Astros manager A.J. Hinch is quite comfortable when Yuli Gurriel is at the plate with runners are in scoring position.
Gurriel hit a grand slam in Houston’s eight-run second inning
Youth Jerome Baker Jersey , helping Gerrit Cole and the Astros beat the Kansas City Royals 11-3 on Sunday.
”He just has a knack for really putting the barrel on the ball and doing incredibly positive things,” Hinch said. ”His balance, his bat-to-ball skills,
his bat path: Everything lines up when he can execute his game plan and he
doesn’t miss pitches.
”He can hit anything anywhere and he usually hits it hard. And that was a big knockout blow for them early in the game.”
Gurriel finished with three hits as the AL West-leading Astros won for the 15th time in 17 games. Jose Altuve drove in two runs and scored twice, and Evan
Gattis connected for a pinch-hit homer.
Cole (9-1) struck out eight while pitching five innings of one-run ball. The right-hander has struck out at least eight in 12 of his 16 starts.
”You know ideally I’d like to get a little more length there, especially after the bullpen had to work last night,” Cole said. ”Some of that is out of my
control a little bit. So, just kind of get back to the grind and get to the next
one.”
Houston loaded the bases with one out in the second, and Tony Kemp brought home the first run when he reached on catcher’s interference on Drew Butera.
George Springer then lined out, but Alex Bregman walked, Altuve hit a two-run
single and Carlos Correa walked before Gurriel connected against Jason Hammel
(2-9) for his second career grand slam.
”Put guys on base for free and make mistakes and that’s what happens,” Hammel said.
Gurriel also hit a solo drive in Saturday’s 4-3 win in 12 innings. It’s the first time since July 21-22, 2017, that Gurriel has homered in back-to-back
games.
”My concentration level definitely is focused when there are runners on base and guys that we want to get to score
Youth Brian O'Neill Jersey ,” Gurriel said through a translator.
Kansas City dropped to 3-18 in June. Hammel was tagged for nine runs, matching his season high, and walked five in four innings.
Lucas Duda hit his fifth homer for the Royals, and Rosell Herrera singled in a run.
”They have a really good pitching staff over there,” Royals manager Ned Yost said. ”It’s hard to fall behind that group and battle back because they are so
good.”
TIME TO SHAVE
Bregman had been working on a mustache the last few days, but it disappeared during the game. A split-screen picture of Bregman during his at-bat in the
second inning and next plate appearance in the fourth showed he had shaved at
some point between the two at-bats.
”I don’t pay attention to Alex’s shaving habits during the middle of the game,” Cole said. ”I did like the mustache. I thought it played Jeff Kent-esque.
It was on top of his lip when he stabbed that soft liner in the first inning,
which got us out of the jam. So, personally I’m a fan of the `stache. I guess
it’s been sent down. It’s been DFA’d and we’ll wait until it comes back.”
SURGING
Gattis has 11 homers and 32 RBIs in his last 25 games. He has driven in 25 runs in June.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: RHP Joe Smith (elbow discomfort) threw his first bullpen session since going on the disabled list. Smith threw about 30 pitches. He said he felt
good and will know more of where he is at depending on how he feels on
Monday.
UP NEXT
Royals: RHP Brad Keller (1-2, 2.63 ERA) faces the Angels on Monday in a make-up game. Last time out, Keller got a no-decision against Houston in a 7-4
loss on June 17. Keller allowed three runs in six innings against the
Astros.
Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (9-2, 1.60 ERA) faces the Blue Jays on Monday. Verlander leads the American League in ERA, WHIP, opponent OPS and opponent
batting average.
Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons visited the Coliseum late last season on their path to the Super Bowl
Alex Goligoski Jersey , and they easily racked up a blowout victory over the woebegone Los Angeles Rams.
When they return on Saturday night for their NFC wild-card playoff opener, they might hardly recognize the guys in the horned helmets on the other
sideline.
That 42-14 loss to the Falcons was a catalyst in the Rams’ transformation from LA laughingstocks into NFC West champions, because coach Jeff Fisher was
fired the next day. One month later, Sean McVay was hired to lead the most
incredible one-year turnaround in recent NFL history.
”People are excited, and that was our goal when we came back here,” McVay said. ”We wanted to be able to provide a good football product that our fans can
be proud of, and they want to come out and support.”
Led by the 31-year-old McVay, who grew up near Atlanta, and a roster of playmakers including Jared Goff, Todd Gurley and Aaron Donald, the Rams (11-5)
are in the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. The NFC’s third seed drew a
tough matchup with 2016 league MVP Ryan and the Falcons (10-6), who appear
capable of making another conference run.
But the Rams expect to feed off the excitement of a city hosting its first playoff game since the LA Raiders’ last postseason trip 24 years ago.
”It’s definitely a cool thing,” Goff said. ”After football has been gone from here for so long, and we come back in Year 2 and are able to bring a playoff
game to the Coliseum
Christian Dvorak Jersey , that’s very cool.”
Goff, the second-year pro coming off a transformative 3,804-yard season , is eager to face off with Ryan, who is in the playoffs for the sixth time in 10
years. Both teams have a wealth of offensive playmakers, from Rams MVP candidate
Gurley to star Falcons receiver Julio Jones.
The Falcons are back for their first postseason game since that memorable Super Bowl collapse against New England. That loss could have broken weaker
teams, but coach Dan Quinn kept this bunch together – and now they’re the only
group in the six-team NFC field that also made the playoffs last season.
”I love the resiliency and the toughness of this team,” Quinn said. ”When you’ve been through some of the fire together and you come out the other side
stronger as a brotherhood, we’re certainly improved.”
Here are more things to watch when the Rams host their first playoff game in Southern California since January 1986:
BIG NUMBERS: Although both defenses are statistically solid, this game could turn into a shootout. The Falcons led the NFL in scoring last season, but the
Rams took over the top spot this year in McVay’s worst-to-first revitalization
of the LA offense. Ryan and Jones have the skills to pick at the Rams’ secondary
if Donald can’t be disruptive, while Goff and the versatile Gurley are eager to
make their first mark on postseason football.
NEW GUYS: While the Falcons know everything about playoff pressure, the Rams seriously lack experience: Just six of their players have been in postseason
games – including star left tackle Andrew Whitworth, who went 0-6 in Cincinnati.
McVay also is the youngest head coach in a playoff game in NFL history. ”That’s
really not an excuse for us
Jessie Bates III Color Rush Jersey ,” said Whitworth, who cited the Rams’ series of games against playoff-bound teams down the regular-season stretch as
good experience under pressure. ”I think we just need to go out there and
execute.”
CONNECTIONS: The teams’ coaching staffs have multiple ties and similarities. Rams offensive coordinator Matt LaFleur was Ryan’s quarterbacks coach last year,
although LaFleur claimed he doesn’t have much insight to offer on the star
passer or the Falcons’ offense. That offense is run by Steve Sarkisian, who
knows the Coliseum extremely well: He coached at USC as an assistant and a head
coach until getting fired midway through the 2015 season. Rams GM Les Snead and
assistant Brian Xanders are products of the Falcons’ front office, too.
TIME OFF: The Rams didn’t earn a first-round bye, but McVay essentially took one anyway by resting his biggest playmakers for last week’s regular-season
finale. The decision likely cost Gurley the NFL rushing title, but should pay
off with rested skill-position players. In the ultracompetitive NFC South, the
Falcons had to grind into the final week to secure a wild-card spot with a 22-10
win over Carolina.
FOOT QUESTION: The Rams’ three top special-teams talents all earned Pro Bowl recognition, but kicker Greg Zuerlein is out for the season with a back injury.
Zuerlein’s reliability was an enormous asset, and Los Angeles’ new kicker is Sam
Ficken, who was working at a brokerage firm in Connecticut recently. If the game
comes down to a kick, the pressure will be big.
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