Asked what went wrong for his Tampa Bay Rays, manager Kevin Cash invented a word: “We got Verlandered.”
Justin Verlander looked every bit the October ace and Jose Altuve polished his post-season resume as the Houston Astros kept rolling, beating the Rays 6-2 on Friday to open their American League Division Series.
The Astros, who won a franchise-record 107 games for the best record in the majors, began their quest for a second World Series title in three years against a Rays team who downed the Oakland Athletics 5-1 in their wild-card game this week.
Photo: Erik Williams-USA TODAY
Verlander kept up his dominant run this year when he posted an MLB-most 21 wins and fanned 300, allowing just a soft single in seven shutout innings. He struck out eight and improved to 8-0 in 12 career ALDS appearances — he is 14-7 overall in post-season play.
He laughed when told Cash used his performance to turn his name into a verb.
“It’s a pretty great compliment,” Verlander said. “I don’t know what else to say, other than that.”
Photo: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY
Tampa Bay got their only hit off Verlander when Brandon Lowe singled to start the fifth. Verlander ended his day by striking out the side in the seventh, pounding his fist into his glove as he walked off the mound after fanning Lowe.
Rays starter Tyler Glasnow had given up just three singles when he walked Josh Reddick on four pitches to begin the fifth. He struck out George Springer, but Altuve then tagged him for a two-run homer into the left-field seats.
“I just left that pitch up and it was a two-run home run,” Glasnow said. “Hindsight, I would go back and change some things, but can’t do anything about it now.”
The sellout crowd of 43,360 erupted into deafening cheers and fans twirled bright orange towels as Altuve trotted around the bases, a huge grin plastered on his face.
Altuve has homered in Game 1 of the ALDS for three straight years — including three against Boston in the 2017 opener — and the small-but-powerful second baseman now has nine home runs in 33 career post-season games.
In Atlanta, Georgia, Mike Foltynewicz threw seven crisp innings before pinch-hitter Adam Duvall hit a two-run homer that carried the Atlanta Braves to a 3-0 victory over the St Louis Cardinals in the National League Division Series, leveling the series at 1-1.
In New York, the Minnesota Twins lost to the New York Yankees 10-4 for a 1-0 lead in their AL series, while in Los Angeles the Washington Nationals beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 4-2 to tie their NL series at 1-1.
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