High-profile, arrogant villains 1, Overlooked swell guys 0.
The team America wants to lose won again Monday. The Houston Astros, remaining undefeated in their postseason of shame, took the first game of a best-of-five ALDS series, coming back big not once, but twice, against the A’s.
On a day when the ball was flying out of Dodger Stadium — like expletives would have flown at the Astros had there been fans in the stands — the loudest balls were hit by the most disdainful of the villains, Carlos Correa. His two home runs and three RBIs led the way in the 10-5 victory.
“We have a good team,” said Houston starter Lance McCullers. “We may not have the big names, the big bank accounts, but we got guys with balls.”
Huh? The Astros do have big names, big money and big questionably-acquired rings. Right now their postseason experience is showing.
This is the series the A’s wanted. They wanted to face an Astros team that they feel cheated them out division titles the previous two seasons. A team that cheated its way to a World Series title that the A’s might have had a chance of winning. A team that cheated all of baseball.
The A’s like their reputation of being the plucky guys, underappreciated and underestimated. But in this particular series, they are not only the betting-line favorite, they are the favorite for all of the baseball world. No one outside of the Houston team, their loved ones and the Astros’ most avid fans wants the team to advance. The Dodgers were relieved that the A’s would occupy their own clubhouse and not the hated Astros.
The A’s know the Astros all too well. They took seven of 10 games in the “irregular” 2020 season.
“We know the Astros well, obviously,” A’s outfielder Mark Canha said. “You kind of know what you have to do to beat them. There’s confidence behind that.”
But the A’s couldn’t hold onto leads. After falling behind 3-0, the Astros came back against A’s starter Chris Bassitt to tie the game. After Bassitt departed and Yusmeiro Petit got out of a two-on, no-outs jam, the A’s opened a 5-3 lead. But the sixth inning was a disaster, with the Astros scoring four runs with two outs, after a rare error by shortstop Marcus Semien, to take the lead for good.
The undercurrent of animosity the A’s have carried much of the year wasn’t as strong as the hazy heat that caused balls to fly out of Dodgers Stadium. There were six home runs hit.
Before the game, Bob Melvin said he wasn’t sure if his players were still fueled by their anger.
“I think everybody finds their motivation differently,” the A’s manager said. “I’m just excited about being here and playing a really good team. My focus is on how we go combat them and beat them.”
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Even Sean Manaea, the A’ pitcher who was so outspoken earlier this year — saying he didn’t respect the Astros and thought it was “bull--- that they can’t take responsibility for their actions” — seemed to have backed off.
“I’m over those guys,” said Manaea, who will be Tuesday’s starter. “I’m over it. They’re just another team.”
But are they really? No one has cheated the game as blatantly in recent years as the Astros have.
“The role of villain was given to us,” first-year Houston manager Dusty Baker said. “It’s not something I took on, even though some of it — or most of it — was merited.”
That’s some stark honesty and one of the reasons the smartest thing the Astros did was hire Baker. He has credibility. He has total deniability, not having been around during the scandal. As much as people hate the Astros, no one with any sense hates Baker.
Baker pointed out that he’s not really sure how his players have handled the villain role because they have been the greatest beneficiaries of the lack of fans. What was shaping up as a nightmare season has been a series of neutral sites, with only the occasional nasty interaction with an opponent (see Oakland’s Ramon Laureano in August).
The Astros, at least outwardly, seem comfortable with their villainy. Josh Reddick joked that he was “disappointed” that there weren’t more angry Dodgers fans standing outside the ballpark to meet the bus. Correa defiantly said, after the team eliminated Minnesota, “I know a lot of people don’t want to see us here. …So what are they going to say now?” The Astros seem defiant, arrogant and ready to take on all doubters.
“Carlos Correa is not a villain,” McCullers said. “The way that people want to perceive us is fine. People are allowed to have their own opinions. People are allowed to feel any way you want to feel about the Houston Astros.”
How most people in baseball feel is that they want someone, anyone, to shut up the Astros.
But on Monday, the A’s couldn’t do it.
Ann Killion is a San Francisco Chronicle columnist. Email: akillion@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @annkillion
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Bay Area view: With a chance to smack MLB’s villains, A’s come up well short in Game 1 - Houston Chronicle
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