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Oct. 5 (UPI) -- The Houston Astros picked up right where they left off, defeating the Cleveland Indians 7-2 on Friday in Game 1 of the AL Division Series at Minute Maid Park. The Astros -- behind George Springer, Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman -- clobbered four home runs to earn their first postseason victory this season in defense of their World Series title last year.
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Houston had a World Series-record 15 home runs in winning their first championship last season, and continued their postseason power surge.
"As much as I've heard different opinions about our offense, it's pretty big, it's pretty good, it's pretty potent," Astros manager AJ Hinch said to reporters. "Case in point today."
Bregman opened the contest with a 396-foot homer to left field in the bottom of the fourth inning. Josh Reddick pushed the score to 2-0 after a single to right plated Yuli Gurriel.
Springer and Altuve each mashed solo home runs to give the Astros a 4-0 advantage headed into the sixth inning.
The Indians got on the board in the top of the sixth after a wild pitch allowed Yan Gomes to score. Jose Ramirez plated Francisco Lindor after grounding out to first base on a fielder's choice to cut the deficit to 4-2.
The Astros didn't waste any time, adding two more runs in the bottom of the seventh to essentially close out the game. Astros catcher Martin Maldonado homered to left field -- the fourth home run of the game for Houston -- and Bregman singled home Springer for his second RBI.
Reddick added another RBI, scoring the speedy Myles Straw on a single in the bottom of the eighth to push their lead to 7-2.
Astros starting pitcher Justin Verlander earned the win -- his 12th playoff victory -- and took a no-hitter into the sixth inning. He lasted 5 1/3 innings and allowed two hits and two runs while striking out seven batters.
Indians starter Corey Kluber -- a two-time Cy Young winner -- struggled throughout the contest. He gave up six hits, four earned runs (three home runs) in 4 2/3 innings and only struck out two.
Game 2 of the series is Saturday in Houston.
Milwaukee Brewers 4, Colorado Rockies 0
The Milwaukee Brewers are playing red-hot baseball, and there's no end in sight.
Jhoulys Chacin pitched five stellar innings and the Brewers' bats remained hot as they picked up a 4-0 victory against the Colorado Rockies to take an early 2-0 lead in the NLDS.
Combined with the end of the regular season and the opening stages of the postseason, the NL Central champions have now won 10 consecutive games.
Brewers third baseman Mike Moustakas and catcher Erik Kratz paced the offense. Kratz delivered two hits and two RBI, while Moustakas came up with two critical hits.
Milwaukee opened the scoring in the bottom of the fourth inning after Hernan Perez hit a ground-rule double to deep left center field. Moustakas scored from the hit, giving the Brewers a 1-0 lead.
Later in the eighth inning, Moustakas struck again with a single to right field to score Christian Yelich. Kratz followed that with a single to left, plating Ryan Braun and Orlando Arcia to cap the score at 4-0.
Rockies pitcher Tyler Anderson got the loss, lasting six innings. He gave up four hits and one earned run while striking out five.
Chacin pitched five shutout innings, giving up only three hits and striking out three.
Game 3 is Sunday at Coors Field.
Boston Red Sox 5, New York Yankees 4
The Boston Red Sox survived an unstable performance from its bullpen to outlast the New York Yankees 5-4 in Game 1 of the ALDS.
Starting pitcher Chris Sale cruised early in the contest, striking out eight in 5 1/3 innings. He gave up five hits and two earned runs in picking up his first postseason victory.
Red Sox slugger J.D. Martinez opened the first inning with a three-run homer to left field to give Boston an early 3-0 lead.
Steve Pearce singled in a run and the Red Sox added another tally on a sacrifice fly from Xander Bogaerts to go up 5-0 in the third.
The Yankees' rally tried to take form in the sixth inning. Luke Voit scored Brett Gardner on a single to right, and Didi Gregorius grounded into a fielder's choice to score Giancarlo Stanton.
Trailing 5-2 in the seventh, Voit knocked in Andrew McCutchen via another fielder's choice to cut the deficit to 5-3.
In the ninth inning, Aaron Judge smashed a homer to right field to make it a one-run game, but the Yankees' rally eventually fell short.
Yankees starter J.A. Happ struggled throughout the contest, lasting only two innings while allowing four hits and five earned runs.
Game 2 is Saturday night as Boston's David Price squares off with the Yankees' Masahiro Tanaka.
Los Angeles Dodgers 3, Atlanta Braves 0
Los Angeles ace Clayton Kershaw was masterful Friday night, allowing just two hits over eight sparkling innings to push the Dodgers to a 3-0 victory, and a 2-0 series lead in the NLDS.
Dodgers shortstop Manny Machado slugged a two-run home run in the first inning to give Kershaw all the run support he needed for the night.
Catcher Yasmani Grandal also added a solo home run in the bottom of the fifth to top off the scoring.
The Braves' young bats continued to struggle, as they have yet to score a single run in the postseason.
Los Angeles now has a chance to sweep the best-of-five series in Game 3 on Sunday in Atlanta.
