Houston Astros finish off Chicago White Sox to reach 5th straight ALCS as Tony La Russa fumes over ‘intentional’ Jose Abreu plunking

“That was disheartening news to me when the trainer came over and said that we got to take him out of the game,” Baker said. “Lance is a warrior, and for him to come out of a game of that magnitude, you know it had to be something, and we tried to stop it before it got serious. He is being evaluated now.”

Houston erased a 1-0 deficit in the third inning when shortstop Carlos Correa doubled to left with the bases loaded on an 0-2 pitch by White Sox starter Carlos Rodon. The Astros added to the lead in the fourth when third baseman Alex Bregman doubled on a 3-0 pitch by reliever Garrett Crochet with two men on. Both scored.

Jose Altuve sealed the series with a three-run homer off Chicago closer Liam Hendriks in the top of the ninth.

“It’s really special,” Correa stated of winning the series. “I will never take these moments for granted, and I’m going to enjoy it with my teammates as much as I can. This is a special team, special organization.”

Warnings were issued to both teams after Astros reliever Kendall Graveman hit White Sox first baseman Jose Abreu in the bottom of the eighth. White Sox manager Tony La Russa was convinced the Astros hit Abreu on purpose and argued his case, both to the umpires during the game and to reporters afterward.

“It will be a good test of the character and credibility of the winning team because it was intentional,” La Russa said. “Catcher kept looking in the dugout, so they did hit him intentionally.

“I’ll be really curious. They should have the guts to admit that they did it.”

When informed of La Russa’s comments, Baker pushed back on the idea that the up-and-in pitch had intent.

“I beg to differ with Tony,” Baker said. “There was no intent, and there was no reason to do that. Zero.”

After leading the American League in ERA during the regular season, the White Sox’s rotation struggled over the four matches. They’re the fifth rotation ever to compile an ERA over 10.00 (10.22) over the first four games of a playoff series.

La Russa was asked what was the difference in the series.

“More than anything else, two-out hits,” La Russa said. “You know, count the number of RBIs that we gave up with two outs, couldn’t get that last out. Count them today, big difference-maker.”

Next up for the Astros — looking for the franchise’s second championship after winning it all in 2017 — is Game 1 of the ALCS versus former bench coach Alex Cora and the Boston Red Sox on Friday in Houston. The Red Sox eliminated Tampa Bay with a 6-5 triumph in Game 4 on Monday night.

“They know how to play the game,” Altuve said of Boston. “They’ve been in the playoffs before, so it’s going to be fun.”

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