Rays roar back, beat Astros before rollicking crowd
ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — What exactly sparked the 10-3 win that revived the Rays in the division series against the Astros was not exactly clear Monday afternoon.
Maybe it was the business-asusual approach by manager Kevin Cash, texting out the lineup and not making a speech or a big deal about the dire circumstances of being one game from elimination.
The energy from the rollicking Tropicana Field crowd of 32,251.
The way Charlie Morton battled through what became a 31pitch first inning after allowing a homer to No. 2 hitter Jose Altuve to deliver a solid five.
How after singling in the second for their first hit, Avisail Garcia clapped demonstratively, pointed into the dugout and implored his teammates to get going.
But it was quite obvious when it officially began, as Kevin Kiermaier launched a three-run homer in the second inning, simultaneously allowing his teammates to take a deep breath and the fans to let out a roar.
The Rays had quite a blast, as Ji-Man Choi, Brandon Lowe and Willy Adames also went deep, tying the team record with four homers in a postseason game. It also happened in last Wednesday’s AL wild-card game and Game 3 of the 2008 ALCS.
The resuscitation of the offense, which was shut down and limited to three runs by Houston starters Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole, was the biggest reason the Rays will get to play again on Tuesday in Game 4 of the best-of-five series.
Game time will be either 4:15 or 7:07, depending on the outcome of Monday night’s Yankees-Twins game. If the Twins win, the Rays have the 4:15 slot. If the Yankees end the series, the Rays get the later start.
But the work of Morton and the bullpen was also impressive.
Dodgers forced into a winnertake-all Game 5 after Nationals beat them soundly
WASHINGTON — The baseball rocketed through the harsh crosswind and landed on a patch of grass beyond the center-field wall to an earsplitting rumble. As Ryan Zimmerman trotted around the bases, howling in celebration of his three-run home run, Clayton Kershaw observed from the Dodgers’ bullpen at Nationals Park. He was available to pitch in Game 4 of the National League Division Series on Monday night in relief, to perhaps replicate what happened three
years ago in this same ballpark when he pitched the ninth inning to close out the Washington Nationals, but the fastball Zimmerman clubbed off Pedro Baez annulled that prospect.
The blast busted open a tight game, ultimately handing the Dodgers a 6-1 loss and forcing a decisive Game 5 at Dodger Stadium on Wednesday.
The Dodgers stacked their lineup with seven left-handed hitters, including pitcher Rich Hill, to counter Max Scherzer. Matt Beaty, one of the seven, started in left field over A.J. Pollock after Pollock went 0 for 11 with nine strikeouts in the first three games of the series. They confronted an aggressive Scherzer.
The right-hander relentlessly attacked the strike zone knowing his club depended on him pitching deep into the game to stand a chance. The Nationals’ bullpen holds just two reliable options. Stephen Strasburg and Patrick Corbin, the Nationals’ other two elite starting pitchers, weren’t available. Strasburg threw a bullpen session earlier Monday. Corbin was rocked in two-thirds of an inning Sunday. A long outing from Scherzer was imperative for the Nationals to survive.
The aggression cost Scherzer in the first inning when Justin Turner barreled a 96-mph fastball and deposited it in the Dodgers’ bullpen. He wasn’t missing many bats. It was a risky, but imperative, approach.
Molina ties game, then wins it in 10th as Cards stay alive
ST. LOUIS — A rare, less-thansellout playoff crowd of 42,203 turned up at Busch Stadium Monday afternoon/night as the Cardinals tried to stay alive in the National League Division Series by winning Game 4. Those who didn’t/couldn’t make it missed something.
For a while, when Paul Goldschmidt and Marcell Ozuna homered in the first, it seemed as if the Cardinals would win easily.
Then, Ozuna homered again in the third. But the Atlanta Braves rallied for three in the fifth to go ahead and the Cardinals began to run out of chances.
But longtime bastion Yadier Molina singled with two out in the eighth to tie the score and hit a sacrifice fly in the 10th to shove across Kolten Wong with the running run as the Cardinals overcame the Braves 5-4.
Four hours and six minutes after the game started, the Cardinals had the verdict they needed to force Game 5 in Atlanta on Wednesday, when Jack Flaherty will start.
Flaherty was one of the few Cardinals pitchers not to work on Monday. They used eight, including first-game starter Miles Mikolas, who gained the win.
Wong began the 10th against Julio Teheran, who was an injury replacement in the series, by doubling to left. Goldschmidt was walked intentionally and then Teheran forced Goldschmidt at second with a good fielding play as Ozuna hustled to beat the relay to first.