The Houston Astros got Luis Severino into trouble early in Game 3 of the ALCS on Tuesday, and they seemed to be targeting the New York Yankees starter’s slider and off-speed pitches.
Jose Altuve and Josh Reddick each homered during the first at-bats. Both came off Severino’s slider.
Analyst Alex Rodriguez also shared this nugget, noting that the Astros did not have any swing and misses at Severino’s off-speed pitches in the first inning but had trouble with Sevy’s fastball.
To recap Severino's first inning:
36 pitches
18 fastballs
18 secondary pitches
11 swings on fastballs
5 swings on off-speed pitches, no misses
No chases on off-speed pitches.If you look at Astros' hitters body language, this screams tipping.
— Alex Rodriguez (@AROD) October 15, 2019
In the second, Reddick went deep off the slider and Martin Maldonado struck out on three straight four-seam fastballs.
Did the Astros know when off-speed pitches were coming because Severino was tipping those pitches like A-Rod insinuated? Maybe. Or maybe their game plan was to avoid the four-seam fastballs and focus on pounding the off-speed stuff. Keep in mind that Severino’s sliders to Altuve and Reddick were flat. It could just be that they took advantage of mistake pitches.
