The Chicago White Sox and Houston Astros had game four of the American League Division Series postponed until Tuesday thanks to some bad weather in the Chicagoland area all day. The game will be played at Guaranteed Rate Field and the postponement will for sure change some strategy involved in the content. If the White Sox win, they will force a winner take all game five in Houston.
One player who might benefit from the postponement is Ryan Tepera. He pitched 2.0 innings of brilliant baseball in their 12-6 victory in game three. He struck out three batters and didn’t give up a single hit. The White Sox need pitching like that going forward if they are going to complete the comeback in this series.
The interesting part is what Tepera said after the game. He made some comments that are going to ruffle some feathers in the baseball world because of the nature. He told the media that the Astros are known for doing some sketchy stuff and he thinks things are fishy again.
He noted the significant difference in their swings and misses in Chicago as opposed to Houston. Nothing is going to come of this but it is surely something to note going forward. Houston heard it from the crowd as well during the game on Sunday night as people are still annoyed over the sign-stealing scandal.
Ryan Tepera had some interesting things to say following the Chicago White Sox win.
White Sox reliever Ryan Tepera on the Astros: "They've had a reputation of doing some sketchy stuff over there. We can say it's a little bit of a difference. I think you saw the swings and misses tonight compared to the first two games at Minute Maid."
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) October 11, 2021
As you can see, Tepera thinks some weird things are going on. He obviously observed something during their two games in Houston that he didn’t notice in Chicago. Either way, the White Sox need to continue being a better team in order to win regardless of any of this.
Tony La Russa asked about Ryan Tepera's "sketchy stuff" comments:
— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) October 11, 2021
"I don't get into that stuff. ... I think they're a very good team and they're tough to beat. That's what I think."
Obviously, Tony La Russa isn’t interesting in getting into any of this stuff. He allows his player to say what he wants but it doesn’t seem like he agrees. It is probably fair to say that the Houston Astros are just an elite team and are hard to beat. However, Tepera has the right to his opinion. Of course, Dusty Baker and other members of the Astros aren’t pleased with the comments.
Dusty Baker on Ryan Tepera: "He can say what he wants to say. I had never even heard his name before we played the White Sox. I'm not bothered by it. Most of my life, they've been talking stuff on me anyway. Let them talk."
— Chandler Rome (@Chandler_Rome) October 11, 2021
There isn’t much else that anybody should expect Baker to say. He is trying to manage his ball club under very difficult circumstances. Houston is a battle-tested team that knows how to win. After all of this, things are certainly going to be interesting for the rest of the series. It will be interesting to see how things go in game four tomorrow afternoon. Hopefully, the White Sox can find a way to get things done at home and see what happens in Houston.