Springer, Altuve, Greinke help Astros down Rays 4-3, stave off elimination
SAN DIEGO — Jose Altuve and the Houston Astros are eager to match the 2004 Boston Red Sox in the history books.
Beating the Tampa Bay Rays three more times to reach the World Series won’t be easy, but the Astros believe they can do it.
George Springer broke a tie with a two-run homer, Altuve also went deep and hit an RBI double, and Zack Greinke escaped a bases-loaded jam as Houston stayed alive in the
AL Championship Series with a 4-3 victory Wednesday in Game 4.
“We are very motivated,” Altuve said. “We know the team we have and yes, we want to be the second team coming back from 0-3.”
Teams leading 3-0 in a best-ofseven postseason series are 37-1. The only one to rally from an 0-3 deficit was the 2004 Red Sox, who beat the New York Yankees in the ALCS and went on to win their first World Series in 86 seasons.
Greinke pitched six effective innings for the Astros, who held a meeting before the game. Houston manager Dusty Baker said he had no idea what was brought up, but he also addressed the team.
“We’ve got some real leaders on this team, some dominant personalities who listen more than they talk,” Baker said.
With Altuve atoning for his poor defense in this series, the Astros finally got their offense going after being pushed to the brink of a sweep. Seeking their third pennant in four seasons, they trail 3-1 going into Game 5 today.
“I’m just happy that we won the game and we’re on to tomorrow,” Springer said.
The Rays remain one win from advancing to the World Series for the second time in franchise history.
“The team feels good,” rookie slugger Randy Arozarena said. “We’re going to stay positive. We came in here knowing we were going to face a solid team. They’re probably feeling the same way.”
Greinke, bothered by a sore arm in the Division Series against Oakland, made only one big mistake when he allowed a two-run homer to Arozarena that tied the game at 2 in the fourth.
Given a 4-2 lead by Springer’s homer in the fifth, Greinke’s biggest pitch came when he struck out Mike Brosseau on a 3-2 changeup to end the sixth with the bases loaded.
Greinke held the Rays to two runs and five hits for his first postseason win since 2015. He struck out seven and walked one.
Astros rookie Cristian Javier pitched two innings of one-hit relief before walking Ji-Man Choi to open the ninth. Ryan Pressly came on and got an out before Willy Adames hit an RBI double off the bottom of the left-center wall and advanced to third on a wild pitch.
Pressly got rookie Yoshi Tsutsugo on a liner to right for the save.
Rays towering right-hander Tyler Glasnow also went six innings, allowing four runs and eight hits while striking out five and walking two.
Altuve hit a homer in the first and an RBI double in the third for a 2-0 lead. And when he needed to make an accurate throw to second for a key forceout in the ninth, the star second baseman — who had three errors in Games 2 and 3 — was right on target.