ATLANTA – Alex Bregman has played in the World Series in three of the last five years and knows what to expect. He and some of his longtime teammates at Houston Astros are well versed in all aspects of the process, from travel to games and interviews after that.
When beginner Luis Garcia answered the reporter’s question in Spanish early Saturday morning after Houston lost the 3rd game of the World Series, beginner Luis Garcia knew Bregman knew the interpreter would provide an English translation of Garcia’s answer.
But Bregman sarcastically cut him off with a stenciled, clichéd response.
“He’s thankful to God for the opportunity to play in the World Series,” Bregman intervened.
In the room where the press conference was taking place, bursts of laughter erupted as Bregman drank from a bottle of water, leaned back, and smiled wryly.
A flawless time is the signature of successful comedians and baseball players. Bregman usually has it. In a .281-stroke career that finished second in the vote for America’s Most Valuable Player two years ago, Bregman – along with Carlos Correo and Jose Altuve – is an important part of the Astros ’success over the past half decade.
But with a few exceptions, the three didn’t score the way they would have liked over the AL Championship Series and World Series in October this year, and the situation peaked in Game 3 on Friday when Houston were left without goals in seven innings. and barely fired a pair of singles in a 2-0 defeat to Atlanta.
Bregman had one of the goals, one alone through a defensive substitution that led to a ninth substitution. But he never got to second base as Yordan Alvarez, Correa and Kyle Tucker all dropped out. It was Bregman’s first goal of the series and he hit just .217 in the ALCS
“I feel better at the plate today,” he said after the match. “Today I’m just trying to swing on good pitches, on good pitches. I missed one, the other at the bat, and just broke it back. But overall, I’m looking forward to continuing to compete in the field. “
Correa scored a great home run in the 1st game of ALCS, but scored 4 for 30 (.133) from it with one extra kick from the base, one shot and nine strokes. He scored 1 to 10 in the first three games of the World Series.
Altuve hit a home run in Game 2 of the World Series, which he hoped would lift him out of the fall. In the six games before that, he had only two goals in 26 at-bats, and in the 3rd game, he scored 0 for 3 with two deletions.
Altogether, the three Astrosa stars are 4 to 32 in the World Series – add Alvarez, the Cleaning Player and ALCS Most Valuable Player, and are 5 to 40 – which helps explain why Atlanta leads the series, two games against one. .
“You’re counting on these guys,” manager Dusty Baker said. “But no one can hit all the time. You are pampered by the fact that they hit almost every day. I keep referring to the law of the average. The more these guys withdraw, the more they are one at-bat away from the hot set. That’s what the attackers think.
“It’s like, OK, ‘If I don’t hit today or tomorrow, someone’s in trouble in the near future, in the very near future.'”
Baker hopes this will happen in Game 4, which is scheduled for Saturday night if the weather permits, and he knows his core has done it before. Infield Bregman, Altuve and Correa played in two World Series 7 games and all the other games after the season that were needed just for that. They won the 7th game of 2017, that year they used illicit means to steal signs from opposing teams, and lost in 2019, the only world series where the home team lost all seven matches.
In 2017, Bregman, Altuve and Correa scored two home runs each in the series and bounced back in a total of 16 runs. Bregman scored three home runs in the 2019 World Series. Seeing everything he has in three world series, Bregman didn’t seem panicked about the situation, nor did he miss the opportunity to add a comic touch to relieve the tension. Maybe that’s exactly what Astros punches need.
“It was fun,” Bregman said. “Both teams are really good. That’s what it’s about. So you play the game to play in the World Series, the two best teams in the game to deal with.”