Por fifth consecutive season, the Houston Astros are in the American League Championship Series, after beat Chicago White Sox 10-1, finalizing the Divisional Series in four games. And as in 2018, the rival for the pass to the World Series will be the Boston Red Sox.
The rain suspension played against the South Side of Chicago, who lost the momentum of Sunday night’s triumph and had to face Astros ace Lance McCullers, who could not be hurt in Game 1 and repeated the dose with 4 innings of a run and five hits.
The White Sox hit first, with a solo homer from Gavin Sheets in the loss of the second episode, but the local offense was handcuffed after that.
Houston immediately regained the advantage. The fans celebrated Altuve’s pitch with one out in the third, with more bile than on other occasions due to the new allegations of stealing signals from the Astros. But the problem with hitting the batter is that you give away a base and the Venezuelan, with all his experience, stole second and then filled the house. Carlos Rodón could not get out of the predicament as in the second and Carlos Correa, with a 0-2 count, doubled to turn it around.
It was all for Rodón, who continued his decline from the season finale, but the relay had no better luck. Three more came in the fourth, silencing Guaranteed Rate Field. The local offensive was inoperative, so it was five slow gloomy parade entries. The best opportunity was in the same quarter, down 4-1 and with the tie batting, but César Hernández struck out watching.
Houston added one more in the sixth, another in the eighth and Tempers flared when they hit José Abreu in the bottom of the eighth, but it did not reactivate the premises. The opposite, because they allowed three more in the ninth with a homer from Altuve.
The Astros are, like the previous four seasons, in the American League Championship Series. Boston will be your rival, starting Friday at Minute Maid Park in Houston.