ASTROS ADVANCE TO ALCS
ASTROS DEFEAT BOSTON RED SOX 5-4 TO WIN SERIES 3-1
Houston now awaits the winner of the New York Yankees and Cleveland Indians —
The Houston Astros poured back onto the field after advancing to their first AL Championship Series, posing for pictures with the Green Monster as a backdrop before a few players bellyflopped in the puddles in the infield dirt.
They were already soaked with celebratory beer and sparkling wine.
“Both teams were throwing their guys, and that’s what you live for,” Houston third baseman Alex Bregman said on Monday after Justin Verlander came out of the bullpen to beat Chris Sale in an aces-turnedrelievers role reversal and helped the Astros eliminate the Red Sox in four games with a 5-4 victory.
“When we saw Verlander run to the ’pen we said, ‘Our horse is on the mound, we need to win this game,’” said Bregman, who homered off Sale to tie it in the eighth before Josh Reddick’s single gave the Astros the lead. “That’s kind of the whole energy that he’s brought since we brought him over here. He’s brought an energy with him that, ‘Hey, when he’s out there, we’re going to win.’”
Verlander, who was acquired for the playoff run after spending his first 13 seasons in Detroit, gave up the go-ahead homer to Andrew Benintendi — the first batter he faced — before shutting Boston down for the next 2 2/3 innings.
The former AL MVP and Cy Young winner earned the victory in his first relief appearance after 424 starts in a major and minor league career.
“All the things that you would like to do as a starter, and I was able to do that,” Verlander said. “Top to bottom, man, these guys grinded against two of the toughest competitors in this game in Sale and (closer Craig) Kimbrel.”
The Astros will open the ALCS on Friday, either at Cleveland or at home against the New York Yankees. The Yankees forced Game 5 with Cleveland following a 7-3 win Monday night.
The Red Sox forced a Game 4 after losing the first two games in Houston, and then took a 3-2 lead in the fifth on Benintendi’s homer. Bregman tied it before Reddick’s single off closer Craig Kimbrel made it 4-3.
Carlos Beltran added to his postseason legacy with an RBI double in the ninth — an insurance run that became the game-winner when Rafael Devers hit an inside-the-park homer off closer Ken Giles over leaping centre fielder George Springer and off the Green Monster toward centre.
The 20-year-old Red Sox rookie easily circled the bases before the throw to make it 5-4.
Giles retired the next three batters for the six-out save.
“The two big boys, Sale and Verlander, both get into the game. Everybody did well,” Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. “Nobody really wanted to concede the game.”
The Astros last reached the league championship series in 2005 as a National League team, and were swept in the World Series by the White Sox. This year’s team, wearing “Houston Strong” patches to support the city that was flooded in Hurricane Harvey, is hoping to finish the job.
“The city of Houston is still rebuilding,” Hinch said. “It’s easy for us to look in the rearview mirror and think that the hurricane is over (but) the rebuild is not going to stop for a long time . ... We want to win for them, we want to win for us, we want to win because we showed up in spring training to try to win a World Series.”
Springer and Yuli Gurriel each had three hits for the AL West champions, and Reddick’s go-ahead single made up for misplaying a fly ball into a home run in Game 3 to force a fourth game. Reddick got a postgame drenching in the clubhouse while wearing a red, white and blue flag Speedo.
Verlander also beat Sale in the playoff opener and is now 7-0 for his new team. Sale, who had never appeared in the post-season before 2017, pitched 4 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and four hits, striking out six.