Astros dominate Indians in ALDS Game 1 to kick off World Series defense

Jesse Yomtov USA TODAY

Published 6:24 PM EDT Oct 5, 2018

The Houston Astros' title defense started off with a bang Friday, as they hit four home runs in a 7-2 win over the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the American League Division Series.

Houston jumped in front in the fourth inning on Alex Bregman's solo homer off Indians ace Corey Kluber. The Astros would push another run across in the fourth before George Springer and Jose Altuve added solo home runs in the fifth.

Kluber was off his game, surrendering six hits with two walks and hit two batters in 4 ⅔ innings. It's a troubling trend for Kluber, who has given up 17 earned runs in 15 innings across his last four postseason starts, going back to Game 7 of the 2016 World Series.

Astros starter Justin Verlander held Cleveland hitless into the sixth inning, but worked into some trouble with a 4-0 lead and was pulled with one out and the tying run at the plate. Cleveland would plate two runs, but that's all they would manage on the afternoon.

Turning point

Bregman's homer in the fourth set the tone for a key inning. The Astros would make Kluber throw 35 pitches in the frame, with Kluber issuing a walk to Yuli Gurriel and a single against Tyler White before Josh Reddick hit an RBI single to bring Gurriel home and give Houston a 2-0 lead.

Man of the moment

Center fielder George Springer became just the third player in baseball history to homer in five consecutive postseason games, with his solo shot in the fifth. That streak dates to Game 4 of the World Series last season.

State of the Indians

We got a glimpse into how Terry Francona will handle the bullpen in this series. Regular closer Cody Allen was brought in to start the seventh inning trailing 4-2, but he gave up a home run to Martín Maldonado. Allen gave way to Trevor Bauer with a runner on later in the inning, indicating that Francona is willing to use the All-Star starter in high-leverage situations out of the bullpen.

State of the Astros

Things look great for the defending champions with Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.88 ERA) in Game 2 on Saturday. Lance McCullers Jr. tossed a scoreless inning in relief, a good sign as he works his way back from an injury that sidelined him for most of August and September.

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