The Tampa Bay Rays entered Monday’s Game 3 of their American League Division Series matchup with the Houston Astros down 2-0 after being outscored 6-2 and 3-1 in the first two games, but they promptly got their bats going in a 10-3 home win that extended the series. Houston struck first with a Jose Altuve home run, but Kevin Kiermaier hit a three-run homer for Tampa Bay in the second:
1 swing and the Rays are up. #ALDS pic.twitter.com/6XZyxnieio
— MLB (@MLB) October 7, 2019
Ji-Man Choi then added a solo shot in the third, and Brandon Lowe added another solo home run in the fourth, the fifth run off Houston starter Zack Greinke. Greinke then got two outs, but then walked Willy Adames, and that led to him being pulled for Hector Rondon. Matt Duffy then singled, and the Astros pulled Rondon for Wade Miley, who promptly gave up three more runs on an Austin Meadows double and a Tommy Pham single. The Rays would then add further runs in the sixth (on an Adames home run) and seventh (on a Travis d’Arnaud sacrifice fly), while Houston could only pull two back in the sixth, making the final 10-3.
This has already led to an interesting reaction from the Astros, as they’ve announced that they’ll be starting Justin Verlander on short rest in Tuesday’s Game 4. Verlander threw seven shutout innings in Game 1 Friday, allowing one hit while walking three and striking out eight. We’ll see how he does in this one.
[MLB.com]
