The Astros' title defense got off to a pristine start Friday afternoon. Houston bashed four homers and rode a strong start from Justin Verlander to a 7-2 victory over the Indians in Game 1 of the American League Division Series. Here are three thoughts on the game:
Alex Bregman opened the scoring of the Astros’ championship run last year with a solo homer off an ace in Game 1 of the ALDS—and he did it again on Friday. His first homer of the 2017 postseason came against Chris Sale in the first inning. This year, he waited until his second at-bat to go yard, launching a Corey Kluber sinker over the Crawford Boxes.