September 15, 2017 Page 1 of 20 - Los Angeles Angelslosangeles.angels.mlb.com/documents/6/3/8/254604638/...September 15, 2017 Page 5 of 20 “When you do something like that as disrespectful

September 15, 2017 Page 1 of 20

Clips

(September 15, 2017)

September 15, 2017 Page 2 of 20

Today’s Clips Contents

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIME (Page 3)

Angels fall to the Astros and drop three games back in wild-card race

Angels pitcher Mike Fiera suspended five games for throwing over the head of Angels’

Luis Valbuena

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER (Page 5)

Angels get quality starting pitching again, but struggle to hit Astros

Angels Notes: Luis Valbuena won’t stop flipping his bat

FROM ANGELS.COM (Page 8)

It’s sink or swim time for slumping Angels

Pujols hits No. 613, but Halos 3 back in WC

Pujols alone in seventh on all-time homer list

Valbuena says he’ll continue to flip hit bat

WC hopeful Angels open 3-game set vs. Texas

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS (Page 13)

Astros trim magic number to 3 with 5-2 win over Angels

FROM ESPN.COM (Page 15)

This is going to be the wildest October in history

September 15, 2017 Page 3 of 20

FROM THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

Angels fall to the Astros and drop three games back in wild-card race

By Pedro Moura

On Aug. 8, the Angels awoke three games under .500 and three games out of playoff position. They then

strung together their longest winning streak of the season, six consecutive victories against Baltimore

and Seattle, some of their chief competition along the wild-card hunt.

On Friday, they will be back where they were, three games out for the first time since the streak that

vaulted them into the fray. They lost 5-2 to Houston on Thursday, after producing only five hits at Angel

Stadium.

Minnesota, the team they’re chasing, won by one run against Toronto.

That’s the thing: The Angels have come this far, further than most within the industry thought possible.

But they can play well from here forward and still miss the playoffs. In fact, it’s likely they will. They can

now be eliminated with one worst-case week.

Complicating matters: The Twins are enjoying a seven-game stretch of games against teams that have

given up on 2017. The Angels are hurting in a 16-game stretch of games against teams competing for a

playoff spot or playoff seeding.

It is not a scheduling arrangement that promises success. Yet, it remains possible they could complete

their goals.

Facing emerging Astros starter Brad Peacock on Thursday, Brandon Phillips blooped a double to right to

begin and jogged to third on a wild pitch. After Justin Upton walked, Albert Pujols swung at a first-pitch

fastball and lined out. Kole Calhoun walked to load the bases, but Andrelton Simmons, too, lined out.

In the second, Martin Maldonado mustered a two-out double that led to nothing. Then, to end the third,

Houston positioned its middle infielders 15 feet into the outfield, daring Pujols to hit it there. He did,

and shortstop Carlos Correa fielded it, hopped and threw in time to get the out at first.

In the fourth, Luis Valbuena roped a solo shot to center, halving Houston’s two-run lead. The Astros

achieved it with two singles and a double against Angels starter Ricky Nolascoin the second inning.

Otherwise, Nolasco limited them to one single and one walk in five other frames. For the 34-year-old

right-hander, three weeks from free agency, it was a rare good start in a season full of mediocre outings,

and it was wasted.

“It was dece,” Nolasco said, abbreviating decent.

Peacock held the Angels hitless in the fifth and sixth innings before both managers opted for their vast

stock of relievers.

September 15, 2017 Page 4 of 20

Only two Angels reached base against the four Astros who emerged from the bullpen: Pujols, who

mashed the 613th homer of his career, and Simmons, who singled. Both came in the ninth.

Four pitches into the seventh, rookie right-hander Keynan Middleton left with a trainer, flexing his

forearm. The Angels announced he was diagnosed with ulnar nerve irritation, an elbow injury they said

was insignificant.

Blake Wood stepped in, making his second appearance because of injury in five days. He handled the

inning. Jose Alvarez and Noe Ramirez ran into trouble in the eighth as the Astros stretched their lead to

three runs. They then made it four against Fernando Salas in the top of the ninth.

For a few minutes in the eighth inning, a cat created a commotion, scampering atop the dugouts and

nearly onto the field.

And then, in a flash, the animal had vanished into the night.

The same may soon be said of the Angels’ playoff dreams.

“We can’t get caught up in all that,” Nolasco said. “All that stuff plays itself out.”

Short hops

Left-hander Andrew Heaney did not play catch Thursday for the second consecutive day. He has had

shoulder soreness since his Saturday start in Seattle. … Reliever Huston Street (rotator cuff strain) has

thrown simulated games in Arizona, manager Mike Scioscia said. It’s unclear when he could return to

the team. … Third baseman Yunel Escobar (oblique soreness) has yet to resume taking swings. … Bud

Norriswill start for the Angels on Friday.

Astros pitcher Mike Fiers suspended five games for throwing over the head of Angels' Luis

Valbuena

By Pedro Moura

For more than two decades, Luis Valbuena said, he has been flipping his bat. Every time

the Angels infielder puts the ball into play, he immediately drops his bat with flair, sometimes spinning

it. Because of that, he argued, he should be exempt from the unwritten rule violation such an action

normally qualifies as.

“It just comes naturally to me,” Valbuena said.

On Wednesday, Houston Astros right-hander Mike Fiers took offense when Valbuena admired his first-

inning homer and mightily flipped his bat. Fiers, Valbuena’s former teammate in Houston the previous

two seasons, threw over his head the next time Valbuena batted. Afterward Fiers admitted he had done

it to make his stance known.

September 15, 2017 Page 5 of 20

“When you do something like that as disrespectful as he did, you’ve got to send some kind of message,”

Fiers said. “I’m not trying to hit him. But something has be to said.”

On Thursday, Major League Baseball suspended Fiers for five games, which will cost him roughly

$100,000. He was also fined an undisclosed amount. He declined to comment, but announced he would

not appeal.

If Fiers had hit him in the body with a pitch, Valbuena said, he would have had no complaints.

“But I don’t like him throwing at my head,” Valbuena said.

Valbuena, 31, said he does not fret about pitchers’ reactions to his constant flipping of the bat. He views

it as an intrinsic part of his play.

“Sometimes, guys don’t like it,” he said. “But I can’t control that. I can’t do anything about it. I’ve done it

all my life. Because when I hit it, I can’t control the bat.”

Once, somewhere along his 15-year professional career, a coach asked him to stop, Valbuena recalled.

He told the coach he could not.

“How about the guy who played in [Korea] and came over here?” Valbuena asked, referring to

Milwaukee’s Eric Thames. “It’s the same thing. Why don’t they say anything to him? It doesn’t make any

sense.”

Valbuena said he would understand Fiers’ feeling of disrespect if he flipped his bat only occasionally.

“But I do it every time,” he said. “Ground ball to the pitcher, I flip my bat. Pop fly to the catcher, bat flip.

Ground ball to second base, bat flip. It’s not like I do it sometimes. I do it all the time.”

Angels manager Mike Scioscia said Fiers’ suspension stood in line with how the league has enforced

previous incidents.

“The league has been pretty adamant about guys sending messages,” Scioscia said. “Obviously, he took

it upon himself to send a message, and the league acted on it.”

Asked if he thought the feud was over, Valbuena said he wasn’t sure. From his perspective, it is.

“It’s in the past,” Valbuena said. “He wants me to change my game, but I can’t. Sorry.”

FROM THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

Angels get quality starting pitching again, but struggle to hit Astros

By Jeff Fletcher

September 15, 2017 Page 6 of 20

ANAHEIM — Although the Angels are finally getting the kind of starting pitching they need, they are

nonetheless slipping in the American League wild-card race.

Despite a fourth consecutive game in which the Angels starter gave up two runs or less in at least five

innings, the Angels lost, 5-2, to the Houston Astros on Thursday night.

The Angels fell three games behind the Minnesota Twins in the wild-card race, the first time since the

morning of Aug. 8 they had been that far out of a playoff spot. The Angels have 16 games remaining.

“I believe in this team,” second baseman Brandon Phillips said. “We’re not giving up. We can’t keep our

heads down. We’ve got to go out day by day and get wins. Regardless of what everybody else is doing,

we’ve got to think about ourselves and get as many wins as possible.”

On the bright side, if the Angels are going to rip off the kid of winning streak that can vault them in the

standings, they are finally getting the kind of starting pitching to do it.

Parker Bridwell, Garrett Richards and Tyler Skaggs had consecutive strong starts leading into Ricky

Nolasco’s turn on Thursday. Nolasco, who has endured a disappointing season, gave up just two runs in six

innings against the powerful Astros.

“His fastball had good life,” Manager Mike Scioscia said. “It started off his fastball command wasn’t where

he wanted it, but he made some adjustments and that was a quality six innings.”

Nolasco gave up both runs in the second inning, when he allowed three hits. After that, Nolasco retired 13

of the next 15 batters, to get through the sixth.

It was his first quality start since Aug. 1.

That was when the Angels were just starting a hot streak that moved them into the thick of the playoff

race. Since then, they’ve endured a rollercoaster six weeks, in which the pitching has faltered and the

offense heated up.

In their two losses to the Astros, though, the opposite was true. On Tuesday night they were shut out for

eight innings by Justin Verlander, which was certainly more palatable than being held to just a Luis

Valbuena homer in six innings against Brad Peacock.

“I can just say he made good pitches and we didn’t take advantage of the mistakes,” Phillips said. “We

have a great hitting team. We just didn’t take advantage of his mistakes.”

Only Valbuena did. It was the second homer in as many games for Valbuena, whose bat flip

after Wednesday’s homer prompted a purpose pitch that got Mike Fiers suspended for five games.

Valbuena said he won’t change how he plays, although his flip was much more mild on

his Thursday homer.

It was Valbuena’s 10th homer in the last 24 games, and 15th since the All-Star break.

September 15, 2017 Page 7 of 20

Other than Valbuena’s homer, though, the Angels didn’t threaten much. They left the bases loaded in the

first inning – on an Andrelton Simmons flyout – and didn’t otherwise put much pressure on the Astros.

By the time Albert Pujols hit a homer in the ninth – his 613th, moving alone into seventh place on the all-

time list – the Astros had padded their lead. Their three runs were charged to Angels relievers Jose Alvarez,

Noe Ramirez and Fernando Salas.

Another Angels reliever, Keynan Middleton, left the game after just one batter because he felt what

Scioscia described as a “zinger.” It was officially diagnosed as ulnar nerve irritation.

Scioscia said Middleton felt better immediately after leaving the game, and he’s expected to try to play

catch on Friday, so he might not be out at all.

Angels Notes: Luis Valbuena won’t stop flipping his bat

By JEFF FLETCHER

ANAHEIM — Luis Valbuena swears that his frequent bat flips aren’t a way to show up any opponents.

He says he can’t help it.

“It’s natural,” the Angels infielder said. “I don’t do it on purpose. When you hit, I have to throw the bat. I

can’t control it. I have to hit it and run.”

One of Valbuena’s bat flips created an issue on Wednesday night, when Astros right-hander Mike Fiers was

offended enough by it that he threw a pitch over Valbuena’s head in his next trip to the plate.

After the game, Fiers admitted it was intentional, because he felt disrespected. On Thursday, Fiers was

suspended for five games. He accepted the suspension without appeal.

“I think the league has been pretty adamant about guys sending messages,” Manager Mike Scioscia said.

“Obviously, he took it upon himself to send a message and the league acted on it.”

Fiers declined to speak to reporters on Thursday.

“It’s OK if he hits me,” Valbuena said, “but I don’t like him throwing to my head.”

Valbuena said he considered Fiers “an unbelievable friend,” from their time together in Houston the past

two seasons.

Valbuena said Fiers should know “how I can play the game,” which obviously includes flipping his bat.

“I do it every time,” he said. “If I hit a ground ball to the pitcher, I do a bat flip. I hit a fly ball to the catcher,

I do a bat flip. A ground ball to second base, I do a bat flip.”

Flips like the one after his 20th homer on Wednesday night, however, come with a little extra gusto, as the

emotion of the moment is added to his normal routine.

September 15, 2017 Page 8 of 20

“I enjoy the game,” Valbuena said. “It’s hard to hit a home run. Hitting 20 home runs is not easy. This is

only my second year hitting 20 home runs. I enjoy it. A lot of guys know I enjoy the game.”

Scioscia said he’s never felt the need to tell Valbuena to stop.

“We’re in a different era of baseball that started when I was still playing,” Scioscia said. “You could see

guys who were starting to look at home runs or the bat flips and this and that. It’s an era that we’re in, so

guys do it against us. It’s just part of the individual expression that’s been accepted in today’s game.”

ALSO

Andrew Heaney (shoulder impingement) is “moving in the right direction,” Scioscia said, but they aren’t

sure when he’ll be far along enough to throw a bullpen session, which would obviously precede him

pitching in a game. …

Yunel Escobar (strained oblique) “has made a lot of progress,” Scioscia said, but he’s still not ready for

baseball activities. Scioscia said Escobar could see some pitching in the instructional league, which opens

this week. …

Huston Street (strained rotator cuff) has pitched in a simulated game in Arizona, Scioscia said. Street has

said he hopes to make it back to the active roster before the end of the season. …

Nick Tropeano (Tommy John surgery) continues to make progress toward pitching in games in instructional

league, which is as far along as he will get in his rehab this season. The Angels are planning on Tropeano

being unrestricted next spring.

FROM ANGELS.COM

It's sink or swim time for slumping Angels

Halos are three games back of the second AL Wild Card

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Not since Aug. 8 has there been this type of gulf between the Angels and their playoff

hopes. After losing to the Astros, 5-2, on Thursday night at Angel Stadium, the Angels fell three games

behind the Twins in the American League Wild Card race, a precarious position to be in with only 16

games left to play.

The Angels received a strong start from right-hander Ricky Nolasco, who allowed two runs over six

innings, but their offense generated little against Houston starter Brad Peacock, leading to their fifth loss

in their last seven games.

Full Game Coverage

September 15, 2017 Page 9 of 20

"I think our process is where it needs to be," manager Mike Scioscia said. "There's always been a sense

of urgency every game we've played this season. We'll continue that and hopefully we'll start to get our

offense going where we get the game on our terms."

The road ahead doesn't get much easier for the Angels, who will face the Rangers and Indians in the final

two segments of their nine-game homestand before heading to Houston for another series against the

Astros next weekend. All three of those clubs have posed problems for the Angels this season: The

Angels are 6-10 against Houston, 6-10 against Texas and 0-3 against Cleveland.

The Twins, meanwhile, are in the middle of a six-game stretch against a pair of sub-.500 teams, the

Padres and the Blue Jays. It's not a situation that favors the Angels, but they've spent much of this

season defying expectations and are not willing to count themselves out now.

"We've just got to go day by day," Nolasco said. "We've still got some time. We can't get caught up in all

that right now. We've just got to try to win day by day. All that stuff kind of plays itself out. We can't get

ahead of ourselves. Just keep grinding, come in tomorrow, stay positive and keep going forward."

Pujols hits No. 613, but Halos 3 back in WC

By Maria Guardado and Brian McTaggart / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- The Astros continued to close in on the American League West title on Thursday night,

defeating the Angels, 5-2, to clinch a series victory at Angel Stadium and trim their magic number to

three.

Houston right-hander Brad Peacock allowed one run over six innings and Marwin Gonzalezfinished 2-

for-4 with two RBIs to help secure a 5-5 road trip for the Astros, who will now head home with a chance

to lock up the division crown as early as Saturday.

Full Game Coverage

• At long last, Astros heading home

"We won the series against a good team," said Astros manager A.J. Hinch, whose team finished a stretch

of 16 of 19 away from home. "And rarely do you go on a trip like we did and lose four in one city and

come out of it feeling as good as we do. It will be nice to go home."

The Angels, who have lost five of their last seven games, dropped three games behind the Twins for the

second American League Wild Card spot, their largest deficit since Aug. 8.

• AL Wild Card standings

"I think our process is right," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We got shut down a couple nights ago

by [Justin] Verlander. Tonight we couldn't get that key hit early, couldn't get the rally going. I think our

process is where it needs to be. There's always been a sense of urgency every game we've played this

September 15, 2017 Page 10 of 20

season. We'll continue that and hopefully we'll start to get our offense going where we get the game on

our terms."

• Halos set to tackle tough stretch

Peacock scattered three hits while walking three and striking out three, yielding only a solo home run

to Luis Valbuena that cut the Astros' lead to 2-1 in the fourth. Peacock, a candidate for Houston's playoff

rotation, improved to 11-2 with a 2.98 ERA in 32 appearances this season, including 19 starts.

Peacock (11-2) couldn't finish the sixth inning in his previous two starts.

"The guys that faced him a third time, he only gave up one walk so that's definitely progress," Hinch

said. "I'm glad he got to finish his outing with walking off the mound with an out and after an inning

concluded. He had good stuff. His slider continues to be his go-to pitch, he had a really good comeback

sinker today. He looked like he was in total control really."

Right-hander Ricky Nolasco surrendered two runs over six innings in his first quality start since Aug. 1,

but he received little help from the Angels' offense, which mustered only five hits. Rookie Keynan

Middleton relieved Nolasco to start the seventh, but he threw only four pitches before exiting with right

ulnar nerve irritation in his elbow. Scioscia said Middleton felt a "zinger" that subsided quickly and

should be able to play catch on Friday.

Albert Pujols launched his 613th career home run off Chris Devenski in the ninth, passing Jim Thome for

sole possession of seventh place on the all-time list. Pujols now has 57 career homers against the Astros

in the regular season, his most against any team.

• Pujols drills career homer No. 613

MOMENTS THAT MATTERED

Peacock escapes bases-loaded jam: The Angels generated their best scoring opportunity against Peacock

in the first inning, loading the bases with two outs after Brandon Phillipsdoubled and Justin

Upton and Kole Calhoun walked. Still, Peacock managed to dodge early trouble by inducing a flyout to

center field from Andrelton Simmons to end the inning.

Astros strike for two: Houston, which had scored one run in each of the first two games of the series,

went ahead, 2-0, in the second after Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel produced RBI hits against Nolasco.

Gonzalez singled with one out and scored on Bregman's double to left field to put the Astros on the

board. Gurriel then lined a two-out single to left-center to plate Bregman from second.

"We've had a good offense all year, so you have a game or two off or a series off and all of a sudden it

feels bigger than it really is," Hinch said.

SOUND SMART WITH YOUR FRIENDS

The Astros deployed an unusual defensive alignment against Pujols in the third inning, placing

shortstop Carlos Correa and second baseman Jose Altuve several steps into the outfield. The maneuver

September 15, 2017 Page 11 of 20

worked, as Pujols grounded out to Correa in shallow left field for the final out of the inning. Correa's

starting depth on the 6-3 putout was 197 feet from home, the deepest for a shortstop on a batted ball

by a right-handed hitter in the Statcast™ era.

WHAT'S NEXT

Astros:The Astros open their final homestand of the season -- a nine-game stretch -- by sending right-

hander Charlie Morton to the mound for Friday's 7:10 p.m. CT series opener against the Mariners.

Morton is 8-3 with a 3.64 ERA in 14 starts at home this year.

Angels: The Angels will continue their nine-game homestand on Friday night by kicking off a three-game

series against the Rangers at 7:07 p.m. PT at Angel Stadium. Right-hander Bud Norris will start the

opener in place of Andrew Heaney, setting up a bullpen game for the Angels.

Pujols alone in seventh on all-time homer list

Angels slugger hits home run No. 613 in loss to Astros

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Albert Pujols collected another milestone home run in the Angels' 5-2 loss to the Astros on

Thursday night, crushing his 613th career homer to pass Jim Thome and take sole possession of seventh

place on the all-time list.

Pujols hammered a solo shot to right-center field off Astros relief ace Chris Devenski to bring the Angels

within three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning. The blast had an exit velocity of 104 mph and

traveled a projected 399 feet, according to Statcast™.

Full Game Coverage

Pujols is batting .247 with a .688 OPS, 22 home runs and a team-high 96 RBIs this season. The 37-year-

old slugger now has hits in 11 of his last 12 games and has driven in 37 runs over his last 38 contests.

Pujols, who declined to speak to reporters after the game, will have to wait until next season to

continue his historic march up the home run leaderboard, as Ken Griffey Jr. sits in sixth place with 630

homers.

Valbuena says he'll continue to flip his bat

Infielder insists he won't stop just to appease opponents

By Maria Guardado / MLB.com

ANAHEIM -- Angels infielder Luis Valbuena is known for being a liberal bat flipper. He flips his bat on all

sorts of occasions -- after home runs, doubles, singles. At least once this season, he did it prematurely

on a lineout.

September 15, 2017 Page 12 of 20

Valbuena said his bat flips have been a part of his game since he was a rookie, a habit generally meant

to express his joy for baseball and to celebrate triumphs inside the batter's box.

Full Game Coverage

"I've done it all my life," Valbuena said. "It's natural to me."

On Wednesday night, Valbuena hit his 20th home run of the season, a two-run shot off former Astros

teammate Mike Fiers. Predictably, he punctuated the homer with a bat flip, though it didn't sit well with

Fiers.

When Valbuena took his next at-bat, Fiers intentionally threw a ball way above and behind Valbuena's

head, prompting home plate umpire Cory Blaser to issue warnings to both benches.

Fiers, who admitted afterward that he felt Valbuena had disrespected him, received a five-game

suspension and an undisclosed fine from Major League Baseball on Thursday for the purpose pitch. He

will not appeal the punishment.

"I think the league has been pretty adamant about guys sending messages," Angels manager Mike

Scioscia said. "Obviously, he took it upon himself to send a message, and the league acted on it."

Valbuena called Fiers "an unbelievable friend" but said that he does not plan on cutting down on his bat

flips to appease opponents.

"He knows what I can do, how I play the game," Valbuena said. "Some pitchers don't like it, but I can't

control that… I don't want to change my game. He wants me to change my game, but I can't.

"It's hard to hit a home run. I enjoyed my 20th home run. It's not easy. This is only my second year

hitting 20 home runs. I enjoy it."

Sciosica said he does not feel the need to talk to Valbuena about his style of play.

"It's an era that we're in," Scioscia said. "Guys do it against us. It's just part of the individual expression

that's accepted in today's game."

WC hopeful Angels open 3-game set vs. Texas

By Sam Butler / MLB.com

The Rangers and Angels begin what could be a pivotal three-game series for both teams Friday at Angel

Stadium.

Both clubs are vying for an American League Wild Card; the Angels are three games behind the Twins for

the second spot, while the Rangers are five games back. The time has come when neither team can

afford to drop a game.

Full Game Coverage

September 15, 2017 Page 13 of 20

"Every game is important. At this time of year, whether you're fighting to get into the playoffs or holding

the No. 1 seed like we've done the past couple years, it's always exciting," said Nick Martinez, who is in

line to start for the Rangers on Friday. "It's fun baseball. You don't want to add any more pressure than

you have to, but you want to play as loose as possible and give your team the best chance."

Bud Norris makes a spot start for the Angels, his first start in the big league game since Aug. 31, 2016.

The Rangers have gotten a consistent on-base presence in catcher Robinson Chirinos, who has reached

safely in 28 consecutive games. It's the longest active streak in the Majors and the sixth-longest in the AL

this season.

Three things to know about this game

• Martinez's 7.1 percent swinging-strike rate is the fourth-lowest among AL pitchers with at least 1,500

pitches thrown this year. Teammates Andrew Cashner and Miguel Gonzalez also rank in the bottom five

in that category.

• The Rangers lead the season series with the Angels, 10-6, and have clinched a second straight season-

series victory. They've won seven of their last 10 games against Los Angeles.

• Chirinos' on-base streak is tied for the second-longest by a catcher this year. Buster Posey had a 30-

game streak, and Alex Avila also had a 28-game streak.

FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Astros trim magic number to 3 with 5-2 win over Angels

Associated Press

ANAHEIM, Calif. -- After righting a road trip that nearly went terribly wrong, the Astros are cruising back

home with plenty of chances to clinch a playoff berth while bringing a long-overdue division title to

Houston.

Brad Peacock pitched six innings of three-hit ball and the Astros lowered their magic number for

clinching the AL West to three with a 5-2 victory over the second-place Los Angeles Angels on Thursday

night.

Yuli Gurriel had three hits and drove in a run for the Astros (88-58), whose 14-game lead over Los

Angeles (74-72) puts them in prime position to clinch a playoff spot and their first division crown since

2001 in the next several days, possibly this weekend against Seattle (74-73).

An October run should be a welcome boost to hurricane-ravaged Houston, and the Astros' excitement

was palpable while they packed up their gear at the Big A for the late-night flight home.

September 15, 2017 Page 14 of 20

"We have a great opportunity ahead of us," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "Obviously we want to

finish this out in front of our home fans as quickly as possible."

Gurriel and Alex Bregman drove in runs in the second inning, and Marwin Gonzalez added a two-run

double in the eighth as the Astros wrapped up a 10-game road trip with five victories and kept cruising

toward the postseason.

Houston bounced back from a sobering four-game sweep in Oakland last weekend by winning two of

three in Orange County.

"We won the series against a good team," Hinch said. "And rarely do you go on a trip like we did, lose

four in a row, and come out feeling as good as we do."

Albert Pujols hit his 613th career homer in the ninth inning, breaking his tie with Jim Thome for seventh

place in baseball history. Luis Valbuena also hit his third homer in four games for the Angels, whose AL

wild-card hopes are slipping.

Their loss clinched a playoff spot for the remarkable Cleveland Indians (91-56), whose 22 straight

victories have vaulted them past Houston for the AL's best record.

"If they don't lose, they're not going to get caught," Hinch said with a shrug. "And they haven't lost in 3

1/2 weeks. We've got to get home, try to win our division, clinch a (playoff) spot, and then we'll worry

about the best record later."

PROUD START

Peacock (11-2) had another strong outing late in a season spent moving between the rotation and the

bullpen, earning his first victory since Aug. 4. He yielded Valbuena's 21st homer in the fourth inning, but

otherwise throttled the Los Angeles lineup that scored nine runs on Wednesday night.

"He looked like he was in total control," Hinch said.

SLIPPING HALOS

Ricky Nolasco (6-14) yielded four hits and two runs over six solid innings, but the Angels have lost five of

seven to fall three games behind Minnesota (77-69) for the second wild card.

"I think our process is right," Angels manager Mike Scioscia said. "We just couldn't get that rally going.

Hopefully we'll start to get our offense and get the game on our terms."

ALBERT'S BLAST

Pujols' 22nd homer of the season was a solo shot off Chris Devenski for his 96th RBI -- including 37 in his

last 37 games. The slugger is four RBI behind Eddie Murray's 1,917 for eighth place in baseball history.

TRAINER'S ROOM

September 15, 2017 Page 15 of 20

Astros: OF Jake Marisnick could be out for the season after breaking his right thumb while sliding

headfirst into second base Wednesday night. Marisnick will need surgery and be out six to eight weeks.

Angels: RHP Keynan Middleton left after four pitches in the seventh inning due to nerve irritation in his

right elbow. ... Former closer Huston Street (rotator cuff strain) is throwing in simulated games in

Arizona. He has appeared in only four games this year, but he wants to return to the majors before the

season ends.

UP NEXT

Astros: Charlie Morton (11-7, 3.86 ERA) takes the mound in the opener of final homestand of the regular

season against the Seattle Mariners.

Angels: Reliever Bud Norris (2-5, 4.25 ERA) will make his first start of the season when the Texas

Rangers visit. The bullpen will pitch the Angels' entire game in place of Andrew Heaney, whose injured

shoulder is forcing him to miss a start. Heaney participated in drills Wednesday, but isn't ready to return.

FROM ESPN

This is going to be the wildest October in history

By Sam Miller

To exactly one of the Angels, Mariners, Orioles, Rangers, Rays, Royals and Twins: Congratulations! It's

really happening!

For weeks, we've watched the seven of you fight for the American League's second wild-card spot. I

wouldn't take any one of you in a race against .500, but chaos is a ladder, and in the daily re-scramble,

Bud Selig's second wild-card scheme found self-actualization. Your playoff odds shifted faster than we

could calculate each shift's significance; watching, say, the Angels rally against the Rangers in the ninth

inning while the Royals tried to hold off the Twins could give an Orioles or Rays fan rooting vertigo. And

now, despite (respectively) paying $26 million for the stale crusts of Albert Pujols' career/leading the

league in blown saves/having the AL's worst starting-rotation ERA/trading your ace at the

deadline/hitting under .230 with runners in scoring position/having the AL's lowest on-base

percentage/trading your closer at the deadline, you're going to make the playoffs! You don't have to

outrun the bear, indeed.

And there's even better news: All it takes to win baseball's postseason is to be present. Since the

introduction of the wild card in 1995, backdoor admissions have gone 41-38 in their series. In the recent

era, which has not produced many elite teams, the gap between the league's best teams and its just-

pretty-good teams has been inconsequential. Five wild-card teams have won the World Series this

century.

But I'm sorry to say: You will not be the sixth.

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You're about to gain entry into one of the most talent-stuffed postseasons we've ever seen. If things

break right -- or, for you, terribly wrong -- you will have to go through a gauntlet that is perhaps

unmatched in baseball history. Put it this way: If all 10 postseason teams were equal, you'd have a little

better than a 6 percent chance of winning the four coin flips needed to take the World Series. Instead,

FiveThirtyEight's playoff odds give you about a 2½ percent shot.

There's a simple reason for their pessimism. This is what awaits you.

ROUND 1: You'll probably face the Yankees

At first glance, this doesn't look so bad! New York began the season with low expectations and a roster

gutted from last year's trade deadline. After sprinting to a 21-9 record, the Yankees' division lead

contracted, then disappeared, and the season turned into a lazy amble to the first wild-card seed. It was

a nice surprise, but there is nothing exceptional about winning 88 or so games.

If you will, ignore the record for a minute. Wins are fine for measuring team success. But they are not

necessarily the right measure for team strength.

Consider a hypothetical Team A that wins three games 13-1, then loses three games 1-0. That's a .500

team, and so is the Team B on the reverse of all six scores. But if you were Team C, wouldn't you rather

face the team that scores one run per game and allows seven?

Of course, neither are runs a perfect indicator of team strength. Runs are built out of walks, hits and

outs avoided, but unlike a soufflé recipe, the relationship between ratios and results is inexact and

unpredictable. A homer followed by a single, a double and a walk might lead to only one run before the

inning ends; a walk followed by a double, a single and a home run will probably mean four. Both

sequences tell us almost exactly the same information about a team's offense but wildly different things

about the score.

This is the Yankees. Their record is that of an 88-or-so-win team. Their run differential, though, is among

the best in baseball, more consistent with a team eight or nine wins better. And their offense and

pitching are even better than that run differential. The sequences of their hits, walks and outs avoided --

and, on defense, the reverse -- have been disastrously inconvenient. By FanGraphs' Clutch score (which

measures a team's performance in high-leverage situations compared with its performance overall), the

Yankees' pitchers have been the least clutch in baseball, by a massive margin. Their hitters rank 27th.

This isn't to say the Yankees deserve better. It's their job to win games, which means it's their job to be

clutch, whether clutchness is a real skill or not.

It is to say that the Yankees have hit the stuffing out of the ball and pitched the snot out of it. In fact, by

those measures -- if not by record, or even runs -- they have been something very close to elite. Baseball

Prospectus uses a method of team evaluation called third-order winning percentage, which estimates

how many wins a team "should" have based on its underlying offensive and defensive performances.

The Yankees' third-order winning percentage through Sept. 12 was .637. That's better than every

Yankees club since 1950 except the 1961 and 1998 squads; it's better than 13 Yankees teams that won

September 15, 2017 Page 17 of 20

the World Series in that time. This year's Yankees, according to third-order winning percentage, are

closer to a 104-win team than an 88-win one. But they are among the 10 unluckiest/unclutchest teams

in the past 68 years.

It is OK, second wild-card entrant, to tell yourself this third-order business is hokum. You might be right!

Maybe the Yankees really do choke and always will. Maybe they're built to win 13-1 but lose 1-0. If wins

are the sport's measure of success, perhaps "winning" is a skill in itself, set a little bit apart from simply

making hits and getting outs.

But here's what I do know: In a wild-card game, you're hoping to face a team that's not very good.

You're hoping to face a team that looks a lot like you. Instead, you'll face a team that hits better than

you and pitches better than you. Yankees relievers throw an average fastball of 95.3 mph, the fastest in

baseball; their starters throw an average fastball of 93.9 mph, the best in the American League. Aaron

Judge and Gary Sanchez have had stretches of almost unprecedented greatness. They might have the

deepest bullpen ever.

And they're just the first boss you meet on your way to the World Series.

ROUND 2: You'll Likely Face The Indians

The Indians' third-order winning percentage was .675 through Sept. 13, which would be the sixth best

since 1950. Their pitching staff will have the most strikeouts in the majors, the fewest walks in the

majors and the fewest home runs allowed in the American League. They'll be the first team in history to

strike out 10 batters per nine innings. Their ERA+ (ERA, adjusted for ballpark and era, and expressed

relative to the rest of the league) is on track to be the best by any team since 1926.

In 2006, Nate Silver wrote in Baseball Between the Numbers that the "marginal economic value" of a

win varies greatly depending on which win it is. Winning 66 games instead of 65 or winning 80 instead of

79 adds almost no revenue. Winning 89 instead of 88 might add millions, as that 89th win might be the

one that gets a team into the playoffs, which brings both direct revenue (playoff tickets) and indirect

revenue (next year's season-ticket sales, franchise value and so on). But Silver's curve dropped off

dramatically around wins 92 to 95.

Baseball teams listened. "Sustainability" became the industry buzzword, as GMs tried to build teams

capable of making the playoffs every year instead of capable of winning 108 games. From 2012 to 2014,

no team won 100 games, the first time since the schedule expanded to 162 games in 1961 that three full

seasons had passed without an "elite" team. There hasn't been a 105-game winner since the 2004

Cardinals, also the longest such drought.

But the 2016 Cubs might have changed the tide. At the July trade deadline, with a 7½-game lead and an

84 percent chance (according to FiveThirtyEight) of winning their division, the Cubs dealt one of the

dozen best prospects in baseball for Aroldis Chapman. Their new closer would throw 26 regular-season

innings, in games that had almost no practical impact on the Cubs' chances of winning the World Series,

but 15 postseason innings, in games that absolutely would. Chicago had a 102-win team and spent a ton

September 15, 2017 Page 18 of 20

to make it a 103-win team. It was a radical reassessment of the value of building the best postseason

roster.

Cubs president Theo Epstein once said that one thing is true of all World Series winners: The rest of the

league tries to copy them. This year the Indians copied the Cubs. After losing to Chicago in Game 7 of

the World Series, Cleveland had baseball's easiest path back to the postseason: weak division opponents

and a roster that would return every key piece of the previous year's roster. Its No. 2 and No. 3

starters, Carlos Carrasco and Danny Salazar, would return healthy after missing most of the postseason.

Cleveland could have coasted.

Instead, the small-market club unexpectedly signed slugger Edwin Encarnacionlast winter. He'll be the

Tribe's first 35-home-run hitter in more than a decade. And on Aug. 9, with an 85 percent chance of

winning the division (according to FiveThirtyEight), they traded for Mets slugger Jay Bruce, taking on the

$5 million he was owed. The Indians went 29-5 over the next five weeks, including an AL-record winning

streak.

This makes two elite teams you have had to beat. Only halfway.

ROUND 3: You Could Face The Astros

The Astros have produced, simply, one of the greatest offenses the sport has ever seen. By FanGraphs'

wRC+ (which compares a team's total offensive performance to the rest of the league), Houston's

offense has been 20 percent better than the MLB average, the best in at least half a century.

Through mid-September, 83 percent of the Astros' plate appearances (including those by pitchers) were

by hitters better than the league average. Their 7-8-9 hitters had been better than the American

League's No. 3 hitters. Houston had the AL's highest OPS at four of the nine spots in the batting order.

The Astros strike out less than any other team in baseball and hit for more power than any other team.

They have more infield hits than any other team and more extra-base hits. No team hits righties better;

only two hit lefties harder.

To beat them, you will have to outscore them. And you will face a starting rotation that added Justin

Verlander with a literal minute to spare on Aug. 31. You'll face a team that spent four years planning

every move with this moment in mind, collecting draft picks and live arms and payroll flexibility to win

now while you were trying to win then. This is their plan, come together: a third-order winning

percentage that, as of mid-September, was .620, a 100-win pace.

That makes three great teams, three teams with third-order records that put them among the 60 or so

best teams since 1950. No team has ever beaten three teams this good, by third-order record, in one

postseason. If you've made it this far, you've already run through a three-team obstacle course that has

perhaps never been matched.

And it does not get better from here.

ROUND 4: The World Series

You might get the Cubs, who played at a 100-win pace after adding Jose Quintana at the All-Star break.

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You might get the Diamondbacks, with perhaps the NL's best pitching staff this year. Or the Nationals,

who were on a 99-win pace even before their star-studded disabled list began to send reinforcements

back to the active roster in September.

More likely, you will face the Dodgers. You watched the Dodgers lose nearly every game for two weeks

down the stretch. That team looked beatable. Definitely tell yourself they are beatable.

Definitely don't look at the research that shows no relationship between September performance and

playoff performance. When Jay Jaffe investigated the subject for Baseball Prospectus in 2009, he found

that teams that limped to the finish actually did slightly better in the postseason, either by random

chance or because better teams were more likely to have large division leads and rest their regulars or

play with less urgency.

The Dodgers began their swoon with a 21-game lead in the NL West. That, more than anything that

happened in late August or early September, tells us how scary they will be in October. The Dodgers

spent a far larger part of the season utterly dominating: They produced the best record over a 50-game

stretch since 1912 and an 82-game run that would put them among the best NBA teams ever. They lost

11 in a row and still emerged on pace to win more games than any team since 2004.

The Dodgers might be the deepest team ever. They are at least above average at every position, and

they go seven-deep in their rotation. Like the Indians in the American League, Dodgers pitchers will lead

their league in strikeouts while allowing the fewest walks.

Their third-order winning percentage dropped from a best-of-all-time .708 on Aug. 10 to just .648

through Sept. 13. But .648 still put them among the 20 best teams since 1950. No team has ever had a

higher third-order winning percentage without winning at least 100 games. There are no .648 flukes.

IT'S BEEN, OBJECTIVELY speaking, a bad era for elite teams, until this year. The Yankees, a once-reliable

great team, finally cleared the burdensome contracts that had weighed them down. The Astros and

Cubs show the power of unapologetic rebuilding periods. The Indians, looking to be the next team to

end a long World Series drought, chose dominance over sustainability. The Dodgers are baseball's

ultimate Moneyball-with-money team. The Red Sox, Nationals and Diamondbacks have arguments that

they're at this tier too.

Those eight teams make for one of the best lineups in playoff history. They had a combined third-order

winning percentage of .613 through mid-September. Only one season since 1950 (2002) produced eight

teams that were collectively better.

When a great team exists, there are three ways to enjoy it. One is to see that team comically dominate

its opponents. This is Aaron Judge in batting practice, or the 250-pound sixth-grader in a viral Pop

Warner clip, or Tiger Woods at the '97 Masters. It's the Usain Bolt model of enjoyment: The

entertainment is in the space created. Your brain can't technically perceive how fast he's running, or the

passage of two-tenths fewer seconds, but it can see the growing separation between him and the

second-fastest men alive.

September 15, 2017 Page 20 of 20

Our dear second wild-card team: This is why we will enjoy your presence. We will enjoy watching a great

team deconstruct you.

The second way to enjoy a great team is to see it face another great team. This is how we'll likely enjoy

the rest of October, the weeks that happen after you're gone. We'll watch great teams slam into each

other and give not an inch. We will watch them probe each other for weaknesses and eventually smash

each other into sand. Grab a seat -- once you're eliminated, of course -- and enjoy it with us.

Or prove us wrong. The third way to revel in a great team is to watch some woefully against-the-odds

underdog somehow topple that team or, better yet, a series of them. The brutal truth, Angels, Mariners,

Orioles, Rangers, Rays, Royals or Twins, is that we're counting you out. You have little hope.

Now go make us look dumb.