The Houston Astros got out to an early lead and never looked back. Undeterred by a rain delay, the Astros took a 5-2 victory over the Royals in Game 1 of the American League Division Series on Thursday night at Kauffman Stadium in Kansas City.
Astros vs. Royals ALDS results: Houston strikes first with 5-2 Game 1 win
Houston leads the best-of-five series, 1-0.
Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports
Jose Altuve had three hits from the leadoff spot, scoring a run in a two-run first inning and he added another with an RBI in the second.
With Houston leading 3-1 after two innings, pouring rain caused a game delay of 49 minutes. Both starters were at 42 pitches through two innings, but while Royals starter Yordano Ventura was replaced on the mound, Collin McHugh remained in the game for the Astros.
McHugh lasted six innings through it all for the win, allowing only a pair of solo home runs to Kendrys Morales in the second and fourth innings.
George Springer hit a solo shot for the Astros in the fifth inning to give Houston some insurance, the only blemish off Chris Young, who replaced Yordano Ventura in relief. The 36-year-old right-hander was otherwise fantastic for Kansas City out of the bullpen, striking out five straight at one point in the third and fourth innings.
Young finished his long relief outing with four runs, allowing just the one run, with seven strikeouts. He is just the 14th pitcher in MLB postseason history to strike out at least seven in relief.
Colby Rasmus added a solo home run in the eighth inning to conclude the scoring. He drove in a pair of runs in the win.
So far this postseason, the road team has won all four games. Kansas City will try to prevent that trend from continuing on Friday in Game 2. They'll send Johnny Cueto to the mound against Scott Kazmir for Houston in a battle of July trade acquisitions.
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