The Houston Astros defeated the Boston Red Sox at Game 1 of the American League Divisional Series. Houston crushed Boston by a score of 8-2. Commanded by a strong performance by Justin Verlander and a the hot bat of Jose Altuve, the Astros got the first win of the series.
The Game
Verlander worked his magic and started off with a spotless first inning. Alex Bregman sparked things up for the Astros with a solo home run. Jose Altuve added a home run of his own and Houston had an early 2-0 lead. Sandy Leon hit an RBI single to shrink the deficit by one. Rafael Devers later popped a sacrifice fly to tie the score at the top of the fourth. The tie did not lasted very long for the Sox. Marwin Gonzalez doubled to bring two runs home, giving the home team a 4-2 lead.
Unleashing The Offense
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After a couple of strikeouts at the bottom of the fifth, Altuve turned the game upside down. The compact workhorse did it again. Altuve homered and got the Astros up by three. Meanwhile, Verlander showed no sings of trouble at the mound. Red Sox starter Chris Sale left the game in the sixth with a hundred pitches under his belt, leaving two men on base. Reliever Joe Kelly came in. A couple of pitches later and the base were loaded. Catcher Brian McCann singled, bringing two runs home and extending the lead to 7-2.
An Old Wound
Eduardo Nunez re-injured his knee running to first base. He had to be carried out of the game. It looks like a season-ending injury.
Chris Devenski replaced Sale in the mound for the seventh inning. He had no problem during his work, retiring the opposition in order. Jose Altuve capped his phenomenal performance with his third home run of the night, and the Astros led 8-2. Joe Musgrove came in to close things in the ninth, retiring a bunch of “flat” Red Sox to end the game.
These two will meet again this Friday for the second game of the series.