BASE-BALL

[jeffandnicole]

After the 3rd inning, nearly every bar in the Philly area was quiet; fans already thinking, let's move on to game 2.  Then the next inning the Phils brought it back to 5 - 3, and the next, 5 - 5.  Suddenly, new life.  It became a relief pitchers dual after that.  My concern was with so many pitching changes, and the increasing likelihood this was going into extra innings, both teams weren't going to have many relief pitchers left.

JT barely got that homer over the RF fence and outstretched glove. 

The Phillies will make every save situation a stressing nail-biter.

But, they managed to get that 3rd out.  A huge sigh of relief!

[74/171FAN]

After the 3rd inning, nearly every bar in the Philly area was quiet; fans already thinking, let's move on to game 2.  Then the next inning the Phils brought it back to 5 - 3, and the next, 5 - 5.  Suddenly, new life.  It became a relief pitchers dual after that.  My concern was with so many pitching changes, and the increasing likelihood this was going into extra innings, both teams weren't going to have many relief pitchers left.

JT barely got that homer over the RF fence and outstretched glove. 

The Phillies will make every save situation a stressing nail-biter.

But, they managed to get that 3rd out.  A huge sigh of relief!

And my mom is mad that her prediction of Bryce Harper going 0 for 20 was well......wrong.

[mgk920]

Tough to pick a side in this year's WS.  Do I go with the city with the biggest asshole fans in all of sports, or the team with the most tainted WS title in a hundred years?

Looks like you've never met a Cowboys fan....they are STILL to this day rubbing it in about all their Super Bowl years like they just won it yesterday.  And many of the players from the 2017 Astros are now with other teams, so where ever those players went, the dislike should follow them to their new teams.

I still have my late father's ticket stub from the most famous EVER Cowboys' loss.

Mike

[jeffandnicole]

The Phillies/Astros Game 3 was rained out tonight.  They will play tomorrow night.  For people going to the games:

All the games are now pushed back 1 day.  Mon/Tue/Wed was to be Games 3/4/5.  Now it's Tue/Wed/Thu.  Friday is now a travel day, if necessary, followed by Games 6 & 7 on Sat & Sun, again, if necessary.  If someone had tickets and had to make special arrangements to be at a specific game, they are going to have to figure out a way to make it work, or sell the tickets.

On Thursday, there will be a unique matchup of Philadelphia & Houston playing in Philly, along with Philadelphia & Houston playing in Houston.  The 1st matchup is Baseball; the second is Football.  Thank goodness it worked out this way; it would've been a huge scheduling issue if they both happened to be in the same city on the same day at the same time - one game would've been moved to another timeslot.

[jgb191]

Makes me wish that every stadium in all sports had a retractable roof on top., so as to not disrupt the plans of those that bought tickets.  And then visiting fans have to buy another night at the hotel or cancel altogether, and also airline itineraries would need to be changed too to accommodate the postponement.

[jp the roadgeek]

The Phillies/Astros Game 3 was rained out tonight.  They will play tomorrow night.  For people going to the games:

All the games are now pushed back 1 day.  Mon/Tue/Wed was to be Games 3/4/5.  Now it's Tue/Wed/Thu.  Friday is now a travel day, if necessary, followed by Games 6 & 7 on Sat & Sun, again, if necessary.  If someone had tickets and had to make special arrangements to be at a specific game, they are going to have to figure out a way to make it work, or sell the tickets.

On Thursday, there will be a unique matchup of Philadelphia & Houston playing in Philly, along with Philadelphia & Houston playing in Houston.  The 1st matchup is Baseball; the second is Football.  Thank goodness it worked out this way; it would've been a huge scheduling issue if they both happened to be in the same city on the same day at the same time - one game would've been moved to another timeslot.

They could've got away with it if both games were in Houston.  Minute Maid is downtown and NRG is out on 610.

[Henry]

The last time a World Series game was rained out in Philly (in 2008), it became a good omen for the home team. As it turns out, the Game 5 clincher was the last game Harry Kalas announced for them before he died.

[jp the roadgeek]

The last time a World Series game was rained out in Philly (in 2008), it became a good omen for the home team. As it turns out, the Game 5 clincher was the last game Harry Kalas announced for them before he died.

I believe he would have announced the first few games of the 2009 season.  There were 6 games (3 at home vs Atlanta and 3 in Colorado) before his untimely passing in DC on 4/13. 

[NWI_Irish96]

Amazing how less effective the Astros offense is away from home.

[US 89]

As a loyal Braves fan, I hate the Phillies...but I hate cheaters more. So it's a reluctant "go Phils" from me. Doesn't change the fact that Bryce Harper is an arrogant obnoxious ass.

[Henry]

The last time a World Series game was rained out in Philly (in 2008), it became a good omen for the home team. As it turns out, the Game 5 clincher was the last game Harry Kalas announced for them before he died.

I believe he would have announced the first few games of the 2009 season.  There were 6 games (3 at home vs Atlanta and 3 in Colorado) before his untimely passing in DC on 4/13. 

Well, at least they still won a championship in his last full season.

And 13 years later, the Phillies are already halfway to their third championship in their entire existence. As long as Houston doesn't come back to win, I'll be satisfied.

[CoreySamson]

Astros just pitched the 2nd no-hitter in WS history. Wow. Wonder where the haters will sleep tonight?

[Alps]

Astros just pitched the 2nd no-hitter in WS history. Wow. Wonder where the haters will sleep tonight?

99% of America sleeps where they live. The cheaters will sleep in a hotel.

[Duke87]

And that was a fake no-hitter. Doesn't count if the starting pitcher doesn't pitch 9 innings.

[texaskdog]

And that was a fake no-hitter. Doesn't count if the starting pitcher doesn't pitch 9 innings.

Agreed. 

[jgb191]

I don't think I remember seeing the Phillies hit a single ball into fair territory in Game Four, then when I checked the final scoreboard, that confirmed what I suspected -- ZERO hits by the Phillies.  Simple equation: zero hits = zero hits.  Isn't baseball a team-effort sport, or have the rules changed to one-on-one all of the sudden?

[therocket]

Congrats to Cristian Javier and the HOU bullpen, I guess
Game 5 will be interesting. On paper, it would seem like a free win for the Astros, but Verlander's been unexpectedly shaky all postseason. Expect a slugfest later today.

[Henry]

And that was a fake no-hitter. Doesn't count if the starting pitcher doesn't pitch 9 innings.

Agreed. 

Thirded. So by that logic, Don Larsen still has the only true no-hitter in World Series history (and a perfect game at that).

[Ted$8roadFan]

And that was a fake no-hitter. Doesn't count if the starting pitcher doesn't pitch 9 innings.

It seems that baseball more than other sports has stats on the fly that make sense only to hard core fans, i.e. the "multi-pitcher"  no hitter.

[CoreySamson]

I do think it's fine to say that a combined no-hitter is not as remarkable an achievement as a solo no-hitter, but to say it is not a no-hitter is kind of stupid. Perhaps there should be a new tier to the pitching performance ladder:

Perfect Game
No-Hitter
Combined No-Hitter
Shutout

In essence, the higher one goes on the ladder, the more remarkable the achievement. Is a normal no-hitter as impressive as a perfect game? No! Is a combined no-hitter as impressive as a normal no-hitter? No! But a combined no-hitter is a more impressive feat than a shutout, complete game, or quality start in my opinion, so I think it should get the respect it deserves, in that it was a full game where the pitchers did not give up a hit. That in my mind makes it a no-hitter, but that's just me. I'm not saying that the Astros' performance was as good as Larsen's perfect game. That's a whole nother two rungs on the ladder. What I am saying is that I think their performance should be considered a no-hitter.

[NWI_Irish96]

As defined by MLB, a no-hitter is a team achievement that can be accomplished by a single pitcher or multiple pitchers.

Single pitcher gives up no hits in a 9+ inning game (which might only require pitching 8 innings if you lose and are the visiting team) - no-hitter

Multiple pitchers combine to give up no hits in a 9+ inning game - no-hitter

Single or multiple pitchers combine to give up no hits in 9 or more innings, but the game goes extras and one or more hits allowed in extras - not a no-hitter

Single pitcher or multiple pitchers give up no hits in a rain-shortened game - not a no-hitter [it used to be, but the rule got changed]

Starting pitcher gives up one or more hits without getting an out and then a relief pitcher comes in and pitches nine innings, giving up no hits - not a no-hitter

Is a solo no-hitter a much better achievement than a combined no-hitter? Absolutely.

[thspfc]

What I am saying is that I think their performance should be considered a no-hitter.

And you're right. It's literally a no-hitter. Philly had no hits.

Outta here with the baseball truthers trying to reinvent the English language to suit their egos.

Astros just pitched the 2nd no-hitter in WS history. Wow. Wonder where the haters will sleep tonight?

Nowhere, the sound of someone banging on a trash can will keep them awake.

[Duke87]

I don't think I remember seeing the Phillies hit a single ball into fair territory in Game Four, then when I checked the final scoreboard, that confirmed what I suspected -- ZERO hits by the Phillies.  Simple equation: zero hits = zero hits.  Isn't baseball a team-effort sport, or have the rules changed to one-on-one all of the sudden?

A no-hitter traditionally was seen as an individual achievement by the pitcher, credited to the pitcher. Nolan Ryan (a player, not a team!) threw an all-time record of seven of them in his career. It therefore by nature required pitching a complete game to qualify. There's no such thing as throwing 5/9ths of a no-hitter, you either throw one or you don't.

What changed isn't the rules, it was game strategy. Now everyone fusses over pitch counts and often starting pitchers will get voluntarily pulled when they hit their predefined limit no matter what, denying them the opportunity to finish the game. So we've made up this concept of a "combined no-hitter" to compensate for the sacrilegious practice of pulling starting pitchers when they have a no-hitter going.

[jeffandnicole]

I don't think I remember seeing the Phillies hit a single ball into fair territory in Game Four, then when I checked the final scoreboard, that confirmed what I suspected -- ZERO hits by the Phillies.  Simple equation: zero hits = zero hits.  Isn't baseball a team-effort sport, or have the rules changed to one-on-one all of the sudden?

A no-hitter traditionally was seen as an individual achievement by the pitcher, credited to the pitcher. Nolan Ryan (a player, not a team!) threw an all-time record of seven of them in his career. It therefore by nature required pitching a complete game to qualify. There's no such thing as throwing 5/9ths of a no-hitter, you either throw one or you don't.

What changed isn't the rules, it was game strategy. Now everyone fusses over pitch counts and often starting pitchers will get voluntarily pulled when they hit their predefined limit no matter what, denying them the opportunity to finish the game. So we've made up this concept of a "combined no-hitter" to compensate for the sacrilegious practice of pulling starting pitchers when they have a no-hitter going.

Combined no-hitters have always been a thing.

https://www.nonohitters.com/combined-no-hitters/

Granted, they have occurred much more often in the past 20 years than they did the previous 100, but they're still valid.  Pitchers also throw much harder than they did in the past.  Hitting 100 mph on the radar gun almost never happened.  Now it's happened almost every game in the playoffs.

[jgb191]

Everyone is more than welcome to twist/spin it in a way that fits his own narrative....you have the right to your own opinion.

But one thing that's absolutely undeniable is the mathematical equation result:  Zero Hits = Zero Hits by the Phillies in Game Four.  Baseball is always total team-effort sport, never an individual sport.  If it was your team, you'd be lauding them for that, but because it's the Astros that pulled it off, people just want to refuse to give them credit; I get it.

Ironically since the Astros won Game Five, history is against them the rest of the series....they now have the home-field DIS-advantage.  I am lamenting my Astros combined 3 wins and 12 losses in all of their World Series home games.  That has got to change if they want any hope to win it all; this series is still far from over.  Remember this is precisely where the Astros were in 2019:  up 3-2 coming home to Minute Maid Park only to be knocked out by the Washington Nationals; anything can (and probably will) happen.