Astros 4, Rays 3
There will be a Game Five after the Houston Astros defeated the Tampa Bay Rays 4-3. Jose Altuve drove in a pair of runs and made every defensive play that came to him. The biggest swing of the game was a tie-breaking home run in the fifth inning off the bat of George Springer to avoid a sweep in the ALCS.
Altuve, Springer Provide The Sparks
Coming into Game Four, Altuve, unfortunately, let some runs get away due to some poor throws. However, the Astros second baseman was not going to let his defensive struggles creep into his offense. Altuve got Houston on the board early once again with a solo home run in the first inning. This home run was historic, as it was his 18th in his postseason career. It tied Reggie Jackson and Mickey Mantle for fifth-most all-time in the postseason. In the third inning, the former MVP stroked a double to the opposite field to drive in the second run of the game.
The Astros got the early lead, but Randy Arozarena was not going to let them keep that lead. The rookie continued his historic postseason by hitting a two-run home run in the fourth. His game-tying blast was his fifth homer of this postseason, one behind Evan Longoria for most in a single postseason by a rookie.
The game did not stay tied for long, however. The tie was broken when Springer hit a two-run home run in the fifth inning. His big homer put the Astros up 4-2. This was yet another historic home run, as it tied him with Jackson, Mantle, and his teammate Altuve for fifth-most on the postseason home run charts.
As they have done all season, the Rays continued to fight. With a runner on first and two outs in the ninth, Willy Adames smacked a double off the wall in left-center scoring Joey Wendle to inch one run closer. A wild pitch advanced Adames to third. The tying run was 90 feet away when Ryan Pressly got Yoshi Tsutsugo to fly out to right field for the third out. The Astros held on to beat the Rays 4-3.
Astros Look To Force Game Six
As manager Dusty Baker said, winning this series is a steep mountain to climb, but it’s not impossible. Houston took the first step Wednesday and will attempt to take the second step Thursday. Neither team has announced a starter for Game Five, but Baker said it probably won’t be Framber Valdez or Lance McCullers Jr. Valdez has never had this type of workload. McCullers missed last season due to Tommy John surgery, so they want to be careful with him. That being said, it is an elimination game, so it could be all hands on deck.
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