Houston is a win away from advancing to ALCS
Springer, Valdez lift Astros to ALDS Game 2 win, lead series 2-0
Oct 6, 2020, 6:32 pm
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
George Springer celebrates one of two home runs in ALDS Game 2
After doubling up the A's 10-5 in Game 1 to start the series 1-0, the Astros returned to Dodger Stadium on Tuesday afternoon to try and take a commanding 2-0 lead by staying undefeated in the postseason. Here are the highlights from ALDS Game 2:
Final Score: Astros 5, A's 2.
Series: HOU leads 2-0.
Winning Pitcher: Framber Valdez.
Losing Pitcher: Sean Manaea.
The balls keep flying out of Dodger Stadium
The baseball continued to fly out of Dodger Stadium surprisingly well in ALDS Game 2, as found out by George Springer, who followed a ball off the bat of Khris Davis over the center-field wall in the bottom of the second to give Oakland a 1-0 lead. Luckily for the Astros, they were able to take advantage themselves, as Springer would launch one of his own, a two-run dinger with two outs in the top of the third to give Houston their first lead of the day at 2-1.
#SpringerDinger for the lead. pic.twitter.com/i9JKFVqsra
— MLB (@MLB) October 6, 2020
Michael Brantley led the top of the fourth off with a double, moved to third on a one-out Kyle Tucker single, then scored on an RBI-groundout by Carlos Correa. That made it a two-run game at 3-2, though Chad Pinder would cut it back to one run with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning.
Springer homers again while Valdez impresses again
In the top of the fifth, Martin Maldonado would knock Sean Manaea out of the game with a one-out solo homer to make it a two-run game again at 4-2. Oakland would bring in Yusmeiro Petit, who Springer would meet with his second home run of the game on the at-bat's first pitch, pushing the lead to 5-2.
What we knew: Astros landed on the moon. #ForTheH pic.twitter.com/coUa2vu2yC
— Houston Astros (@astros) October 6, 2020
Meanwhile, Framber Valdez was again proving himself to be the best starter the Astros have going right now. Besides the two solo home runs, he limited the A's to just three other hits while walking only one batter over seven impressive innings. His final line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR, 103 P.
Houston's in the driver's seat
That left six outs for Houston's bullpen to cover and hold on to the three-run lead. After two perfect innings in Game 1, Enoli Paredes would make it back-to-back days on the mound in relief and retire Oakland 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth.
In the bottom of the ninth, still 5-2, Ryan Pressly came in for the chance at another save against the top of Oakland's lineup. After a shaky start to the inning, Pressly would erase a leadoff single, finishing off the win which put the Astros ahead 2-0 in the best-of-five ALDS.
Up Next: ALDS Game 3 will start a bit earlier on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 2:35 PM Central. The Astros will play as the home team, while the A's will switch to batting first as visitors. Neither team has announced their starters for Games 3 or beyond.
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Jalen Green made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left and the Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors 91-90 on Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Houston snapped a 15-game skid against the Warriors, winning for the first time in the series since Feb. 20, 2020. The Rockets will face Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas in the other West quarterfinal game on Tuesday night, in the semifinals on Saturday.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points.
Houston led by 14 before falling behind late to set up the thrilling finish.
Houston trailed by six with about 1 1/2 minutes left before Fred VanVleet made a 3-pointer and Sengun added a layup with 27 seconds to go to cut the lead to one.
Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and Gary Payton II grabbed the rebound, but Green intercepted his pass and was fouled by Jonathan Kuminga to set up the winning free throws.
The Warriors had a chance to win it at the buzzer but Smith blocked Brandin Podziemski’s 3-point attempt.
Takeaways
Warriors: Golden State beat the Rockets twice this season without Curry before losing Wednesday in a game where he had 19 points.
Rockets: This young team showed poise in finishing this one after squandering a double-digit lead.
Key moment
Green’s hustle on getting the ball late to draw the foul to set up the winning free throws.
Key stat
Houston won despite making just 6 of 27 3-pointers.
Up next
While Houston heads to Las Vegas this weekend, the Warriors will return to regular-season play Sunday at Dallas.