Bump & Stacy: What’s so heartbreaking about Mariners’ 0-2 hole vs Astros
Oct 14, 2022, 11:04 AM
Aledmys Diaz of the Houston Astros reacts after hitting a double against the Seattle Mariners in game two of the American League Division Series on October 13, 2022. (Bob Levey/Getty Images)
(Bob Levey/Getty Images)
The Mariners have been right in the thick of things and even been in the lead for most of the ALDS against the Houston Astros, but they find themselves down 0-2 in the best-of-five series as the action heads to Seattle starting Saturday afternoon.
Mariners Reaction: Wyman & Bob on missed opportunities in Game 2
After Thursday’s 4-2 loss in Houston, how are Michael Bumpus and Stacy Rost of Seattle Sports 710 AM’s Bump and Stacy feeling about the Mariners’ series against the Astros? They opened their Friday show with that conversation.
“My takeaway is that the Astros are good,” Bumpus said. “(Luis) Castillo did exactly what he was supposed to do.”
Castillo tossed seven innings of three-run ball, with the damage coming on two Houston home runs. Astros slugger Yordan Alvarez again got to the Mariners with a home run, this one coming on a fastball off the plate that he took the other way for the deciding blast.
“There’s no way he should have went yard with that pitch, but that’s just the type of talent that he is. And they were in the game. We didn’t get the offensive production that we’re used to seeing the past several games, but they were in the game,” Bumpus said.
Rost called the Astros a “phenomenally talented club” and that playing them can be extremely frustrating.
“It feels like there’s just no breathing room with this team sometimes. And they suffocate you. They’re relentless. It’s so frustrating,” she said. “The Mariners are playing some of their best baseball … and Houston has been able to come out with the win two times in games that should have been had by the Mariners, could have been had by the Mariners, or that you could argue that Houston was lucky enough to get away with.”
But after falling behind 0-2 in the series, Rost said it’s too early to do two things with the Mariners.
“One, look to the postseason assuming Seattle has lost. Seattle still has a must-win game, but importantly, they have a game, right? You have a chance in this one. You are not out of it,” she said. “… No. 2 is I don’t want to look at it and not be disappointed. I’m not about to be like, ‘Hey, at the very least, look at it this way: they made it to the playoffs!’ No, for right now, I’m pretty livid. For right now, I’m mad.”
Rost’s frustration stems both from her dislike of the Astros due in large part to their cheating scandal, but also because in their four playoff games this year, the Mariners have played very good baseball.
“I think that what’s been so heartbreaking about it is watching it and thinking, ‘Oh my God, the Mariners are a better team than I gave them credit for,'” she said. “They have blossomed and embrace this opportunity in the postseason and are looking phenomenal. They look like a team that is tough to beat. They look like a really good team and they look like a team that deserves to be there. And yet here they are in a must-win game despite that. That’s what’s heartbreaking about it.”
And with the series coming back to Seattle for at least one game and possibly two, Bumpus said the Mariners can still be in this series and make it interesting.
“There’s still possibilities for them to handle this thing, but it’s tough now,” he said. “They put themselves in a tough position and they’re playing against a good baseball team. And if they were to go out and have the production that we saw the last couple of games, then they’ll still be in this. But I think you can look at their performance and say these dudes are fighting. It’s not like they’re getting dominated, it’s not like they’re not competitive … Sometimes you have to look at the competition and say, ‘Hey, you got me.’ But guess what? You’ve got to come back to Seattle. I want to remind people, man, this thing ain’t over. I mean, we’re down two, but it ain’t over.”
