Houston Astros World Series: How the team should handle Game 3

For the Houston Astros, Game 2 of the World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers was one for the books but it’s time to start focusing on Game 3.

Now how do the Houston Astros take their momentum into tonight at Minute Maid Park?

I’ll tell you how.

My first thought for the Astros is to be more aggressive at the plate and on the base paths. Push the issue and make the Dodgers feel the heat from the get go.  We have the offensive firepower and speed on the bases to do that so let’s make sure we do it.

Secondly, If a pitcher is on a roll, leave him in. There is no reason why you should stop the momentum of a good outing unless the guy is clearly gassed and or not being effective with his pitches.

If he still has bite to his pitches, strikes people out. then LET HIM BE. I think Lance McCullers Jr. is good enough to go deep into the game. It’s time to throw the data out the window and go with their gut feeling.

A.J. Hinch has made that mistake before and it came back to bite us. Game 3 is the prime opportunity for the Astros to take even more momentum in the series.

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Third, use the bullpen wisely. We know that we don’t have the bullpen that the Dodgers have and if we misuse it, it’ll put all the momentum back in LA’s favor. If I were Hinch, I would avoid using Francisco Liriano. He just doesn’t have the stuff we need or want in our situation. I would rather opt for Chris Devenski or even Will Harris to set up Ken Giles.

My fourth point may upset some of the woo birds in Houston but if Josh Reddick isn’t getting it done at the plate, get someone else in there. As much as I like Reddick and his personality, this is a HUGE game for us and we can’t be wasting opportunities. We have players on the bench who can go in and give us a quality at bats.

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If we do these things, we should be able to take care of business in Game 3. We already have the home field advantage (at least for these two games) and we should feed off of that. Bring the Houston heat to the Dodgers.

Let’s go Astros.

Beat LA!