The Houston Astros opened their American League Division Series against the Cleveland Indians with a laser show against the Cleveland Indians. At this hour the Milwaukee Brewers play against the Colorado Rockies, in the night two more games follow in the MLB Playoffs.
Until the second half of the fourth inning neither Justin Verlander nor Corey Kluber let anything happen. But then the Ace of the Indians wobbled first. The result: A solo homerun by Alex Bregman for the first hit in the game. This was followed by an RBI single by Josh Reddick. Kluber had already staggered a bit with two hit-by-pitches before, but he didn’t allow any runs.
It was really over for Kluber when he had handed in two more solo shots in the fifth inning – George Springer and Jose Altuve went “back-to-back”. The latter have now both beaten eight postseason homeruns for the Astros and are thus on a par with franchise record holder Carlos Beltran (all 2004). The inning, on the other hand, lasted so long that it probably also disturbed Verlander’s rhythm.
Consequently, the Astros right-hander allowed his first hit against Catcher Yan Gomes. After a strikeout by Jason Kipnis, a single by Franciso Lindor and a walk by Michael Brantley, Verlander finally left the Mound with loaded bases. Reliever Alex Pressley came in and then let two of the runs home, but kept the lead at 4:2.
This in turn allowed the Astros to put the lid on the seventh inning. Martin Maldonado beat a home run against Cody Allen and a short time later Bregman managed an RBI single against Trevor Bauer, who was substituted. An RBI single by Josh Reddick in the eighth inning finally produced the final score.
Game 2 of the series will rise on Saturday at 22.37 (live on DAZN).
This article was published without prior review by Major League Baseball.