Notes: Astros manager A.J. Hinch reaffirmed his commitment to DH Evan Gattis despite Gattis’ postseason struggles. Everything’s turned upside down because that’s playoff baseball. Astros left fielder Colby Rasmus followed with a solo shot off the right field foul pole extending Houston’s lead to 6-2.
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“I think that success is a lot more sweet when you kind of go through hardship like we did the first couple years that I was up here”, Keuchel said. “I wish I was flawless”. “I’m sure it was tougher than it looked”.
“Obviously, we’re pretty late in the game right there and down by four, so not one guy can get us back in this game”.
Two batters later, the Royals went ahead for good on a bases-loaded groundout from Alex Gordon that made it 7-6.
None of the balls in the eighth were hit particularly hard, with the four hits off Harris mostly soft liners and well-placed singles.
Luke Gregerson gave up a leadoff homer in the ninth to Alex Gordon before finishing off the Astros first playoff game in Houston in 10 years with a four-out save. The Royals opened the inning with five consecutive singles off Harris and Sipp to trim the margin to 6-4.
“I thought we should have won every game we played against this team”, Gregerson said. “I mean really did”.
Kansas City started the frame with five straight singles and scored two runs. Shortly after that, he hit a two-run opposite field home run, giving the Royals the lead. Eric Hosmer hit a 2-run home run to give the Royals a 9-6 lead in the top of the ninth.
Correa finished the day 4-for-5 with three RBI and 11 total bases. Kendrys Morales then hit a chopper down the middle deflected by Sipp, and Correa, in his haste to start a double play, had it bounce off his glove as two runs came in to tie the game. At that point they had only recorded two hits and two walks.
Of course, it seems no Astros game is truly complete this postseason without a #ColbyJack.
Ryan Madson (1-0) gave up two home runs in the seventh and still got the win. The Astros’ bullpen collapse wiped his name from the marquee.
McCullers acknowledged he was already feeling it.
Still, though, this is October baseball and you never know what can happen. However, if they do not grab their chance to end things today then the Royals can look forward to taking this series back to Kansas City for the victor takes all Game 5 scheduled for Wednesday. “Game of inches, and I barely missed it”. 500 preseason predictions and the Taylor Swift concert jokes – yet again this season and reaching the next postseason plateau, the Astros defied them in a different way. A decade’s worth of frustrations fueled the energy of a rabid crowd that burst into deafening noise in the seventh when Correa belted a two-run shot that increased Houston’s lead to 5-2.
The Astros were trying to head to the American League Championship Series.
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They were given inflatable orange thundersticks at the door and spent the afternoon beating them as they cheered, making the roar in the closed-roof stadium deafening at times.
