The Houston Astros are, perhaps somewhat unexpectedly, in a 0-2 hole in the 2023 American League Championship Series against the Texas Rangers.
The first two games were played at Minute Maid Park, the Astros’ home, but it didn’t matter: the Rangers were by far the better team.
The series is far from over, though.
Still, the reigning World Series champs will need all their sluggers to produce, and all their hurlers to shut down the formidable Rangers lineup to have a chance at reverting their luck.
Kyle Tucker, who had a .886 OPS, 29 home runs, and 30 stolen bases in the regular season, is really slumping at the moment and has been a liability for the Astros to this point in the postseason.
As a result, Astros manager Dusty Baker announced that Tucker’s name won’t be so high in the lineup anymore.
“Kyle Tucker, who’s hitting .095 in the postseason, will ‘temporarily’ get dropped down in the Astros lineup, per Dusty Baker,” MLB reporter Deesha Thosar tweeted.
Kyle Tucker, who’s hitting .095 in the postseason, will “temporarily” get dropped down in the Astros lineup, per Dusty Baker.
— Deesha (@DeeshaThosar) October 17, 2023
Tucker is one of MLB’s most underrated players.
His playoff performance, however, hasn’t matched his regular season one to this point of his career.
We are not talking exclusively about 2023: he has a .707 career postseason OPS (in 57 games) compared to a .852 mark in the regular season.
There is a sizable difference there, but Tucker is still young enough, at 27 years old, to change his postseason narrative and start producing when it matters the most.
There is still time for the Astros to make a comeback in the series against the Rangers, but they are going to need regular-season Tucker.
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