The magic ran out on Saturday night after coming back from down 3-0 in the American League Championship Series, losing in game seven to the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2.
How It Happened:
Things didn’t start well for the Astros with Lance McCullers hitting Manuel Margot on his very first pitch. After Brandon Lowe struck out swinging, rookie Randy Arozarena did what he’s been doing throughout the postseason and lifted one out to centerfield, giving them a 2-0 lead in the bottom of the first.
Mike Zunino then let one rip out to left center field in the bottom of the second to give Tampa Bay a 3-0 lead. The deficit for the Astros remained three, but a pair of well-hit sacrifice flies resulted in Ji-Man Choi reaching home plate to make it a 4-0 ballgame.
Houston had a chance to get a rally going in the top of the seventh, but Yuli Gurriel grounded into a double play to end the inning. The Astros finally did get on the board after Pete Fairbanks walked the bases loaded to bring up Carlos Correa. The former first-round pick then came up clutch with a well-hit ground ball got Aledmys Diaz and Jose Altuve across home plate to make it a 4-2 ballgame. However, Alex Bregman squandered the rally striking out swinging.
Player of the Game: Randy Arozarena
The ALCS MVP only had one hit, but it was without a doubt the most impactful to give the Rays the early edge.
