The Division Series have officially begun as of Tuesday, with the American League producing a couple of very entertaining contests. First up, the Houston Astros found themselves in a bind early, falling behind 4-0 early. They’d end up being down four runs twice more, including as late as the top of the seventh, but they continued to fight and eventually rallied their way past the Seattle Mariners to win 8-7.
Alex Bregman hit a two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to get it close before Yordan Alvarez played the role of hero with a three-run bomb that walked it off in the bottom of the ninth. Elsewhere, the New York Yankees also defended home-field advantage on Tuesday, knocking off the Cleveland Guardians 4-1 in Game 1 of the ALDS. Gerrit Cole gave up a solo shot to Steven Kwon in the top of the third and got out of a bases loaded jam later in the frame before the Bronx Bombers’ offense got going. Harrison Bader hit a solo homer of his own in the bottom of the third and Jose Trevino hit a sac fly in the fifth that proved to be the winning run before Anthony Rizzo’s no-doubt, two-run shot in the bottom of the sixth that gave them some insurance.
