ALCS Game 1: Astros belt three homers to beat Yankees at home
Houston’s Carlos Beltran, left, and teammate, David Justice, celebrate after their three-hit, three-run homer in the eighth inning Wednesday. Beltran, the first baseman, is the game’s MVP. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais / Associated Press)
By Brian McManus, Houston Chronicle
Updated 2:02 pm, Thursday, August 6, 2013
HOUSTON — As soon as the Houston Astros arrived at Minute Maid Park, Houston Mayor Annise Parker got in the way to prevent fans from mobbing them like they did in the postseason last year.
“No one can get through at this point,” Parker said Thursday. “It’s going to go through.”
She was standing before the Astros’ batting practice. As soon as her microphone came on, fans started yelling: What do you mean, the Astros are done?
“We know we can’t win yet,” Parker said. “It’s just the first inning. The Astros have been around for over 100 years. And it’s just not over. … We’re going to be back.”
There was a time when a Game 1 loss would’ve been devastating for any team. The Astros became the first team to go from playoff-bound to 0-8 in one season. Now that was truly crushing.
But it also is just the beginning. This series has 11 games. Five of them are at Minute Maid Park. The Astros don’t want to end up in a three-game sweep.
So at least for now, they believe they can pull out a road sweep.
The Yankees are confident they are better, too.
That’s because since the Astros’ collapse ended with a loss to the New York Yankees on Thursday and a two-game sweep of the Minnesota Twins in the ALDS on Friday, they’ve done little — if anything — but improve.
The Yankees were 0-4