HOUSTON—Justin Verlander rebounded masterfully following a scuffling start to his outing and the Houston Astros bashed three home runs en route to 4–2 victory over the New York Yankees in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series on Oct. 19.
Yuli Gurriel, Chas McCormick and Jeremy Pena slugged solo home runs for the Astros, who will play host to Game 2 in the best-of-seven series on Thursday.
Verlander (1–0) needed 66 pitches to complete three innings, 22 pitches of them in the first inning, when he stranded two baserunners.
Two batters into the second, New York’s Harrison Bader clubbed his fourth home run of the postseason, a 411-foot blast to left-center field that provided the Yankees a 1–0 lead….