Houston May Be a Problem, Indians Get Rocked in Game 1
I hope Corey Kluber’s neck is okay. Has to have lots of whiplash after watching no-doubter after no-doubter after no-doubter fly over his head and into the stands. In a span of nine batters, Kluber allowed three homeruns, and Houston jumped out to a 4-0 lead that they never let up.
Prior to the barrage of Houston homeruns, Kluber actually had a pretty solid start going, statistically speaking. Although he had hit two batters and walked a third, he had a no-hitter going through 3, only throwing 33 pitches. Then, the wheels came off and we had a problem in Houston. Kluber finished his outing going 4 and 2/3, giving up 6 hits, half of which are now souvenirs. His postseason struggles continue to plague the Tribe…
Not a good look for the 2-time Cy Young Award winner. The Indians did try their best to make it interesting in the 6th though, as Yan Gomes broke up Justin Verlander’s no-hitter with a leadoff single. After an absolutely terrible full-count strike three call at Jason Kipnis’ ankles, Lindor singled. Don’t get me started on the fact that it could’ve been bases loaded, no outs, for our 2-3-4 hitters. Regardless, Brantley walked as well, loading up the bases for Jose Ramirez. The Astros decided to pull Verlander in favor of lights-out reliever Ryan Pressly.
Pressly, in his first ever postseason appearance, bounced the first pitch back to the backstop, allowing the Indians to move up and get on the scoreboard. A weak groundball to first by Ramirez cut the lead to 4-2, but that’s all the Indians could muster up.
It was back to business as usual for the Astros in the bottom of the 7th, as Martin Maldonado left the ball park off Cody Allen. An Alex Bregman single, in which Michael Brantley couldn’t throw George Springer who was just touching third when he got the ball, extended the lead to 6-2. Alright I’m tired of recapping Houston run after Houston run. They scored again, too. 7-2 final.
What a disappointing day for the Indians. The hype and excitement surrounding the postseason was at an all-time high this morning, and Kluber’s continuous postseason struggles quickly brought everyone back down to Earth. The only good news coming out of Houston today for Tribe fans is that it was only 1 game. They won 7-2. They could have won 700-2 and it would still be only be a 1-0 series lead. The series doesn’t start until somebody wins in the other team’s stadium. If Carlos Carrasco and the Tribe come out tomorrow and take Game 2, everyone is happy with a 1-1 split heading back home. However, if the Tribe lose tomorrow, well, shit.