Astros beat Sox, head to ALCS
BOSTON — 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 acesturned-relievers 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.
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 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.
The Astros will open the ALCS on Friday, either at Cleveland or at home against the New York Yankees. The Indians held a 2-1 edge over the Yankees going into Game 4 of the AL Division Series on Monday night.
The Red Sox 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 hit an RBI double in the ninth — an insurance run that became the game-winner when Rafael Devers hit an inside-the-park homer.
CUBS 2, NATIONALS 1: Anthony Rizzo looped a tiebreaking single with two outs in the eighth inning and the Chicago Cubs overcame Max Scherzer’s brilliant performance to beat the Washington Nationals 2-1 for a 2-1 lead in their NL Division Series.
Scherzer was dominant, carrying a no-hitter into the seventh. But just like in Game 1, when Chicago was held hitless into the sixth by Stephen Strasburg, the World Series champion Cubs showed off their resilience.
Game 4 of the best-of-five series is Tuesday.
Chicago committed four errors, including two by left fielder Kyle Schwarber on one ugly play, and Rizzo and Jason Heyward each made uncharacteristic baserunning mistakes.
But the Cubs got a huge pinchhit RBI single from Albert Almora Jr. and a solid pitching performance from Jose Quintana in the return of postseason baseball to Wrigley Field after last year’s World Series ended in Cleveland.