Marcus Semien reached base safely in four of his five Game 6 at-bats, knocking in two singles, walking twice and scoring a run in the Rangers 9-2 win over the Astros. Now, just one game stands between him and his first career World Series appearance.
Semien Game 6
Desperation was the word of the day for the Texas Rangers and specifically Marcus Semien who has struggled all postseason long as faced elimination Sunday night. He came into the game with urgency to do whatever it took to get on base safely and showed great patience by drawing a four pitch walk in his first at-bat.
In his final at-bat of the night, Semien would single as the Rangers would end up loading the bases and hitting a grand slam to put a bow on top of their pivotal Game Six win and set their sights on the biggest game of the season and for Semien the biggest of his career.
“This will be my first career Game Seven,” Semien told reporters postgame.
“We had our backs against the wall tonight and I think we should come out with the same mentality.”
Astros could not shut the door
Dusty Baker and his Astros had their chances to knock out the Rangers early in the game but failed to do so despite getting a run on the board in the first inning. He had to pull his starting pitcher after only five innings of work.
In the 8th inning with the bases loaded and two outs, Baker decided to pinch hit Jon Singleton for last season’s World Series MVP with his team down by two runs. Singleton, who was an unsung hero for his walk in Game Five that preceded Altuve’s game-winning home run, had another great at-bat but would end up striking out with a full count.
“He is a really good pitcher with really good stuff,” Singleton told reporters when discussing his final at-bat.
“I fouled off some decent pitches, but ended up chasing a ball up.”
Outfielder Michael Brantley got the start in left field for Houston and would finish 0-for-3 with two walks and added another web gem to his highlight reel with a sliding catch in the top of the eighth.
“We need to turn the page and get ready for tomorrow,” was the message Brantley gave to his teammates ahead of the greatest thing we get in sports, Game Seven.
We will see if these MLBbros can become a part of baseball history Monday night at 7 PM. central.
Dusty Baker’s Boyz get in the win column in Game 3 of the American League Championship series with an 8-5 road victory Wednesday night thanks to the help of a few lineup tweaks and a Michael Brantley game-saving catch.
Meanwhile for the Rangers, they are in need of a hero in the form of their leadoff hitter who needs to step up at the plate for the remainder of the series.
Dusty Baker Gets 55th Playoff Win
Dropping the first two games of a best-of-seven series at home was not the most ideal way for Baker to complete his task of returning to the World Series for a second straight season.
To help spark the Astros, he made some changes to the lineup which included moving Michael Brantley up to second in the order while dropping Kyle Tucker down and adding utility man Mauricio Dubon, who is hitting over .500 this postseason to the lineup.
The bottom four of the order for Houston, which included both Tucker and Dubon combined to go 6-for-14 for a .429 average with four RBI and four runs scored.
The wily veteran manager used both his best relievers to close out the game and announced he would start Jose Uriquidy on the mound for Game Four of the series Thursday at 7 P.M. Central.
Uncle Mike Used All The Gas Left In The Tank
Although “Uncle Mike” was 0-for-5 at the plate Wednesday, his running catch in the bottom of the sixth inning saved the game for Houston. With two outs and a runner on second in a 5-2 game, 36-year-old Brantley chased down a line drive in the left centerfield gap to prevent extra bases and keep momentum in the Astros dugout.
“I did not think I had it,” Brantley said in his postgame interview.
“I could have taken a better angle, but it feels good to make that play for the team and get the win. We need to keep playing well, it is a good first step but we need to come out tomorrow and do it again.”
SOS For Marcus Semien:
It is now or never for Marcus Semien to get going at the plate and help get the Texas Rangers to their first World Series since 2011.
Semien is hitting just .171 in the postseason after going 0-for-3 with a walk and run scored on Wednesday.
He is popping up at a high rate and despite his multi-hit effort in Game Two, he has not been the same guy who is likely to win the American League Silver Slugger Award for second baseman.
If these struggles continue into Thursday night and the Rangers do not receive a big game from the best leadoff hitter in franchise history, this series will be the center of the baseball world going into the weekend if it is tied at 2-2.
Marcus Semien and his Texas Rangers got vengeance on Framber Valdez for early season beef with a four-run first inning that lifted them to a 2-0 lead in the ALCS.
Now they are just two wins away from a World Series berth and ending Dusty Baker’s shot at a repeat.
Semien sets the tone:
After going 0-for-4 in Game 1, including leaving five men on base, Marcus Semien was locked in from the first pitch of Monday afternoon’s contest in Houston as he shot a line drive single to Michael Brantley.
As if playoff motivation was not enough, Semien had been waiting since July 27th to get his lick back on opposing starting pitcher Framber Valdez. In that game, after the Rangers got to him, Valdez hit Semien with a fastball that appeared to be in retaliation for Yordan Alverez being plunked the inning before.
“It is always going to be in the back of my mind,” Semien told reporters after the game when asked if he took extra pride in beating Valdez.
“You are always going to remember that, but we still have a series to play. We did what we needed to do to beat Framber but the rest of the pitching staff did well against us so we will look to make adjustments.”
That single kicked off what would be a four-run first inning that featured Semien scoring the first run on an errant throw by Valdez. After the team batted around, Semien would leadoff the second inning with a single and make himself the first player to hit the first pitch of the first two innings of a playoff game in Major League history.
He would finish the game 2-for-5 with two strikeouts and a line out.
During batting practice, Brantley was seen getting tips from his father, former Major League player and hitting coach Mickey Brantley who has been Michael’s hitting coach since he came out of the womb.
Tough task for Dusty:
Baker and his Astros leave Houston with a sour taste in their mouths after dropping both of their first two home games and forfeiting home field advantage over. Teams down 0-2 lose the series 84% of the time so Houston will have their work cut out for them if they want to bring the series back to their home ballpark.
Keys for the Astros to climb out of this hole include Baker getting his star players going, Kyle Tucker, Jose Abreau, Jose Altuve and Jeremy Pena went a combined 0-for-16 in Game Two.
Also, those bullpen weapons at their disposal must be sharp for him in Arlington to give them a fighting chance.
Game Three will be played Wednesday night at 7PM. Central.
After winning the World Series beating the Philadelphia Phillies last year in six games, the Houston Astros have had issues putting together that chemistry from last year. With a 16-15 record and a two-game losing streak as of May 5th, the easy observation is that ineptitude on the offensive end is leading to losses.
Houston Astros Bats Have Disappeared
The team is at the bottom of the Major Leagues in slugging percentage hovering around .370. To put this in perspective, the only teams with worse percentages are last place teams in the Oakland A’s, the Kansas City Royals and the Washington Nationals.
But help is coming in MLBbro, Michael Brantley who is currently tearing up his rehab assignment with the Sugar Land Space Cowboys. Based on this tweet here, the Astros might have to fight to get him back…
THIS IS NOT A REPLAY, IT'S JUST ANOTHER DOUBLE BY MICHAEL BRANTLEY. @astros, can he hang out with us a little longer? pic.twitter.com/Tp1vrM7g6Y
— Sugar Land Space Cowboys (@SLSpaceCowboys) May 3, 2023
Brantley has been impressive in his first action in ten months after undergoing arthroscopic labral repair on his right shoulder that kept him out of the Houston lineup since June 26th.
In six games with the Space Cowboys, our MLBbro had a batting average of .333.
Astros general manager Dana Brown provided some insight on his timeline that Brantley could return to the parent club and possibly be in the lineup by Monday when Houston starts the Anaheim series.
The ultimate goal for our MLBbro is getting back to the Astros…but at 100 percent.
“I want to be healthy, I want to be able to contribute at a high level once I go back,” said Brantley. “There is a lot of hard work from a lot of good people to get me to this point and I am appreciative of being here and even having this opportunity, and all is going well so far.”
“The Professional” should hit the ground running upon return. Brantley stated recently that the competition in the minor leagues has gotten tougher since he came up the ranks years ago.
Houston @astros LF Michael Brantley, in Abq this week on a minor league rehab assignment playing against the @ABQTopes, says minor leaguers have it a little bit better today than he remembers when he was coming up… pic.twitter.com/EhOPe0sRD2
If Michael Brantley does return for the Anaheim series, then what?
Where will Michael Brantley fit in when he returns and more importantly…the future?
Our MLBbro has a shining reputation of being a professional hitter thanks to a disciplined eye at the plate and solid mechanics to make consistent contact. With that in mind, look for Brantley to fill the designated hitter spot when he returns. His career performance shows that Michael should be fine in the short term.
Brantley has topped the .300 mark in five of his last eight seasons.
He’s never struck out more than 60 times in any season of his career.
His OPS+ (On base Plus Slugging Plus) is at least 19 percent above league average the last five seasons.
Michael Brantley made a positive contribution to the Astros offense before the team shut him down. His numbers were still solid ( .288/.370/.416 with an OPS of .785). Numbers like these along with veteran leadership in the locker room will suit the Astros just fine in the short term.
But what about the long term?
Could Michael Brantley be moving to first base ?
Throughout his career, Michael Brantley has been a defensive anchor in the outfield. But could a return from shoulder surgery prompt a move to the infield? According to MLBbro manager Dusty Baker, Brantley could be moving to first base when he gets his rhythm back.
Dusty Baker on Michael Brantley working at first base during his rehab assignment: “We talked to him about that, yeah. We worked Michael out at first base during spring training.” pic.twitter.com/8Uad1VPqDN
Brantley has been seen working out at first base working on footwork and throwing mechanics. Even though our MLBbro hasn’t played first base in the minors in 2007, it’s all about the team and how he can help via MLB.com.
“We’ll see how it goes, Brantley said. “At the same time, it’s a team-first approach always. I’ve always been like that. If I can help the team out in any way, I’ll be available. It’s a lot of hard work. I’m learning a lot very quickly, but it’s all been going smoothly so far.”
“I’m just trying to learn and do the best of my ability and get the footwork down, make accurate throws, find new arm slots,” Brantley said. “It’s an adjustment period, but it’s kind of fun. I always enjoy taking ground balls. I get to do it a little more often.
With this season just starting basically 30 games in, the Astros see the season as a marathon and not a sprint. The team wants to see our MLBbro settled in for the postseason where he really can help the team repeat as champions.
The postseason is the end game for Michael Brantley’s rehab and position change.
When the Astros discussed their long term plans this season for Brantley, his postseason performance in 2020 was on the minds of many. Michael Brantley showed up and showed out with a .319 batting average with at least one RBI in seven of the 13 games he participated in. One of those games he deposited two homers with three RBI.
But for any postseason talk to commence, the Astros have to start generating offense, which is where Brantley helps. To start this season, there have been ten Astros players with at least 50 plate appearances. Out of those ten, only Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker have OBPs of .340 or better. After signing a one-year deal last December, here’s hoping that Michael Brantley returns to reward the Astros loyalty despite surgery last season.
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