CHAMPIONSHIP SERIES ROUNDUP
Monday’s ALCS Game 2 Rays 4, Astros 2
SAN DIEGO – Manuel Margot hit a three-run home run one batter after a crucial Houston error and made a spectacular catch in right field in his former home ballpark, and the Tampa Bay Rays beat the Astros 4-2 Monday to take a 2-0 lead in the AL Championship Series.
Margot homered off Lance McCullers Jr. with two outs in the first inning on an 87-degree afternoon. An inning later, he tracked George Springer’s long foul ball to right field while shielding his face from the sun and caught it as he tumbled over a padded railing atop a wall and landed on a walkway near the seats down the line at Petco Park.
Margot popped up and held up his glove with the ball in it after a 102-foot sprint. That ended the inning, stranding two runners.
Margot was an outfielder with the San Diego Padres from late in the 2016 season until being traded to Tampa Bay on Feb. 8 for reliever Emilio Pagán.
Margot homered to straightaway center field on an 0-1 pitch from McCullers with two outs in the first. It followed a throwing error by second baseman José Altuve from shallow right field on a grounder by Ji-Man Choi. The throw hit the ground before going in and out of first baseman Yuli Gurriel’s glove.
The play originally was ruled an error on Gurriel, but the official scorer later charged the error to Altuve. When Gurriel returned to the dugout, he slammed his glove onto the bench.
Margot’s big plays made a winner of 36-year-old Charlie Morton, who helped Houston win the 2017 World Series, and spoiled an otherwise fine effort by McCullers, who lost despite striking out 11 in seven innings. Morton improved to 4-0 with a 0.90 ERA in the last two postseasons. The Rays had to hold on through a tense ninth, when Nick Anderson twice loaded the bases. One run scored when Springer hit into a double play. After walking Altuve and Michael Brantley on four pitches each, Anderson got Alex Bregman to fly out on the first pitch to center fielder Kevin Kiermaier, a step in front of the warning track.
Game 3 in the best-of-7 series is Tuesday night, when the Rays will send Tyler Glasow against Houston’s José Urquidy. Because this is a neutral site, the Rays, the top seed in the AL, were the home team in the first two games and Houston will bat last in Games 3 and 4, and Game 5, if necessary.
McCullers retired 14 straight, nine by strikeout, before Mike Zunino hit a 454-foot homer into the back bullpen beyond the fence in left-center for a 4-1 lead in the seventh. It was his third this postseason.
Sunday’s ALCS Game 1 Rays 2, Astros 1
SAN DIEGO – Tampa Bay reliever Diego Castillo played catch Sunday afternoon, less than 48 hours after throwing 29 pitches in two innings, and told manager Kevin Cash he was good to go for the opener of the AL Championship Series against Houston. Was he ever.
“It’s always good news when you get thumbs up,” Cash said after Castillo got out of an inherited basesloaded situation with one pitch and finished the fiveout save for the Rays Sunday night.
Randy Arozarena homered again at Petco Park, Mike Zunino drove in the go-ahead run and Blake Snell settled down for the win after allowing José Altuve’s homer in the first inning.
The play of the game, though, was when Castillo came on with one out in the eighth and threw one pitch, getting Yuli Gurriel to ground into a double play. Aaron Loup had loaded the bases on a hit batter, walk and single. Castillo had thrown 29 pitches Friday night in the 2-1 win against the New York Yankees that clinched the AL Division Series.
“I was going to be ready,” Castillo said through a translator. “I knew with the day off yesterday, I came to the stadium prepared. I just came ready to pitch.” Gurriel dropped to 2 for 25 (.080) this postseason. “Everybody in the dugout knew he was going to get at least a sacrifice fly or a base hit,” manager Dusty Baker said. “It’s driving him crazy because he’s not used to struggling like this. We’ve just got to keep believing in Yuli.”