The Houston Astros have swept the Cleveland in the American League Divisonal Series.
A Strong Start
Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber took the mound for game one. Kluber pitched a solid game up until the fourth inning as Alex Bregman hit a home run to open up the score. Houston was up by a run. Bregman’s homer was followed by an RBI single by Josh Reddick to put Houston up by two. The Astros kept pouring out runs over the Indians as George Springer homered an inning later, he was followed by Jose Altuve who did the same. The Astros were now up 4-0 by the time Kluber left the game. The Indians showed some life in the top of the sixth when Yan Gomes scored off a wild pitch by reliever Ryan Pressly. Jose Ramirez hit an RBI groundout to score another run. The score was 4-2 after two thirds of play.
The Indian rally did not last long as Martin Maldonado hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning. Bregman later collected his second RBI of the game with a single off Trevor Bauer. Houston was again up by four runs as the game headed to the top of the eight frame. Houston added more run to the scoreboard for good measure. Reddick hit an RBI single allowing Miley Straw to score. The final score was 7-2 and the Astros won the opener in Houston.
A Duel In Houston
The second game of the series at Minute Maid Park was a low scoring affair. Gerrit Cole took the baseball for the Astros. He went deep into the ballgame as he threw seven full innings striking out twelve batters. Carlos Carrasco did the same for the Indians as he pitched 5.1 innings and stuck out three batters. Francisco Lindor opened up the scoring for Cleveland with a solo home run in the top of the third. Cleveland was able to hold onto their one run lead until Carrasco left the game in the sixth frame. Andrew Miller came into relief. Marwin Gonzalez hit a double off Miller allowing Altuve an Bregman to score. Houston was up 2-1 after a troubled inning by the Indians. Bregman homered for a second time in the series. The final score was 3-1 and the Astros freight train was one game away from the championship series.
Chief Wahoo’s Final Game
The Indians hoped to extend the series in front of their home fans in game three. Michael Brantley hit a sacrifice fly allowing Yan Gomes to score in the third inning. George Springer homered for the Astrod two innings later and the score was tied at one a piece. Lindor did the same for the Indians in the bottom of the fifth giving Cleveland the lead once again. It took another two innings for the Astros to score again as Jose Altuve hit an RBI groundout that allowed Tony Kemp to score tying the game at two. Gonzalez then doubled to bring two runs home and Houston was now up 4-2.
The Astros stormed into the eighth inning ready to finish off the series. Bregman hit his third home run of the postseason. Runs kept pouring down on the Indians as Marwin Gonzalez hit an RBI single to extend the lead. Bregman later came around to score on a wild pitch by Brad Hand. Houston was up by a bi margin with a score of 7-2. Offense did not stop for the Texas ballclub as Carlos Correa hit a three run homer putting the Astros up by eight runs. Bregman added one more run in the ninth inning extending the Astros’ lead even further. Cleveland scored one last run off a wild pitch by Will Harris. Chief Wahoo went crying into retirement as the final score read 11-3.