(AP) – A look at what's happening around the majors today:
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UNEXPECTED SEVEN
The Astros are channeling the 2004 Red Sox, hoping to “cowboy up” for a stunning comeback that could send them to the World Series in Arlington, Texas. The only task left — winning Game 7 of their AL Championship Series against the Rays.
Trailing 3-0 in the series earlier this week, Houston players watched a documentary about Boston’s rally from a similar deficit in the ALCS against the Yankees — the only time in baseball’s 116-year postseason history a club trailed 3-0 and advanced. Carlos Correa, George Springer and the Astros' other players are using that unforgettable comeback as inspiration.
That Red Sox team went on to win the World Series and end the Curse of the Bambino. Houston is merely trying to prove it can win without stealing signs after their 2017 title was tainted by scandal.
“We’re not through writing history,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “We’re hoping we can have a happy ending to this historic season and historic year.”
Tampa Bay’s Charlie Morton and Houston’s Lance McCullers Jr. will share the mound in an elimination game for the first time since doing so as teammates in 2017. McCullers started and Morton closed for the Astros in Game 7 of the ’17 World Series against the Dodgers.