*Photo from Yahoo! Sports*
Houston leads series 2-0
Alex Bregman homered, Gerrit Cole struck out 15, and the Houston Astros took a 2-0 series lead over the Tampa Bay Rays with a 3-1 win. The Astros are now one win away from advancing to the ALCS. Cole said that ''We've got a lot more work to take care of, there's a few months this winter that maybe we can sit back and have a drink about it. Right now, it's on to the next one.''
The scoring started in the 4th inning when Bregman mashed a solo shot to left field, into the crawford boxes. In the 7th, Martin Maldonado made it 2-0 with an RBI single to left field. In the 8th, Carlos Correa hit an RBI single to right field to make it 3-0. Tampa Bay got a run in the 9th on an Avisail Garcia fielder's choice.
Cole pitched 7 2/3 innings for Houston, giving up 4 hits and one walk and no runs. Roberto Osuna and Will Harris pitched after Cole, with Harris getting the save. Manager AJ Hinch had high praise for Cole, saying that ''He was incredible, he had complete command of the entire game.'' Rays manager Kevin Cash said that ''I don't think anything he did was surprising, he's just that good."
Against Cole and Justin Verlander, the Rays have combined to hit just .177 with two extra base hits. Blake Snell pitched 3 1/3 innings, giving up one run on 4 hits. The Rays are now on the brink of elimination, and Cash said that ''I don't think there's a real message, they know what's at stake." Snell had an opinion on giving up the homer to Bregman, saying that ''It's just lack of a pitch, i'm still finding it, still trying to get there. I know I can, so that's why it's frustrating.''
Game 3 of the series is in Tampa Bay Monday night, with the Astros being one win away from the ALCS, and the Rays one loss away from elimination. Wild Card Game winner Charlie Morton gets the ball for the Rays, while Houston counters with another ace in Zack Greinke.
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