Tampa Bay Race stops the return of the Houston Astros to advance to the World Series

SAN DIEGO – Notable Rookie Randy Arozarena, 36, returns home Charlie Morton It was superb against his former team and the Tampa Bay Rays reached the World Series for the second time, silencing the Houston Astros 4-2 Saturday night in Game 7 of the AL Championship Series.

Rays will face the Los Angeles Dodgers or Atlanta Braves in the World Series starting Tuesday night in Arlington, Texas. Game of the NLCS 7 Sunday night.

Tampa Bay’s other World Series performance In 2008, Philadelphia lost to the Phyllis.

Innovative Rays led the AL with a 40-20 record in the pandemic-brief season. Those known for their pitching and defense also introduced the concept of a starter and sometimes deployed a four-man outfield.

Tampa Bay suffered a three-game defeat and prevented the Astros from comparing to the 2004 Boston Red Sox, the only major league team to rally from a 3-0 deficit to win the seven-game series.

The Astros became the first team to lose with a regular-season record (29-31).

The loss marks Houston’s first season since the sign-stealing scandal broke. Many fans saw the Astros as villains for their role in the cheating scandal on their way to the 2017 title against the Dodgers.

Mike Junino The race to avoid the humiliation of joining the 2004 New York Yankees was home to two runs and a 3-0 lead at the ALCS, losing four at the hands of the Red Sox. Boston won the first World Series in 86 seasons.

Arozarena, unknown before the playoffs, set a rookie record with his seventh homer in the post-season. His 21 hits are a shame Derek Jeter1996 Rookie Post-Season Record.

Nicknamed “The Cuban Rocket”, 25-year-old Arozarena led Lance McCullers Jr. to a 1-1 sinker right-to-center in Petco Park, the first for a two-run homer.

Manual Margot, Who played with San Diego Padres from the end of the 2016 season until he traded to Tampa Bay in the off-season, was on the plane after being hit with the pitch.

Arozarena left Cuba for Mexico in 2015, signed with the St. Louis Cardinals in 2016 and made his big league debut last year. Traded to Tampa Bay in the off-season, he tested positive for COVID-19 before summer camp and did not make his debut in 2020 until August 30.

Until he began to show his October power, Arozarena was well known for the gaff he made with the St. Louis Cardinals after last season. After the Cardinals beat Atlanta in the NL Division Series, he posted on manager Mike Shield’s despicable clubhouse on social media that he did not realize it would get a negative reaction.

Morton caught the Astros with two hits in 5 2/3 scoreless innings, but scored six and walked one. He withdrew 14 consecutive batters until the walk Martin Maldonado With an out in the sixth. George Springer Maldonado was forced to finish third in Jose Altov’s two-out infield singles and manager Kevin Cash pulled Morton just 66 pitches later. Nick Anderson came and retired Michael Brantley.

While with Houston, Morton became the first major league player to win all four winner-take-all games, including Game 7 in the 2017 World Series and Game 7 in the 2017 ALCS against the Yankees. He signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent before the 2019 season and won the wild card game in Oakland last year. The beams were then removed by astrologers in ALDS.

The Astros broke through on Race Bullpen in the eighth half. Carlos Korea Pete Fairbanks hit a two-run single before the reliever was out Alex Bregman In 100 mph fastball.

Fairbanks worked around a one-out single in the ninth to close it.

McCullors Jr. only lasted 3 2/3 innings. He allowed three runs and four hits, scored seven runs and walked one.

Morton and McCullers became the team-winners, the first pair to pitch in a single winner-take-all post-season game and then start each other in a winner-take-all game. In the decisive Game 7 of the 2017 World Series, McCullors started with 2 1/3 scoreless innings, while Morton pitched the last four innings to victory.

Junino McCullers hit a solo shot into the second deck of the left, adding a sacrifice fly to sixth in the second with one out. On Friday night, he dropped his bat on his knee in frustration after being out on three pitches.

Home record

Arozarena is only one homer to match the major league record of eight homers in any single post-season. Barry Bonds marked San Francisco in 2002 and was built by Houston Carlos Beltron In 2004 and Texas’ Nelson Cruz In 2011. Arozarena is the ninth player to homer seven times in a single season, all of which have occurred in the wild card era since 1995.

Trainer Room

Rays: Three-time Gold Glove Award winning CF Kevin Kiermeyer Is back on the lineup. He missed three starts in Game 3 with a left-handed pitch.