In their first home postseason game in six years, the Rays tied a club playoff record with four home runs. For the Rays, it will be a bullpen day, featuring a series of relievers starting with Diego Castillo. Houston won 107 games during the regular season, the most in Major League Baseball, and holds home-field advantage throughout the postseason. Verlander went 21-6 in the regular season with a 2.58 earned run average, and Tuesday will be his 27th postseason start. He took the mound a little after 1 p.m. in an atmosphere that was jarringly different from virtually every other Rays home game during the regular season, when the stands are merely dotted with fans.

Source: New York Times October 07, 2019 23:37 UTC