The back-and-forth between the Houston Astros and the Cleveland Indians continues.
The two teams are currently playing a four-game series, and the pot has been brewing for some time now. Last week, Indians pitcher Mike Clevinger took a shot at the Astros vaunted offense and said that they were “not that special.”
Mike Clevinger credits the Astros' lineup for being "loaded top to bottom" but feels the @Indians are "right there with them. There's not anything they have that we don't have. They're not that special." pic.twitter.com/UsMKIbpzsa
— SportsTime Ohio (@SportsTimeOhio) May 19, 2018
As fate had it, Clevinger started in Thursday’s series opener against the Astros, and the defending champions jumped all over him for five earned runs on seven hits in an eventual 8-2 win over the Indians.
Speaking with reporters afterwards, several Astros players trolled Clevinger with multiple callbacks to those “special” comments that he made. Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle shared their remarks.
“We got a special team,” said pitcher Charlie Morton, who got the victory over Clevinger. “That win, for me, and being on the field for that game right there, with how it was just a complete team win is really rewarding for me. … For me, it was a special game to be a part of with the group.”
“Just a good feeling to put a couple more runs up there,” chimed in outfielder Jake Marisnick. “This is a special team.”
“That’s one of the things that this offense does a very good job of, swinging at pitches to hit,” added infielder Alex Bregman, who homered and drove in four in the win. “When we did tonight, we drove in runs and it was special to see.”
The fantastic troll job is the latest chapter in a longstanding feud this season between the Astros and the Indians. Their respective managers recently even had to reach out to one another to clear the air, but it is clear that the players still don’t care much for each other.
