Houston Astros strand 11, rue missed chances as they face elimination in World Series

ATLANTA — Houston Astros manager Dusty Baker has been around long enough to know the seven stranded runners his team left on base in the first three innings of Game 4 of the World Series would come back to haunt him later in the night.

It’s exactly what happened after Houston managed just two runs one day after getting shutout. They now find themselves in a 3-1 series deficit and are one defeat away from dropping their second World Series in three years.

“We usually pick those runners up,” Baker lamented after the 3-2 loss to the Atlanta Braves on Saturday. “We left quite a few runners on base.”

In fact, they left 11 on base for the game and have gone hitless in their last 17 chances with men in scoring position, going back to Game 2. The biggest culprit is third baseman Alex Bregman. He’s been a rally killer in the heart of the Astros order. He’s just 1 for 14 (.071) in the World Series and struck out in the first inning off shaky Braves opener Dylan Lee, with two men on base.

Houston managed just a single run in the inning after loading the bases with one out.

“We really had them on the ropes in the first inning and we came out of there with one,” Baker said.

Baker admitted he may have to tinker with the lineup out of desperation on Sunday, hinting he could move Bregman down from his usual place at No. 3 in the batting order. Shortstop Carlos Correa was asked if he’s given any advice to his struggling teammate.

“There’s nothing I need to tell him,” Correa said. “He’s preparing every day to do his best out there. I saw him hit four times today. … He’s trying to fix it. Same with me. I’m putting in the work. I hit three times in the cage.”

Correa is hitting just .143 for the series while ALCS MVP Yordan Alvarez sits at .091. The Astros look out of sync, perhaps impacted by the colder game time temperatures in Atlanta, the inability to take outdoor batting practice due to rain the last two days and the loss of the designated hitter for the middle three games.

After…