The stage was set. Astros ace Justin Verlander took the mound on three days rest, hoping to clinch a date with the Yankees in the American League Championship Series. However, it didn’t go necessarily as planned.
The Rays jumped on Verlander early in the first with a Tommy Pham home run to left-center, just clearing the wall. Travis d’Arnaud then singled to Michael Brantley scoring Ji-Man Choi. Avisail Garcia moved to second and was brought in by Joey Wendle who cracked a double to right field.