Astros thump Rays in opener of ALDS
Verlander tosses seven scoreless innings for the win
HOUSTON Jose Altuve slugged his ninth career post-season home run while Justin Verlander allowed just one hit over seven scoreless innings as the Astros recorded a 6-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of the American League Division Series on Friday.
Altuve snapped a scoreless tie and keyed a four-run fifth inning with his two-run shot to left field off Rays right-hander Tyler Glasnow (0-1).
Glasnow appeared to have steadied himself with a three-pitch strikeout of George Springer after issuing a four-pitch leadoff walk to Josh Reddick. Instead, Altuve yanked a 97.5-mile-per-hour fastball into the Crawford Boxes for a 2-0 lead.
Altuve has homered in three consecutive Game 1s of the ALDS for the Astros, who will take a series lead into Game 2 at Minute Maid Park on Saturday.
Verlander (1-0) posted his majors-record eighth victory in as many decisions in the Division Series. He lowered his ERA to 2.14 in 12 games (11 starts) in the ALDS by recording eight strikeouts against three walks.
Brandon Lowe recorded the lone hit against Verlander after leading off the fifth inning with a single to right.
Despite facing the minimum through three innings, Verlander didn’t find his groove until the latter stages of his outing.
He induced a 5-4-3 double-play off the bat of Tommy Pham to erase his leadoff walk to Austin Meadows in the first inning and got Pham to roll into another double-play that erased Meadows and capped the sixth.
Verlander closed his start by striking out the side in the seventh. He fanned six of the final eight batters he faced.
Glasnow, who posted three consecutive scoreless appearances to close the season, stranded five total baserunners in the second and third. But the Altuve blast capped his afternoon.
The Astros added two insurance runs when Lowe failed to catch a Yuli Gurriel pop-up to shallow right with two outs in the fifth. Yordan Alvarez and Gurriel delivered RBI doubles in the seventh.
As expected, the New York Yankees included slugger Edwin Encarnacion on their 25-man roster for the American League Division Series.
The Yankees released their roster on Friday morning in advance of Game 1 of the ALDS. The Yankees were playing host to the AL Central-winning Minnesota Twins on Friday night.
Encarnacion is filling the spot of veteran left-hander CC Sabathia, who was left off the roster as he battles various ailments. The 36-year-old Encarnacion, who hasn’t played since Sept. 12 because of an oblique injury, hit 34 home runs this season, including 13 in the 44 games he played for the Yankees after a June 15 trade from Seattle.
The Philadelphia Phillies have removed pitching coach Chris Young from his position, according to multiple reports on Friday, although he still could remain in the organization in an unknown role.
The team isn’t expected to decide the fate of manager Gabe Kapler until next week.
The Phillies were a disappointing 81-81 this past season after adding free agent outfielder Bryce Harper.
The Phillies were 16-13 at the end of April, appeared to come to life with a 17-11 record in May, but then went 11-16 in June and never recovered. Young, 38, came to the Phillies as an assistant pitching coach in 2017 after working three seasons in scouting for the Houston Astros. Also not expected to return next season is interim hitting coach Charlie Manuel, who took over after John Mallee was fired in August.
Late-season injuries couldn’t keep Luis Arraez and Ehire Adrianza out of the ALDS as both were named to the Minnesota Twins’ roster Friday.
Arraez, who had been diagnosed with a Grade 1 right ankle sprain, batted .334 over 92 games with four home runs and 28 RBIS.
Adrianza, 30, is recovered from a right oblique strain. He hit .272 with five home runs and 22 RBIS this season.