AROZARENA LEADS WAY
Rookie’s two-run blast his 7th HR of postseason
SAN DIEGO — Remarkable rookie Randy Arozarena homered again, 36-year-old Charlie Morton was brilliant against his former team and the Rays reached the World Series for the second time, silencing the Astros 4-2 on Saturday night in Game 7 of the American League Championship Series.
The Rays will face the Dodgers or the Braves in the World Series in Arlington, Texas, starting Tuesday night. Game 7 of the National League series is Sunday night.
The Rays’ only other World Series appearance was in 2008, when they lost to the Phillies.
The innovative Rays led the AL with a 40-20 record in the pandemic-shortened season. Known for their pitching and defense, they also introduced the concept of the starter and sometimes deploy a four-man outfield.
The Rays snapped a three-game losing streak and prevented the Astros from matching the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the only major-league team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win a seven-game series.
The Rays also kept the Astros from becoming the first team to win a pennant with a losing regular-season record (29-31).
The loss ended the Astros’ first season since their sign-stealing scandal was revealed. They were viewed by many fans as villains for their role in the cheating scandal en route to the 2017 title against the Dodgers.
Mike Zunino homered and drove in two runs for the Rays, who avoided the ignominy of joining the 2004 Yankees, who took a 3-0 lead in the ALCS and lost four straight to the Red Sox. Boston went on to win its first World Series in 86 seasons.
Arozarena, relatively unknown before these playoffs, set a rookie record with his seventh homer of the postseason. His 21 hits are one shy Derek Jeter’s 1996 rookie postseason record.
Nicknamed “The Cuban Rocket,” the 25-year-old Arozarena drove a 1-1 sinker from Lance McCullers Jr. to right-center field at Petco Park with one out in the first for a tworun homer. Manuel Margot, who played with the Padres from late in the 2016 season until being traded to Tampa Bay in the offseason, was aboard after getting hit with a pitch.
Arozarena defected from Cuba to Mexico in 2015, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016 and made his big league debut last year. Traded to Tampa Bay in the offseason, he tested positive for COVID-19 before summer camp and didn’t make his 2020 debut until Aug. 30.