[jg2977]

Ohhh man… this is why sports are cruel, and this is why we can’t look away.
Just like that—the world champion Houston Astros are out. Done. Season over. And it didn’t happen quietly. It happened in a 19–18 carnival ride, at home, in front of nearly 50,000 people, with the wind blowing out and everything on the line.
Here’s the Cowherd takeaway:
Dynasties don’t end with a whisper. They end with chaos.
Houston didn’t lose because they were soft. They didn’t lose because they lacked stars. Look at the box score—Berthiaume, Curtis, Callender all mashed. They scored 18 runs! In any normal universe, that’s a win by six. But the margins in October are razor-thin, and Toronto finally flipped the script.
This was revenge baseball. Toronto didn’t forget last year’s ALCS heartbreak. They bottled it. They carried it. And they unleashed it when it mattered.
And here’s the guy—Devin Thorn. This wasn’t just a hot series, this was a statement. .500 average, 11 RBIs, three bombs, and the calm confidence of a star who knew this moment belonged to him. That’s not luck. That’s growth. That’s a franchise player announcing himself on the biggest stage.
Now let’s talk Houston, because this is important.
Houston became what champions always become after a title run: a little vulnerable, a little hunted, a little human. Pitching depth cracked. Bullpen arms were asked to be perfect. They weren’t. You blow a game where you score 18? That’s not effort—that’s structure failing under pressure.
This game wasn’t about who wanted it more. It was about who could survive the madness.
Toronto did.
Houston didn’t.
And now the Astros walk into the offseason with the hardest question in sports:
Are we still the standard… or were we just the last champion?
Toronto moves on to Cleveland, lighter, looser, dangerous. Houston heads home knowing October doesn’t care about banners—it only cares about the last out.
That’s baseball.
That’s revenge.
And that’s why October never apologizes. 🔥⚾