ALDS Game 1: Astros offense jumps on Royals early in 5-2 win
The Houston Astros struck first, taking Game 1 of their AL division series against the Kansas City Royals by the score of 5-2. It was typical Astros: They scored early, hit a couple homers, got a strong start from Collin McHugh, Jose Altuve was their engine and their 14 strikeouts didn’t really matter.
The game was delayed 48 minutes by rain between the second and third innings, which didn’t slow down the Astros, who already had scored three times in the first two frames. The Royals, meanwhile, couldn’t get much going, save for a pair of Kendrys Morales homers.
• Jose Altuve was in full spark-plug mode in Game 1. The Astros leadoff hitter had three hits to get the Astros’ offense chugging. He scored once, after his first-inning single, when he raced home on a Colby Rasmus groundout. Later, Altuve’s second-inning single brought home Houston’s third run.
[Elsewhere: Everything goes wrong for the Blue Jays in Game 1 of the ALDS]
• Collin McHugh was one of the most underrated pitchers in baseball this season, and he showed the country that on Thursday night. He pitched six innings, allowing just four hits. Only one Royals batter got the best of him (he’s coming in a second) for those two runs. In addition, McHugh sat out for an hour during the rain delay and was solid upon return. An impressive outing indeed.
• The real score in this one: Astros 5, Kendrys Morales 2. Morales was the Royals’ offense, cracking two big homers off McHugh. The first one came in the second inning, to get K.C. on the scoreboard, and the second cut the deficit to 4-2 in the fourth. McHugh finally got Morales out in the sixth inning.
• Eric Hosmer didn’t have a great night. He was 0-for-4, including a crucial spot in the eighth inning, in which he came up with two outs and two runners on. The Royals were down by three and he had an opportunity to ignite a rally, but instead he popped up in foul territory. Not what you want from your No. 4 hitter.
• Mike Moustakas and Salvador Perez were both 0-fors for the Royals too. A combined 0-for-7 between them.
• On Houston’s side, Luis Valbuena had a rough night. He struck out three times in three at-bats (he also walked) and left three bats on base in the process.
When the Royals closed the gap to 3-2 in the fourth, it looked like momentum might be swinging the way of K.C. George Springer wasn’t having that. The Astros’ right fielder came up in the next half inning and homered to give his team a two-run lead again. That’s not insurmountable, of course, but it sure felt a dagger for the night.
One for the actual record books:
And one for the more amusing record book: When Altuve (5-foot-5) faced Royals pitcher Chris Young (6-foot-10), it was the biggest height difference for any pitcher-batter matchup in postseason history.
• The game’s most viral moment? The grounds crew guy who nearly got swallowed by the tarp.
• This one might be a long play: When Ned Yost pulled starter Yordano Venture after the rain delay, he allowed himself to bring back Ventura for a possible Game 4 in this series, since his pitch count was relatively low (42). Ventura didn’t have his A-stuff in Game 1, so maybe this one pays off for the Royals in a few days.
• Home-field advantage? So far in the MLB postseason, home teams are 0-4, including the Royals’ loss.
These two teams meet again at 3:30 p.m. ET Friday at Kauffman Stadium, with the Royals looking to tie the series at one. They’ll send Johnny Cueto (11-13, 3.44) to the mound against Scott Kazmir (7-11, 3.10 ERA). It’s a matchup of two trade-deadline acquisitions who have underwhelmed since joining their new teams. Cueto has a 4.76 ERA since joining the Royals while Kazmir’s is 4.17 in Houston. One of these pitchers finding their groove could prove crucial in the series.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
