But with the Astros, it’s never simply about a manager’s decisions working out, or a general manager’s trades looking brilliant. Baker also succeeded with two of his pinch-hitting moves, the first with Zack Greinke(!), the second with Marwin Gonzalez, whose two-out, two-run, go-ahead single in the fifth was perhaps the biggest hit of the night. All three of the affected players contributed Sunday night to comebacks from deficits of 4-0 in the first inning and 5-4 in the third, helping the Astros defeat the Braves, 9-5, avoid elimination and send the Series back to Houston. He also dropped Bregman to the seventh spot, his lowest position in a start since Aug. Thus, Astros manager Dusty Baker did what he had to do for Game 5, moving Correa to the third spot in front of Alvarez and Gurriel to the fifth spot in front of the red-hot Kyle Tucker.

7 hitter Yuli Gurriel had been intentionally walked twice ahead of the pitcher’s spot in the previous game. 5 hitter Carlos Correa was slumping to the point where cleanup man Yordan Alvarez was getting few pitches to hit. The lineup changes were both necessary and dramatic.Įntering Game 5 of the World Series, the Astros had scored only four runs in their three losses, going 4-for-31 with runners in scoring position.

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