Houston Astros take 2-0 lead on Oakland in the ALDS

George Springer (YouTube)

In an improbable season, the Houston Astros are only one win away from reaching the American League Championship Series. On Tuesday, George Springer of New Britain, Connecticut led Houston offensively from the leadoff spot as he hit two home runs in a 5-2 win over the Oakland Athletics from Dodger Stadium in Los Angeles. With the win, the Astros take a two games to none lead in the best out of five series.

Springer recorded two of the three home runs for Houston in the three-run win. The other home run was hit by catcher Martin Maldonado, who hit his blast while batting ninth. Also in game two, Houston got an excellent pitching performance from starting pitcher Framber Valdez, who only gave up two earned runs in seven innings, while delivering an excellent quality start.

Houston also had three home runs in their game one win, a 10-5 victory over Oakland on Monday. In that contest, Carlos Correa hit two home runs, and Alex Bregman also had a homer.

The Astros have had a lot of turmoil this season. They received significant penalties in the offseason for their role in a cheating scandal where they used technology to steal opposing teams’ signs. As a result, general manager Jeff Luhnow and manager A.J. Hinch were fired, the Astros were fined $5 million, and they lost four draft picks.

In the other American League Divisional Series, the New York Yankees and Tampa Bay Rays are tied at one game apiece. The Yankees won game one by a score of 9-3 on Monday. The Yankees had four home runs as a team and got a quality start from Gerrit Cole. In game two, a 7-5 Tampa Bay victory, the Rays had two four run leads at 5-1 and 7-3. Like the Yankees in game one, the Rays had four home runs in game two.

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