Houston

Astros

Altuve’s 28th career postseason home run puts him one behind Manny Ramirez for the all-time lead. He had a chance to put Houston ahead in the ensuing frame but wound up flying out to right field with the bases loaded. It’s fair to wonder how much longer Houston will be able to sustain things with its current nucleus, which is comprised largely of remnants from the dynastic run earlier in the decade, including Altuve, alongside newer faces who have yet to lead the club to sustained playoff success. In some ways, being swept by an upstart White Sox team feels like a fitting end for this group with Chicago beginning to chart its own course in a fashion reminiscent of Houston’s own unexpected rise roughly a decade ago.

Alvarez had a couple chances to turn the tide in this one, most notably when he stepped to the plate with a pair of runners on-base and the Astros trailing by two runs in the fifth inning and lined out to left field harmlessly. The 29-year-old presumptive AL MVP Award front-runner went 1-for-8 as Houston was swept in the best-of-three series in their home ballpark.

Yikes. Brown’s unexpected meltdown came at the worst possible time for Houston and ultimately led to their elimination from the postseason. The 28-year-old ace surrendered four runs on five hits, one walk and one error, recording just two outs on 36 pitches (22 strikes) in a disastrous opening frame. He was pulled after issuing a two-out walk to Colson Montgomery to load the bases, and the damage would’ve been even worse if not for AJ Blubaugh coming on to extinguish the threat.

No real changes for the Astros, with the exception of Alvarez heading out to left field with Isaac Paredes moving to DH and Nick Allen entering at third base, as they try to stave off elimination and force a decisive Game 3 showdown. Here’s the full lineup: Jeremy Peña (SS), Alvarez (LF), Paredes (DH), Jose Altuve (2B), Yainer Diaz (C), Christian Walker (1B), Lucas Spence (CF), Cam Smith (RF) and Allen (3B).

In the final week of the regular season, Varsho admitted that he might need offseason surgery, and that was indeed the case. The 30-year-old hit .221/.281/.355 with 12 home runs, 12 steals, and a career-low 20.3 percent strikeout rate. He’ll be a free agent in the off-season, and it will be really interesting to see what kind of contract he can get, keeping in mind his clear defensive value.

Brown gives Houston their best chance to send the best-of-three showdown to a winner-take-all finale where anything can happen following a loss in the series opener. The 28-year-old ace will get the ball on just four days of rest after throwing 100 pitches last Friday in his final regular-season outing.

Velázquez put Houston on the scoreboard with a pinch-hit blast against White Sox reliever Sean Newcomb that slashed their early deficit to three runs in the fifth inning. The 27-year-old corner outfielder has seen opportunities against lefties since being claimed off waivers back in early August.

Blubaugh walked three of the five batters he faced and allowed one run to cross the plate when Munetaka Murakami lifted an RBI sacrifice fly to right field. He was lifted for southpaw Bryan King after throwing just 27 pitches. The Astros wound up burning through eight different relievers to cover a series-opening bullpen game.

There’s been some speculation that the Astros might give Altuve some DH time in the series, with Yordan Alvarez playing left, but that’s not happening in Game 1. The lineup: SS Jeremy Peña, DH Alvarez, 3B Isaac Paredes, 2B Altuve, C Yainer Diaz, 1B Christian Walker, CF Lucas Spencer, RF Cam Smith, LF Taylor Trammell.

There’s also a good chance that Imai will serve as the bulk reliever behind AJ Blubaugh for Game 1 of the series. In 18 innings as a reliever this season, Imai has a 2.00 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, .129 batting average against, and a 25/11 K/BB ratio.