Rays pummel Greinke, beat Astros
ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. » Kevin Kiermaier hit a go-ahead, threerun homer as Tampa Bay teed off on Zack Greinke, and the Rays backed another clutch playoff pitching performance by Charlie Morton to beat the Houston Astros 10-3 Monday and cut their AL Division Series deficit to 2-1.
Facing the team he helped win the World Series two years ago, Morton allowed one run and three hits while striking out nine over five innings. The 35-year-old Morton is 4-0 with an 0.95 ERA in four career elimination starts, including last week’s wild-card win at Oakland.
Astros manager AJ Hinch announced after the game that Houston will start Justin Verlander on three days of rest in Game 4 in the best-of-five matchup at Tropicana Field on Tuesday. Tampa Bay will use Diego Castillo as an opener.
Kiermaier got the wild-card Rays going with his shot the second inning. Ji-Man Choi and Brandon Lowe added solo shots off Greinke, who has never won in Tampa Bay, and Willy Adames added a solo blast against Wade Miley in the sixth.
Tampa Bay’s four home runs matched a franchise record for a postseason game. The Rays also went deep four times against the Boston Red Sox during the 2008 AL Championship Series and did it again during last week’s 5-1 wild-card victory against the Athletics.
Jose Altuve homered for the Astros, who are one victory away from their third straight appearance in the ALCS. It was Altuve’s 10th career postseason home run, tied with Chase Utley for the most by a second baseman in major league history.
Morton, who won 29 games for Houston over two seasons before joining the Rays as a free agent last offseason, departed with an
8-1 lead. Four relievers finished the combined sevenhitter for the Rays, who have never been swept in a playoff series.
The Astros won the first two games with a pair of dominating pitching performances from Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, who combined to limit the Rays to one unearned run and five hits with 23 strikeouts over 14 2/3 innings. Houston’s other pitchers have allowed 12 earned runs in 11 1/3 frames, an ERA of 9.53. CARDINALS 5, BRAVES 4 » Yadier Molina pushed the St. Louis Cardinals to a deciding Game 5 of the NL Division Series, hitting a tying single in the eighth inning and a winning sacrifice fly in the 10th to beat the Atlanta Braves 5-4 Monday.
Molina slung his bat far into the outfield after his winner, and the packed crowd at Busch Stadium roared along with him.
Game 5 will be Wednesday back in Atlanta. The Cardinals will have ace Jack Flaherty on the mound, and the Braves will go with Mike Foltynewicz.
Kolten Wong led off the St. Louis 10th with a ground-rule double against Julio Teheran. After Paul Goldschmidt was intentionally walked, Wong advanced on Marcell Ozuna’s forceout and easily scampered home on Molina’s deep fly to left field.
Wong threw his hands in the air as he ran toward the plate. Molina rounded first base with his bat in hand, then flung it as the celebration erupted. The longtime star catcher discarded his batting helmet as the rest of the Cardinals poured onto the field.
Molina made it 4-all a two-out single in the eighth that went just off the top of the glove of a leaping Freddie Freeman at first.
Ozuna homered twice. DODGERS 10, NATIONALS 4 (SUNDAY) » Justin Turner’s homer capped a startling and record-setting seven-run rally in the sixth inning as the Dodgers roughed up starter-turnedreliever Patrick Corbin, and Los Angeles beat the Washington Nationals 10-4 on Sunday night to take a 2-1 lead in their NL Division Series.
Russell Martin and pinch-hitter Kiké Hernández added a pair of tworun doubles in the sixth as LA became the first team in major league history to score that many runs in one postseason inning with two outs and two strikes. BRAVES 3, CARDINALS 1 (SUNDAY) » Dansby Swanson hit a tying double with two outs in the ninth inning and Adam Duvall delivered a two-run single as the Atlanta Braves rallied past the St. Louis Cardinals 3-1 on Sunday to take a 2-1 lead in the NL Division Series.
Atlanta had managed just four hits off Adam Wainwright and Andrew Miller before breaking through against closer Carlos Martínez. With two outs and runners on the corners, Swanson tied it at 1 with a drive off the wall in left. Duvall, who entered as a pinch-hitter in the eighth, then hit a liner into center field to put the Braves ahead to stay.