So much was packed into two games! A day later, I've put together a Top Ten list of moments, with no particular metric except my own sense of drama in the moment. Ranking is influenced by impact on the game's outcome, but there is an "Oh No He Didn't!" factor that counts for a lot. You will argue with some choices I am sure - I would probably have ranked them slightly differently yesterday and might change my mind tomorrow.
Game 1 Inning 4: Carlos Correa bails out Polanco, throws out Bichette at home
Game 2 Inning 5: Carlos Correa pickoff of Guerrero at second
Game 1 Inning 1: Royce Lewis HR #1
Game 1 Inning 3: Royce Lewis HR #2
Game 1 Inning 6: Michael A Taylor at wall for catch of flyball by Chapman
Game 2 Inning 8: Griffin Jax unassisted putout like a blocking fullback on Biggio
Game 1 Inning 9: Jhoan Duran taking throw to put out Springer and end 18 game losing streak
Game 2 Inning 6: Caleb Theilbar 643 DP on Chapman after close foul ball
Game 2 Inning 4: Carlos Correa RBI single for first run against Kikuchi
Game 2 Inning 9: Jhoan Duran third out swinging strikeout of Varsho for the sweep
Here also are my ten honorable mentions, ranked merely in sequential order of when they happened.
Game 1 Inning 2 Michael A Taylor coming in hard for the catch against Chapman
Game 1 Inning 4 Max Kepler with difficult grab of Guerrero smash
Game 1 Inning 5 Pablo Lopez strikes out Belt swinging with Chapman on third
Game 1 Inning 8 Griffin Jax two big strikeouts after Guerrero leadoff double
Game 1 Inning 8 Donovan Solano with unassisted putout of Kirk to end inning
Game 2 Inning 1 Sonny Gray strikes out Biggio to strand two baserunners
Game 2 Inning 4 Max Kepler single against Kikuchi in relief of Berrios
Game 2 Inning 8 Michael A Taylor with grab on tricky fly by Guerrero
Game 2 Inning 8 Carlos Correa hit on hand by pitch but stays in game
Game 2 Inning 9 Jhoan Duran finger cut, 2 bad pitches, then he locks in
Some may say this was the Royce Lewis Series, and obviously Game 1 is his to own forever, but Carlos Correa gets my series MVP vote, with that key RBI in Game 2 tipping the scales.
Notice how frequently Guerrero figured into the proceedings. Chapman too. We dodged some bullets, didn't we.
I also can't emphasize enough just how big the moment was when Kepler singled against Kikuchi. They bring in the lefty, Kepler had his work cut out for him, and he finds a way. None of the balls put in play that inning were things of beauty really, but conversely the moment was not too big for our hitters. No moment was more key than Max's, and yet he can't even crack the Top Ten for me. Wow, what a series!
