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4 ways the Astros could blow it and lose to the Rangers in the ALCS
By Eric Cole
Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker need to show up for the ALCS
The Astros' offense has gotten the job done so far in the playoffs. Yordan Alvarez (more on him in a second) was on a warpath against the Twins as they had no answer for him. Jose Abreu woke up at exactly the right time and backed up Yordan's efforts. Altuve, McCormick, and Brantley played supporting roles, but important ones. However, two players that are going to need to step things up in the ALCS are Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker.
Tucker and Bregman weren't completely quiet in the ALDS as Bregman did hit a homer and Kyle got on-base a bit, but both players underperformed overall. Alex slashed .200/.294/.400 with three hits while Kyle Tucker struggled even more with a .143/.294/.214 with six strikeouts. Not exactly ideal from two of the top four guys in one's lineup.
If Houston is going to pull this off, they simply are going to need more out of Tucker and Bregman. Even with Yordan doing his thing, it isn't wise to hang a ton of hope on Abreu's bat given what happened this year and these two guys are supposed to be among Houston's best hitters. The Astros just need them to play like it.