Correa, Alvarez help Astros take 2-0 lead over White Sox in ALDS

Associated PressOct 8, 2021, 8:26 PM EDT
Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
1 Comment

HOUSTON- Carlos Correa and the Houston Astros are relentless at the plate and in the field.

That’s why they are so tough to beat in the playoffs.

Correa hit a two-run double during Houston’s five-run seventh inning, and the Astros beat the Chicago White Sox 9-4 on Friday for a 2-0 lead in their AL Division Series.

Kyle Tucker homered and drove in three runs as the Astros moved within one win of their fifth straight appearance in the AL Championship Series. Alex Bregman had two hits and scored twice, and Jose Altuve made a couple of big plays.

Game 3 of the best-of-five series is Sunday night in Chicago.

The Astros grabbed the lead for good on Yordan Alvarez‘s tiebreaking RBI single off Aaron Bummer (0-1) with one out in the seventh. Craig Kimbrel then took over and retired Yuli Gurriel before Correa’s drive to right sailed just past a sprinting Leury Garcia.

Correa screamed and gestured to the crowd to yell with him as he reached second. The star shortstop is eligible for free agency after this season, and it’s going to be quite costly for the AL West champion Astros to keep him.

Tucker then punctuated the inning with a two-run shot into the seats in left, lifting Houston to a 9-4 lead.

The Astros rolled to a 6-1 win in Game 1 behind a splendid start by Lance McCullers Jr. Framber Valdez struggled in Game 2, allowing four runs and seven hits in 4 1/3 innings.

The White Sox grabbed a 4-2 lead with three runs in the fifth. Luis Robert and Jose Abreu each hit an RBI single, and Yasmani Grandal added a sacrifice fly.

But the Astros tied it in the bottom half on Yuli Gurriel’s two-run single. It was the first hit of the series for the AL batting champion.

The loss drops the AL Central champion White Sox to 0-6 in Houston this season. They are trying to avoid another early postseason exit after they were eliminated by Oakland in the first round last year.

Robert and Tim Anderson had three hits apiece. Abreu, who had been slowed by flu-like symptoms, had two hits and drove in a run.

White Sox right-hander Lucas Giolito permitted four runs and three hits in 4 1/3 innings. He tied a season high with five walks in his second career playoff start.

Giolito threw complete games in his previous two starts against the Astros, including a three-hitter in a 10-1 victory on July 17.

Houston’s bullpen shut down the White Sox after the early exit by Valdez, with five relievers combining for 4 2/3 innings of four-hit ball. Ryne Stanek (1-0) worked the seventh for the win.

Alvarez, who homered and drove in two runs in Game 1, has been great for the Astros in his return to the postseason. The 2019 AL Rookie of the Year returned this season after being relegated to watching the team’s playoff run on television last year after having surgery on both knees.

UP NEXT

Following an off day, rookie Luis Garcia (11-8, 3.30 ERA) starts for Houston in Game 3. The White Sox have yet to name a starter for that game.

Astros star Altuve has surgery on broken thumb, a WBC injury

Associated PressMar 22, 2023, 6:11 PM EDT
Sam Navarro-USA TODAY Sports
0 Comments

Houston Astros star Jose Altuve had surgery Wednesday on his broken right thumb, an injury that occurred in the World Baseball Classic and will significantly delay the second baseman’s 2023 debut.

The Astros announced that the 32-year-old Altuve had the procedure done in Houston and will stay there to begin his rehabilitation, with only one week left in spring training. The Astros will fly there on Sunday following their final Grapefruit League game in Florida, before playing a pair of exhibitions against their Triple-A team, the Sugar Land Space Cowboys, in Texas.

Altuve was hit by a pitch on Saturday while playing for Venezuela in the WBC. He might not be ready to return to the lineup until at least late May. The eight-time All-Star and 2017 American League MVP batted .300 with 103 runs, 28 homers and 18 steals for the World Series champion Astros last season. Mauricio Dubón and David Hensley are the leading candidates to fill in for Altuve at second base.

Altuve isn’t the only Major League Baseball star who was hurt in WBC play, of course. Mets closer Edwin Díaz will miss the 2023 season because of a torn patellar tendon in his right knee as the freak result of an on-field celebration following a WBC win by the Puerto Rico national team.

BROWN DOWN

The Astros also scratched right-hander Hunter Brown from his scheduled start Wednesday against the Mets in Port St. Lucie, Florida.

Manager Dusty Baker told reporters that Brown, who is ranked by MLB as the organization’s top prospect and competing for the last spot in the rotation, has discomfort in his lower back.

NOT QUITE READY

The New York Mets sent catcher Francisco Álvarez to Triple-A Syracuse, quashing for now the possibility of putting the prized 21-year-old on the opening day roster.

Álvarez, who made his major league debut with the Mets near the end of last season, had just three hits in 28 at-bats in Grapefruit League exhibition games. Ranked by MLB as the third-best prospect in baseball, Álvarez batted .260 with 27 homers and 78 RBIs in a combined 112 minor league games in 2022 at Double-A and Triple-A.

The Mets have newcomer Omar Narváez, a 2021 All-Star with the Milwaukee Brewers, as their primary catcher with Tomás Nido likely to play mostly against left-handed pitchers.

Speaking of the Mets, Díaz turned 29 on Wednesday – a rather subdued milestone for the right-hander considering his situation. Diaz nonetheless posted in Spanish an upbeat message on his Twitter account, thanking God for another year of life and describing his health as good and his outlook as positive in this initial stage of the roughly eight-month rehabilitation process.