Cuban power at its maximum expression
Well, before we got to what was inevitably the worst part of the show on a fascinating night of baseball, and then the Astros' sensational comeback victory over the Rangers in Game 5 of the ALCS, there was one impressive story to highlight: The talent of the Cuban hitters has taken over this postseason.
Adolis García has been the heart of the Rangers, and no less could be said for the boost that Yordan Álvarez and José Abreu, who lead the Astros lineup, are providing. But the most surprising of all is that the Rangers vs Astros series has become a power challenge between compatriots.
In Game 1, Aroldis Chapman dominated Yordan Álvarez, who had struck out three consecutive times against Rangers starter, left-hander Jordan Montgomery. The next day, Chapman and Yordan faced each other again, but the story changed. Yordan had adjusted and hit a huge home run off starter Nathan Eovaldi.
Chapman again threw the slider with which he surprised Yordan, causing him to hit a 63 mph grounder in the eighth inning of Game 1. What was the result of their Game 2 matchup? It was inevitable that thousands of fans would look up to see Yordan hit a 420-foot bomb into the right field seats. Since then, the Cubans have not stopped starring in the changes on the scoreboard during these playoffs:
GAME 2: Texas at Houston
1st—Adolis García singled to right, Seager scored, Grossman to third. TEX 2, HOU 0
2nd—Álvarez homered to right center (420 feet). TEX 4, HOU 1
8th—Álvarez homered to right (385 feet). TEX 5, HOU 4
GAME 3: Houston at Texas
2nd—Álvarez scored on Scherzer wild pitch, Dubón to second, Tucker to third. HOU 1, TEX 0
4th—Dubón singled to center, J. Abreu scored. HOU 5, TEX 0
7th—Álvarez singled to center, Altuve scored and Maldonado scored, Bregman to third. HOU 7, TEX 2
8th—García singled to right, Semien scored. TEX 5, HOU 8
GAME 4: Houston at Texas
1st—Álvarez singled to center, Bregman scored. HOU 3, TEX 0
2nd—García homered to left (379 feet). HOU 3, TEX 1
4th—Álvarez hit sacrifice fly to center, Maldonado scored, Altuve to third. HOU 4, TEX 3
4th—J. Abreu homered to left center (438 feet), Altuve scored and Dubón scored. HOU 7, TEX 3
8th—Álvarez singled to right, Altuve scored. HOU 10, TEX 3
GAME 5: Houston at Texas
6th—J. Abreu singled to center, Bregman scored, Alvarez to third. HOU 2, TEX 1
6th—García homered to left center (396 feet), Seager scored and Carter scored. HOU 2, TEX 4
GAME 3: Phillies at Arizona
7th—Gurriel Jr. doubled to left, Thomas scored. PHI 1, AZ 1
GAME 4: Arizona at Phillies
8th—Thomas homered to right center (412 feet), Gurriel Jr. scored. PHI 5, AZ 5
The Cuban hitters' swings have been relentless! After Adolis García seemed to finish off the Astros with a three-run homer in the bottom of the sixth inning, crunching a 95 mph fastball from Justin Verlander, this happened: Three Cuban hitters took over the Top of the RBIs in this postseason. Yordan Álvarez leads the Cuban trilogy with 13 RBI, followed by José Abreu with 12, and then Adolis García, who registered his 11th after hitting the home run that gave the Rangers a 4-2 lead.