It's all or nothing now. The Astros now have to achieve a very unlikely feat: beating the best regular-season team in three straight games, two of which would be in Boston, to move on. It starts tonight with Game 5, where they'll have their best chance at a win with ace Justin Verlander on the mound. Be sure to catch our recap of the game after the final pitch:
When: 7 p.m.
Where: Minute Maid.
TV: TBS.
Streaming: TBS App.
Pitching matchup: Justin Verlander vs. David Price.
Series: Red Sox lead 3-1.
The breakdown: It's an elimination game for the Astros. This will be their last game in Houston in the ALCS, and their last time with a normally-rested Verlander on the mound to start. Boston is slated to send out David Price, despite Price warming in the bullpen late in last night's game. It's yet to be determined how long Boston expects Price to stay in the game tonight, but the Astros will try to get him out early like they did in Game 2 where they tagged him with four runs in four and two-thirds innings. For this, and hopefully, the other remaining games that they could force, the key to winning for the Astros will be stifling Boston's hot offense, and getting more done on offense themselves to convert more scoring opportunities and leave fewer runners on base. It's no longer about the series, it's all about these nine innings, and executing to force another game to be able to play again on Saturday.
Series schedule:
| Result / Date & Time | Location | Pitching matchup | |
| Game 1 | Astros 7, Red Sox 2 | Boston | Verlander (W) vs. Sale (ND) |
| Game 2 | Astros 5, Red Sox 7 | Boston | Cole (L) vs. Price (ND) |
| Game 3 | Astros 2, Red Sox 8 | Minute Maid | Keuchel (ND) vs. Eovaldi (W) |
| Game 4 | Astros 6, Red Sox 8 | Minute Maid | Morton (ND) vs. Porcello (ND) |
| Game 5 | Tonight, 7:00 PM | Minute Maid | Verlander vs. Price |
| Game 6* | Saturday 10/20, 4:00 PM | Boston | Cole+ vs. Sale+ |
| Game 7* | Sunday 10/21, 6:30 PM | Boston | TBD vs. TBD |
