Indians at Astros: Highlights, score, and recap from ALDS Game 1

The Astros and Indians entered the postseason as their respective division champions. Both clubs had terrific seasons. But who would come out on top in Game 1 of the ALDS?

While the baseball world has been consumed with impressive Wild Card performances and Game 1 of both NLDS series, the Astros and Indians were in stand-by mode since Sunday. Quite a long break in this crazy game known as baseball. Despite the rest, both teams were ready from the start.

In the early going, the two starters, Justin Verlander and Corey Kluber, were making short work of the opposing lineups. Verlander through the first three innings surrendered allowed a lone walk while striking out four. Kluber did hit two batters and walked one, but he did strike out two along with avoiding damage in the form of runs. Both pitchers were essentially dealing as the two offenses went 0-for-17 in the first three innings.

The Astros’ offense started coming to life in the bottom of the fourth inning. The leadoff batter, Alex Bregman, already has a reputation for coming through in the postseason. Everyone remembers the crucial hits he had against the likes of Chris Sale, Craig Kimbrel, Clayton Kershaw, and Kenley Jansen in last year’s postseason. Well, Bregman struck again, but this time off of Kluber.

Bregman’s first home run of the 2018 postseason scored the first run for Houston and an early 1-0 lead. It also ended the no-hitter and the shutout for the Indians. The Astros offense then started to get to Kluber as the lead would eventually grow to 2-0.

Verlander continued to confound the Cleveland hitters in the fifth inning as he struck out Josh Donaldson and Yonder Alonso before a fly out from Melky Cabrera. As the game entered the bottom of the fifth, the Astros’ lineup padded their early lead thanks to back-to-back home runs from George Springer and Jose Altuve.

Springer also made a bit of history with his fifth inning home run.

A 4-0 lead with Verlander still on the mound was about as optimal a situation as Houston could’ve desired entering this contest. However, the Indians had other plans.

Despite Verlander cruising through five innings without allowing a hit or run, he started to run out of gas in the sixth inning. Following an impressive nine pitch at-bat from Yan Gomes, Verlander surrendered a single to the Indians’ catcher. Jason Kipnis would eventually strike out, but he too forced Verlander to throw nine pitches to retire him. Francisco Lindor would single to put two runners on with just one out followed by a walk to Michael Brantley to load the bases. Unfortunately for Houston, Verlander’s afternoon was over with Jose Ramirez as the next batter.

Ryan Pressly, who acquired from the Twins in late July, made his postseason debut. However, his first pitch went straight into the dirt and got away from Maldonado that let Gomes score from third base. Ramirez would then ground out to first base, which allowed Lindor to score. A 4-0 lead was quickly halved to 4-2. Thankfully for Pressly and the Astros he would then strike out Edwin Encarnacion to end the threat.

The score would remain the same until Martin Maldonado hit a solo home run in the bottom of the seventh inning to make it a 5-2 Houston advantage. Bregman would later drive in Springer later in the inning on a single to make 6-2. The Astros’ third baseman also made a smart play on the base paths as he diverted attention away from Springer as he headed home. Lance McCullers would shut down the Indians’ bats in the eighth inning while Josh Reddick added another RBI during the bottom portion of the frame to increase Houston’s lead to five runs. Roberto Osuna would then finish the game after he allowed a leadoff single to Brantley.

Thanks to a solid pitching performance from Verlander and the bullpen, along with timely hits, the Astros cruised to a 7-2 victory over the Indians. Teams that emerge victorious in Game 1 at home during a five-game series with a 2-2-1 format have won 27 of 36 series, which is good for 75% of the time, courtesy of Brian McTaggart of MLB.com.

Game 2 of the ALDS between the Astros and Indians will take place Saturday at 3:37 PM CST. Gerrit Cole gets the nod for Houston while Cleveland counters with Carlos Carrasco.