Gerrit Cole and Jose Altuve lifted Houston to big road win
Astros playoff report presented by APG&E: Astros take ALCS Game 3 for 2-1 series lead
Oct 15, 2019, 6:53 pm
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Jose Altuve went 2-for-5 with a solo home run in ALCS Game 3
The Astros come out on top in ALCS Game 3 with a 4-1 win in New York against the Yankees. Houston received seven shutout innings from Gerrit Cole and a big offensive day from Jose Altuve, who was 2-for-5 with a solo home run. They now lead the series 2-1 and need two more wins to advance to the World Series.
After falling behind 0-1 in the ALCS, Houston worked a home split against New York with a walk-off win in ALCS Game 2. The series shifted to New York for the next three games, giving the Yankees a chance to benefit from playing in front of their home crowd. Here is a recap of Game 3 from Yankee Stadium:
Final Score: Astros 4, Yankees 1.
Series: Astros lead 2-1.
Winning Pitcher: Gerrit Cole.
Losing Pitcher: Luis Severino.
Altuve and Reddick give Astros an early lead
In the top of the first inning against Luis Severino, the Astros received a big hit to try and keep the crowd out of the game. It came off the bat of Jose Altuve, who launched a one-out solo home run to left-center field to give Houston the quick 1-0 lead. They would continue to pester Luis Severino in the first, loading the bases before all three runners would be stranded to end the half-inning.
Tuve! #ALCS pic.twitter.com/eLRPMvwpyb
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2019
In the top of the second, Josh Reddick doubled Houston's lead with a solo home run to right field to make it 2-0. While after the first inning, it looked as though the Astros would be able to push Severino to an early exit, New York's pitcher would settle in well and make it through four and one-third innings before the Yankees went to their bullpen.
Cole goes seven scoreless innings
Meanwhile, Gerrit Cole was not able to put together his typically dominant pitching against the powerful Yankees lineup. New York, like the Astros, would load the bases in the first inning, but Cole would end the threat to strand all three. That would be one of several frames that Cole would have to deal with traffic, as he would allow five walks and four hits over the first five innings.
He would follow those five stressful innings with two terrific ones, though, retiring the last seven batters he faced in order including 1-2-3 innings in the sixth and seventh. While he didn't reach double-digit strikeouts as he had over his last eleven starts, it was still as, if not more, impressive of a start when it hit the scoreboard: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 5 BB, 7 K, 0 HR.
Houston extends their lead and pulls out Game 3 win
Houston was able to add on to their lead by playing "small ball" in the top of the seventh. George Springer started the inning with a leadoff walk, then moved to third on a well-executed hit and run with Jose Altuve. Michael Brantley would hit a groundball next to cause a force out of Springer at home, but not before Springer could stall long enough to let Altuve advance to third and Brantley to second. An intentional walk to Alex Bregman loaded the bases, then a wild pitch scored one run before a sacrifice fly by Yuli Gurriel scored another, doubling Houston's advantage to 4-0.
The @Astros manufactured a pair in the 7th. #ALCS pic.twitter.com/ykulKvS2Ta
— MLB (@MLB) October 15, 2019
After Cole's seven innings, Joe Smith would be the first reliever on the mound for Houston at the bottom of the eighth. He would allow a one-out solo home run to Gleyber Torres, resulting in another call to the bullpen to bring in Will Harris, who would finish the inning. The Astros then turned to their closer, Roberto Osuna, to preserve the three-run lead and get a save. He would come through, getting a scoreless inning to finish off the win.
Up Next: Currently, ALCS Game 4 is slated for Wednesday at 7:08 PM Central. However, rain threatens that time with a possible postponement in the works to move the game to Thursday and move Game 5 to Friday. With the game day and time up in the air, so is the expected pitching matchup. Should the game be played tomorrow, both teams are expected to have a bullpen day, with the Astros looking to Jose Urquidy for at least part of that. If the MLB postpones the game until Thursday, that opens the opportunity for a rematch of Game 1 between Zack Greinke and Masahiro Tanaka, should the two managers go that route.
The Astros playoff report is presented by APG&E.
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Yusei Kikuchi pitched seven innings of three-hit ball in another sharp start, and Yordan Alvarez homered and drove in two runs in the Houston Astros ' 5,000th victory, 5-3 over the Los Angeles Angels on Friday night.
Alex Bregman hit an early two-run homer and Alvarez added his 33rd in the ninth inning for the first-place Astros, who opened a six-game Southern California trip with their second straight win after a three-game skid.
Mickey Moniak homered for the Angels, who have lost five of six.
Kikuchi (9-9) overcame early trouble and struck out six Angels while keeping the Astros unbeaten in all of his starts since joining Houston in a trade with Toronto. Kikuchi is 5-0 in an Astros uniform, and Houston is 8-0 when he takes the mound.
Josh Hader pitched the ninth for his 30th save as the Astros became the 18th big league club to reach 5,000 victories.
Rookie Samuel Aldegheri (1-2) couldn’t get out of the third inning in his third major league start for the Angels, yielding four runs on six hits and five walks while recording only six outs.
Houston scored twice in the second with two singles followed by two walks and Alvarez's sacrifice fly.
The Astros then got three hits on Aldegheri's first three pitches in the third inning. After Kyle Tucker singled, Bregman hit his 23rd homer and Jeremy Peña doubled.
Kikuchi issued back-to-back walks to begin the third, and Los Angeles scored on Zach Neto's groundout and Nolan Schanuel's single.
Moniak's solo shot to right in the fourth was just his second career homer against a left-hander. It was also the former No. 1 overall pick's 14th homer of the season, matching his career high.
Alvarez's homer was a line drive that went in and out of Moniak's glove when the center fielder leaped at the wall to attempt what would have been a spectacular catch.
Hader recorded 30 saves for the fourth consecutive season and the fifth time in his career.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: INF Jose Altuve returned from a one-game absence with discomfort in his right side. He drove the first pitch of the game into left field, but was easily thrown out at second while trying to stretch it into a double.
Angels: 2B Brandon Drury sat out after leaving Wednesday's game in the fifth inning with hamstring tightness. ... RHP Ben Joyce is still awaiting the results of his MRI exam Thursday. The 105-mph hurler hasn't pitched since Sept. 6 after reporting shoulder discomfort.
UP NEXT
Justin Verlander (3-6, 5.30 ERA) takes the mound for Houston after struggling in his past two starts in September. Los Angeles sends out All-Star Tyler Anderson (10-12, 3.50 ERA), who beat the Astros earlier this year for his only victory in nine career starts against them.