American League Divisional Series
Kansas City Royals at Houston Astros
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After splitting the first two games in Kansas City, the Houston Astros and Kansas City Royals would shift over to Houston, with both teams hoping to sweep the games here and win the series.
On the mound for the Houston Astros would be Dallas Keuchel, who last pitched just a few days ago in the AL Wildcard game, where the Astros defeated the New York Yankees, 3-0. Today, Keuchel would go 7 innings, allowing just 1 run on 5 hits.
Manager Ned Yost would put his trust in pitcher Edison Volquez. This season, Volquez had a 13-9 record with a 3.55 ERA. Today, Volquez would struggle, going 5.2 innings, allowing 3 runs on 5 hits.
Despite starting all games off slowly, Kansas City would be the first to strike. In the top of the 2nd inning, Lorenzo Cain would battle 9 pitches before hitting a home run of the 10th pitch of the at bat.
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In the top of the 5th, Ben Zobrist would double to left field. Though it would later prove to be an illusion, it looked as if the Royals were ready to dominate the series and take the 2-1 lead in the series. To end the inning, Keuchel would force Eric Hosmer to strike out on 5 pitches.
In the bottom of the inning, the Astros would finally get some offense going and would eventually take the lead in the same inning. Following a Luis Valbuena walk, Chris Carter would double, moving Valbuena to third base, giving the Astros a major threat. On the next at-bat, Jason Castro would knock both Valbuena and Carter home on a single, giving the Astros the 2-1 lead.
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In the 6th inning, the Royals would threaten to tie the game up. Following a Kendrys Morales ground out, Mike Moustakas would double to right field. Salvador Perez would fly out, moving Moustakas to third. Alex Gordon would strike out though, ending any threat in the inning.
In the bottom of the inning, the Astros would get an insurance run, giving them a two run lead. Following a George Springer double to center field and a Carlos Correa ground out, Carlos Gomez would single, scoring Springer and moving Colby Ramus to second base.
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In the top of the 7th inning, the Royals would threaten once again. After an Alex Rios walk and a Alcides Escobar ground out, the Royals would have Rios at second with one out. Zobrist would pop out to the catcher, but the sacrifice fly would move Rios 90 feet away from scoring. Cain would strike out on the next at-bat, though, ending the inning.
On the first pitch of the bottom half of the inning, the Astros would once again increase their lead, this time on a lead-off Carter home run. The run would give the Astros what looked like enough insurance to win the game.
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In the 9th inning, the Royals would get one final chance and would start the inning with an Alex Gordon home run, decreasing the Astros lead to 4-2. Luke Gregerson would get three outs with no trouble to end the inning and putting the Royals in a playoff stranglehold.
Player of the game: Dallas Keuchel
Keuchel was dominant in the 7 innings he pitched. With the performance, the Astros now jump a game ahead with a chance to win the series and advance to the ALCS. This is the second time Keuchel has had a dominant performance to win a game, the first being the AL Wildcard game.
ALDS Game 4 (Astros lead 2-1)
The Houston Astros will now look to advance tomorrow at 1:07 PM ET. The Astros will call on Lance McCullers and the Royals will call on Yordano Ventura. This season, McCullers has gone 6-7 with a 3.22 ERA, while Ventura is currently 0-1 in the playoffs after losing game one of the series.