Astros Belt Four Home Runs, Beat Indians In Playoff Opener

Houston Astros belted four home runs to back up a strong outing from starting pitcher Justin Verlander Friday as the World Series champions opened the 2018 playoffs with a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Los Angeles, (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 6th Oct, 2018 ) :Houston Astros belted four home runs to back up a strong outing from starting pitcher Justin Verlander Friday as the World Series champions opened the 2018 playoffs with a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Alex Bregman, George Springer and Jose Altuve all homered off Indians starting pitcher Corey Kluber, while Martin Maldonado went deep off reliever Cody Allen as the Astros hit four homers in a post-season game for the seventh time in club history.

They will try to double their lead in the best-of-five American League Division Series when they host game two on Saturday.

In other games Friday, the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox renewed their storied rivalry in game one of their AL Division Series in Boston.

The Los Angeles Dodgers and Milwaukee Brewers were both trying to increase their leads in National League Division Series.

The Dodgers thumped the Atlanta Braves 6-0 in Los Angeles on Thursday, when the Brewers edged the Colorado Rockies 3-2 in 10 innings in Milwaukee.

In Houston, Verlander and Kluber both held opposing batters without a hit through three innings.

Bregman broke through against Kluber with a solo home run in the bottom of the fourth inning and Josh Reddick hit a single that scored Yuli Gurriel to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

Springer led off the fifth with another homer, quickly followed by Altuve's blast that made it 4-0 and spelled the end of Kluber's day.

Cleveland clawed back two runs in the sixth, but Maldonado's homer sparked a two-run seventh inning for Houston, who added their seventh run in the eighth on Reddick's single that scored Myles Straw -- who was put in as a pinch runner after Tyler White's double.