Strong start for the Astros
Lance McCullers Jr. was terrific. Yordan Alvarez delivered, and Jose Altuve scored on a nifty slide.
The Astros sure love October.
McCullers pitched scoreless ball into the seventh inning, and the Astros beat Lance Lynn and the White Sox 6-1 in Game 1 of their AL Division Series on Thursday in Houston.
Michael Brantley added two hits and two RBIs as the AL West champs showed their playoff experience in an impressive opening performance. McCullers allowed four hits in 6 ⅔ innings in his eighth career playoff start.
Alvarez hit an RBI double in the third and a homer in the fifth. Altuve wowed the crowd of 40,497 when he slid home and slapped the back of the plate just ahead of Yasmani Grandal’s tag in the third.
While the Astros are in the playoffs for the fifth straight season, winning the World Series in 2017 and making it to the AL Championship Series last year, the White Sox are making a second straight playoff appearance for the first time in franchise history. They lost to the A’s in the first round in 2020.
Game 2 of the best-offive series is Friday in Houston. The teams also met in the 2005 World Series, with the White Sox sweeping the Astros, then in the NL, for the title.
Giants call on Webb: Logan Webb will start for the Giants in Game 1 of their NLDS on Friday night against the rival Dodgers.
“To be able to throw the first game for the best team in the league is pretty cool,” Webb said after his bullpen session Wednesday.
The Dodgers plan to start Walker Buehler (16-4, 2.47 ERA) in the opener.
On Sunday against the Padres, Webb pitched the 107-win Giants to their first NL West title since 2012 and also hit a two-run homer — the first home run of his career. He’s 10-0 since losing May 5.
The Dodgers, who won 106 games, beat the Cardinals 3-1 in the NL wildcard game Wednesday night on Chris Taylor’s two-run homer with two outs in the bottom of the ninth inning.
Bullpen issues for Brewers:
Brewers manager Craig Counsell faces the obstacle of adapting his postseason bullpen to account for the absence of injured setup man Devin Williams.
That’s only the latest of numerous challenges Counsell has encountered this season, even though the NL Central standings might suggest otherwise.
Counsell had to navigate the Brewers through a season in which they used a franchise-record 61 players due primarily to injuries and COVID-19 issues. They still won the division with relative ease and will play the Braves in a best-of-five NL Division Series beginning Friday in Milwaukee.
“We did handle some tough times well,” Counsell said Wednesday.
Counsell notes the Brewers got plenty of help from the fact that their rotation – featuring All-Stars Corbin Burnes, Brandon Woodruff and Freddy Peralta – stayed relatively healthy.
They may count on that rotation depth to assist their bullpen in the postseason.
“I think some of the starters will play a factor in the bullpen,” Counsell said.