Your guide to World Series Game 2: Can Dodgers take commanding lead against Verlander?
October 26, 2017 by admin
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Clayton Kershaw spun his magic in Game 1 with the first 11-strikeout game in the World Series since Randy Johnson in 2001. Chris Taylor and Justin Turner continued as the dynamic duo at the top of the lineup, hitting the two home runs that powered the Dodgers to a 3-1 victory over the Astros on Tuesday night. Nobody melted in the 103-degree heat and it might actually have helped on Turner’s home run, which just cleared the fence in left-center.
The most important thing of the day: Justin Verlander is going for the Astros. Since joining the team, he has started eight games and won them all. He pitched once in relief in the division series and he won that game as well. He has a 1.23 ERA, has allowed a .171 average and his swing-and-miss rate of 29 percent since joining the Astros is higher than it was during his 2011 Cy Young and MVP season. In other words, he’s pitching the best baseball of his career.
Verlander is also 0-3 in his three previous World Series starts, two coming in 2006 and one in 2012. He seems ready for this moment. “From the moment I was traded, I had pressure on myself, and I think a lot of other people put pressure on me to help this team get to where we’re at now,” he said Monday. “I don’t shy away from those, but I understand why I was brought here. It’s very fulfilling when you have that pressure to succeed and you have a good game or multiple good games.”
World Series Game 2: Astros at Dodgers
Justin Verlander (15-8, 3.36) vs. Rich Hill (12-8, 3.32), 8:09 p.m. ET (Fox)
The stakes: The Game 1 winner has won the World Series 64 percent of the time, and teams that win the opener in the wild-card era are an even more impressive 18-4. So the Astros don’t have to win, but maybe they have to win. “I anticipated the whole must-win question,” manager A.J. Hinch said after their Game 1 loss. “But every game is sort of a must-win. I wanted to get out of here with a sweep, and now that’s not going to happen. … When we wake up tomorrow morning, we’ll have breakfast and get here early, and we have a very good chance to win because Justin Verlander is on the mound.”
If the Astros win: They go home happy with a split and the pitching matchups in Games 3 and 4 look pretty even with Yu Darvish and Alex Wood probably facing, in some order, Charlie Morton and Lance McCullers Jr. Then if you can split those two games, it’s back to Dallas Keuchel and a guaranteed Verlander start in Game 6. So, yes, it’s fair to say this series now hinges to a large extent on Verlander’s right arm.
If the Dodgers win: Given the way the Astros have leaned on Verlander in the postseason, you get the feeling a loss would be a crushing blow to the Astros’ psyche. The Dodgers would then be 9-1 in the postseason and the Astros would have to beat them four times in five games. Good luck.
One key stat to know: The Astros had one of the greatest offenses of all time during the regular season. As Brad Doolittle wrote in a series preview, they put up a wRC+ of 121, meaning they were 21 percent better than average, which ranked in the 99.8th percentile ever. But now they are hitting .235/.309/.391 in the postseason. Look, Kershaw is Kershaw, and they faced some good pitching in earlier rounds, but this team is about its offense and the offense has to do some damage.
The biggest culprits: Marwin Gonzalez, who led the team in RBIs, is hitting .150/.227/.200; Brian McCann is hitting .143/.250/.200; Josh Reddick is hitting .182 without an extra-base hit; George Springer is at .213/.302/.319. There’s nothing out of character going on here as the Astros’ swing rates, miss rates and chase rates are essentially identical to their regular-season rates. Their strikeout rate is a little higher, 20 percent compared with 17.3 percent, which does account for 12 additional strikeouts over their total of 435 plate appearances — one per game — but it doesn’t seem as if they’re being too aggressive or anything like that. In other words, maybe the bats are due to break out.
The matchup that matters most: Verlander versus Chris Taylor and Justin Turner. Right? They accounted for all three of the Dodgers’ runs in Game 1, have hit seven of the Dodgers’ 15 postseason home runs and have playoff OBPs of .419 for Taylor and .476 for Turner. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts loves what Taylor has done from the leadoff spot: “He can grind you for 10 pitches in an at-bat. He can earn a walk, he can slug you, he can steal a base. And I think that just to have the discipline that he’s had all year to stay in the strike zone, and when a pitcher makes a mistake he makes you pay.”
Let’s focus on this aspect: If you’re going to hit Verlander, your best chance is probably to get his fastball before he drops in that hammer curve or wipeout slider. His fastball has averaged 96 mph in the postseason, after averaging 95.2 in the regular season. Turner hit .315/.407/.425 against fastballs clocked at 95-plus; Taylor hit .365/.420/.541.
The prediction: Verlander continues his unbeatable ways with the Astros. He goes seven innings while the offense gets back on track with some early runs off Hill. Astros 5, Dodgers 2
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George HW Bush Apologizes After Actress Heather Lind Accuses Him of Sexual Assault
October 26, 2017 by admin
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Former President George H.W. Bush has apologized for an “attempt at humor” after being accused of sexual assault by actress Heather Lind.
Lind, in a now-deleted Instagram post Tuesday, accused Bush, 93, of touching her from behind during a photo-op while in his wheelchair.
She said Bush’s wife, Barbara, was standing beside him during the 2014 photo-op for American Revolutionary War drama Turn: Washington’s Spies.
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Actress Heather Lind poses during a photocall for the series ‘Turn’ during the MIPTV, on April 7, 2014 in Cannes, on the French Riviera. In an Instagram post she accused former president George H.W. Bush of sexual assault. VALERY HACHE/AFP/Getty Images
“I was disturbed today by a photo I saw of President Barack Obama shaking hands with George H. W. Bush in a gathering of ex-presidents organising aid to states and territories damaged by recent hurricanes,” said Lind, referring to Saturday’s benefit gig where all five living former U.S. presidents appeared on stage.
“I found it disturbing because I recognize the respect ex-presidents are given for having served. And I feel pride and reverence toward many of the men in the photo.
President George H.W. Bush arrives for the coin toss prior to Super Bowl 51 between the Atlanta Falcons and the New England Patriots at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. The former president issued an apology after being accused of sexual assault by actress Heather Lind. Patrick Smith/Getty Images
“But when I got the chance to meet George H. W. Bush four years ago to promote a historical television show I was working on, he sexually assaulted me while I was posing for a similar photo.
“He didn’t shake my hand. He touched me from behind from his wheelchair with his wife Barbara Bush by his side. He told me a dirty joke.
“And then, all the while being photographed, touched me again. Barbara rolled her eyes as if to say ‘not again’.”
Lind said that after the event, security staff working for Bush told her she should not have stood next to the former president.
In a statement Jim McGrath, a spokesman for the former president, said: “President Bush would never—under any circumstance—intentionally cause anyone distress, and he most sincerely apologizes if his attempt at humor offended Ms. Lind.”
In the lengthy post, Lind said: “We were instructed to call him Mr. President. It seems to me a President’s power is in his or her capacity to enact positive change, actually help people, and serve as a symbol of our democracy,’ the lengthy post went on.
“He relinquished that power when he used it against me and, judging from the comments of those around him, countless other women before me.”
She said that she told other members of the cast and crew on the AMC series about the alleged assault.
“My fellow cast-mates and producers helped me that day and continue to support me. I am grateful for the bravery of other women who have spoken up and written about their experiences,” she said.
“And I thank President Barack Obama for the gesture of respect he made toward George H. W. Bush for the sake of our country, but I do not respect him. #metoo.’
Lind posted the accusation under the trending #meetoo hashtag, under which women have shared experiences of sexual assault after rape allegations were leveled at Hollywood producer Harvey Weinstein.
Bush has vascular parkinsonism, a rare syndrome that mimics Parkinson’s disease, and has used a motorized scooter or wheelchair in recent years.
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