Astros pin ALCS hopes on oft-overlooked trio of Latino pitchers: 'Guys that are hungry'
![Portrait of Gabe Lacques](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.usatoday.com/gcdn/-mm-/35abe59abf958110753692b9ba4544991e47e885/c=5-21-573-589/local/-/media/2019/03/15/USATODAY/USATODAY/636882551001088387-Gabe-Lacques.jpg?width=48&height=48&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp)
BOSTON β This is not how the Houston Astros are accustomed to rolling through the playoffs.
Since acquiring Justin Verlander in August 2017, high-end starting pitching was the backbone of a club fronted, for better and worse, by offensive superstars. They fell one victory shy of a 2019 World Series title with a front three β Verlander, Gerrit Cole and Zack Greinke β whose largest contracts total $710 million.
Now, three victories away from a World Series, the Astros face what appears to be an uphill climb against a suffocating Boston Red Sox lineup in an American League Championship Series tied 1-1.
With Cole a Yankee, Verlander shelved after 2020 Tommy John surgery, a diminished Greinke confined to bullpen or emergency starter and current ace Lance McCullers Jr. out with a forearm injury, they will first confront reality before the Fenway Park masses in Game 3.
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