Astros rout Red Sox
Correa, Altuve lead Houston to 2-0 ALDS lead
Carlos Correa, Jose Altuve and the high-powered Astros led the majors in runs, hits and batting average in the regular season.
Now that it’s playoff time, Houston is still hammering away.
Correa homered, doubled and drove in four runs, Altuve got two more hits and the Astros battered the Boston Red Sox 8-2 Friday to take a commanding 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series.
George Springer also homered to back Dallas Keuchel in Houston’s second straight romp by the exact same score.
“One through nine, everybody can do damage, everybody can go deep,” Correa said. “That’s the good thing about our lineup, there’s no holes in our lineup, and we feel very confident no matter if we went 0-for-4 the day before or if we went 4-for-4.”
The Astros will go for a sweep in the best-of-five matchup Sunday at Fenway Park, a year after Boston was swept in the ALDS by Cleveland. Brad Peacock (132) starts for Houston against Doug Fister (5-9).
“We couldn’t really script it any better,” Keuchel said.
A day after Altuve hit three home runs in the playoff opener, he got things going with a twoout single in the first inning off Drew Pomeranz. Correa, who went 0-for-4 on Thursday, made it 2-0 when he launched a towering shot onto the train tracks atop left field.
“For me if he’s not No. 1, he’s No. 2 in the league,” Altuve said of Correa, often referring to him as his little brother. “One of the best players, I’m really happy to have him on my team. Believe it or not I have learned from him.”
Keuchel pitched into the sixth, allowing one run and three hits while striking out seven to improve to 3-0 with a 0.96 ERA in three career postseason starts.
After Jackie Bradley Jr. had an RBI single in the Boston second, the Astros started to break away.
Springer hit his first postseason homer when he sent the second pitch of the third inning into the front row of the seats in right field.
So is Red Sox manager John Farrell surprised the series has been this lopsided so far?
“They’re very good, they’re deep, and they have got a number of ways to beat you,” he said. “So we fully respect and understood the opponent, and they’re playing like that.”
David Price, the starter-turned-reliever with the $217 million contract, pitched 2 2/3 scoreless innings for the Red Sox. Following his exit, Houston tacked on four runs in the sixth.