The Houston Astros' season officially ended after being swept by the White Sox. Here is a look at what you missed Wednesday afternoon.
The Houston Astros took on the Chicago White Sox for the second game of the three-game wild card series. In Game 1, they took a rough 6-3 loss, with pitching struggles and a couple of errors on the field. With Hunter Brown taking the mound for Game 2, the expectation was that it was going to be a completely different game compared to Game 1, but unfortunately for Houston, it felt like déjà vu.
After four runs and a few walks that loaded the bases, for the second straight night Joe Espada went to the mound to relieve a pitcher in the first inning.
Wednesday was not Hunter Brown's day. Brown went 0.2 innings, allowing five hits and four runs (three earned), with one walk and two strikeouts, on 36 total pitches, 58.3 percent of them for strikes.
To everyone's surprise, AJ Blubaugh stepped into the bullpen ready to relieve Brown, and sure enough, he did. With the bases loaded, Blubaugh, who the day before couldn't get out of the first inning, managed to get out of a bases-loaded jam.
Things still looked ugly for Houston, but Jeremy Peña got things going with a home run, putting the Astros on the board and giving them a little hope. Later, Cam Smith hit a home run of his own to make it a real game. Astros were still down, but at least they were in it.
Altuve had a solo homer in the fourth, making it a one-run game as he continues to come in clutch in those big moments. It looked like the Astros weren't done yet, but it wasn't enough.
In the fifth, the Astros looked alive and finally had a chance to tie things up. Bases loaded, two outs. But Altuve flew out to end the inning.
Later in the sixth, Chase Meidroth hit a three-run shot, and that pretty much sent the Astros to the offseason. Despite Carlos Correa's efforts to hype up his team in the dugout, they looked defeated; it was all over their faces. Just like that, their season was over. Final score 7-3 White Sox.
It was a disappointing end for a team that fought all season long.
They were the last team to make the playoffs and the first to be eliminated. It was a short run, but at least they made it to the postseason.
The Astros head into the offseason with a few questions to answer. One of the biggest being: what is next for Joe Espada? Will this be the end of Espada's story with the Houston Astros?
