The Houston Astros defeated the Chicago White Sox 6-1 on Thursday night in Game 1 of their best-of-five American League division series. The Astros are now two wins away from securing their fifth consecutive trip to the AL Championship Series.
The Astros scored early and often and were ahead in the second half with a 1-0 lead in a Jake Meyers single. Houston crossed two more in the third, including one with a double from Yordan Alvarez who narrowly missed the wall. Alvarez later got his home run and launched a solo shot in the fifth solo to increase Houston’s lead to 6-0.
On the run prevention side, the Astros were driven by starter Lance McCullers Jr., whose performance said, No Justin Verlander? No problem. McCullers kept the White Sox on just four hits over 6 2/3 shutout innings. He threw 62 of his 104 pitches for strikes recording his first no-walk start of the season, and he achieved a 12-to-2 ground-to-fly-ball ratio. McCullers made nine puffs on 39 swings, including four on his new slider.
Well, for three takeaways from Houston’s win in Game 1.
1. Lynn’s problems with Houston continue
McCullers’ counterpart, Lance Lynn, wasn’t having nearly as much fun. The White Sox starter was drawn in the fourth inning after scoring five runs on six hits and two walks. (He deleted four.) Lynn’s recipe for success is and is finding his fastball variants. Unfortunately for Lynn, the Astros seem to enjoy what he’s cooking.
Dating from 2018, Lynn has accumulated an ERA of 6.36 and allowed 63 hits in 52 innings against Houston. Additionally, the Astros’ regular season 0.761 OPS against Lynn is his fourth worst mark against any team (at least five appearances), just behind the Pirates, Orioles and Marlins.
Depending on how the series goes, Lynn may get another chance to defend herself against Houston. He could return for a crucial game 5.
2. Alvarez crushed
We’d be remiss if we didn’t give Yordan Alvarez – or, more precisely, Yordan Alvarez’s home runs – some extra love. Check out this blast:
According to Statcast, Alvarez’s homerun had an exit speed of 104.8 mph and carried about 411 feet. Alvarez was unable to play in the postseason last year due to a knee injury. If he continues like this, he’ll have more than made up for the time lost.
3. Game 2 on Friday
Neither side will have to wait long to get back on the horse. ALDS Game 2 is scheduled to take place on Friday at 2:07 p.m. ET. Framber Valdez will take the ball for the Astros while Lucas Giolito tries to keep the White Sox in that series before moving to Chicago.
See Houston’s Game 1 win with our live blog from Thursday’s game.
