball to drive.
”There was a lot going on in that inning and I got a little excited,” he said.
It was a welcome display of power for a team which managed just five singles in a 2-1 loss to the Rays on Tuesday night that snapped Houston’s 12-game winning streak. Wednesday night’s win made the Astros the first team to reach 50 victories this season.
”It was a pretty electrifying crowd after three home runs one after another after another,” manager A.J. Hinch said. ”Obviously, it was a huge inning for us. What energy that got put back into the building and also our team. Pretty impressive.”
Houston starter Charlie Morton (9-1) allowed just two hits and one unearned run in six innings for the win.
Eovaldi, who grew up in suburban Houston
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”It’s just a matter of time before that offense gets you,” manager Kevin Cash said. ”He was efficient, they made some adjustments, but it was a lot of power and by that third time through, it kind of caught up. It’s just a very talented offense.”
Jake Bauers doubled with two outs in the first inning before Morton walked Wilson Ramos and plunked Joey Wendle to load the bases. But he escaped the jam when left fielder Tony Kemp made a diving catch on a ball hit by Willy Adames to end the inning.
”That’s probably the highlight of the game defensively for us just because a lot of things can happen there,” Hinch said. ”We’re playing a little bit deep, it looked like he got a little bit of a late start and then comes in with an acrobatic catch.”
Mallex Smith singled with one out in the fourth and scored when Carlos Gomez grounded out and first baseman Yuli Gurriel badly overthrew first base for an error to make it 1-0.
Altuve tied it up with his first home run of the night with one out in the fourth. It was the first multi-homer game in the regular season since July 24, 2016 for Altuve, who hit a career-best three in Game 1 of the ALDS against Boston last season.
The Astros added a run on an RBI single by Kemp with one out in the seventh.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: Hinch said RHP Joe Smith (right elbow inflammation) was feeling a lot better on Wednesday and is likely to throw off the mound either this weekend or early next week.
Rays: Manager Kevin Cash said INF Daniel Robertson (left hamstring strain) is doing well and should come off the disabled list on Friday.
KIERMAIER’S STRUGGLES
Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts after going 0 for 5 on Wednesday night in his first game back after missing more than two months following thumb surgery. His slump is a continuation of the struggles he had before the injury and he’s hitting just .135 in 14 games this season.
”Unfortunately, K.K. just got off to a rough start and takes a month or two months off,” Cash said. ”The numbers are going to be ugly for a little while, but I’m very confident he’ll get going.”
UP NEXT
Rays: Tampa Bay is off on Thursday before beginning a three-game series with the New York Yankees on Friday. They have yet to announce their pitching rotation for that series.
Astros: Houston also has a day off on Thursday before hosting Kansas City in the opener of a three-game series on Friday. Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (4-8, 4.15 ERA), who got his first win since May 13 in his last start
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CLEVELAND, Ohio — Of all the games in this four-years-running Finals saga between the Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors, Game 3s have been Cleveland’s best.
As in, it’s the only game the Cavaliers have won more than once.
The Warriors are in Cleveland for Game 3 Wednesday with a 2-0 lead in this series. It was the same a year ago at this time and the Cavaliers were on the verge of winning another Game 3 but blew a six-point lead over the final 3:09 and lost, 118-113.
The year before, trailing 0-2, the Cavaliers hammered the Warriors by 30 in Game 3 and eventually won the series for their first championship.
“All three games were really, really difficult,” Golden State coach Steve Kerr said. “So we’re used to that. We’re used to the dynamic of being ahead in a series and then having everything shift when you go on the road. But especially when you play Cleveland — LeBron, this crowd and their environment, we know the kind of force they’re going to bring.
“And we have to be prepared for that. We know it. We’ll see if we can do it.”
James is averaging 40 points, 8.5 rebounds, and 10.5 assists so far in this series. He became the first player to ever score at least 50 points (51) in a Finals game and lose in Game 1, when the Cavaliers lost 124-114 in overtime.
Only 20 teams have ever recovered from an 0-2 deficit in the playoffs
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“I know it feels like we’re down 2-0, and I don’t like the way I feel,” James said. “I don’t like the way — the mood that I’m in right now, knowing whatever. There’s no, like, OK, you’re down 2-0 and you feel better than when you’re down 2-0 before.
“I mean, when you’re down like this, in a deficit like this versus a team like this, there’s no good feeling,” James continued. “So I don’t feel good about it.”
Cavs coach Tyronn Lue said Rodney Hood, who fell out of the rotation for good early in the conference finals, would get a chance in Game 3.
Hood is 25 and 6-foot-8 who can score off the dribble in catch-and-shoot situations and can switch on defense. But he’s been miserable in the playoffs
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Lue didn’t say which player would lose minutes to Hood, nor did he address any other potential adjustments or lineup changes.
“We believe,” Lue said. “We watched tape. We watched film and see the things that we can get better at, very minor things. The most important thing, I think, is physicality. Just being able to be on bodies, being physical, not let Steph (Curry) and Klay (Thompson) and K.D. (Kevin Durant) roam freely.”
Curry set NBA Finals records for 3s (nine) and attempts (17) and is averaging 31 points and 8.5 rebounds in the series. Durant is giving the Warriors 26 points and nine boards so far in the Finals. Andre Iguodala (knee) was upgraded to questionable for Game 3. He hasn’t played since Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
Curry is looking for his third championship in four years — all against Cleveland.
“In the Finals, this is the only building I know what that experience is like,” Curry said. “We know how the atmosphere is here. We know how Cleveland plays here, with a lot of energy and force.
“We understand how hard it is to win in this building. No matter what’s gone on in the series, when you change venues, you’ve got to reassert your dominance and try to find that right momentum to start.”
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