KANSAS CITY, Mo. -- Colby Rasmus' excellent October adventure continued in a big way Friday afternoon. Houston's left fielder doubled, homered and walked in four plate appearances to help the Astros to a two-run lead over the Kansas City Royals through five innings in Game 2 of the teams' American League Division Series.
But the Houston bullpen couldn't hold it. Josh Fields walked home the tying run in the sixth inning and Will Harris allowed a tiebreaking RBI single to Ben Zobrist in the seventh as the Royals won 5-4 to even the series at one victory each.
Rasmus' solo shot off Johnny Cueto in the third inning was his sixth home run in his past six games. Rasmus has also recorded an extra-base hit in each of his first six career postseason games to set a major league record. He had previously shared the mark of five consecutive games with Nelson Cruz, Nomar Garciaparra, Greg Luzinski and Pepper Martin.
Thumbs up: Astros fans had reason to be concerned about how Scott Kazmir would perform after his shaky finish to the regular season. The veteran left-hander logged an unsightly 6.52 ERA in September, allowing 41 hits and 11 walks in 29 innings.
Kazmir had to pitch through some trouble Friday. But when he handed the ball to manager A.J. Hinch with a 4-2 lead, one out and Lorenzo Cain standing on second base in the sixth inning, events appeared to be playing out just the way the Astros had hoped and planned. Then the Royals did just enough against Oliver Perez, Fields and Harris to salvage a split of the Kansas City leg of the series.
Thumbs down: It was a tough day for Houston's wunderkind shortstop, Carlos Correa. He struck out twice and grounded into a double play before hitting a single in his fourth at-bat. In addition, Correa fouled a ball off his right knee and crumpled to the ground during an at-bat in the fifth inning. That had to hurt.
What’s next: After a day off, the Astros and Royals return to action at Minute Maid Park behind a well-rested Dallas Keuchel in Game 3 on Sunday. There are worse things. Keuchel, a strong contender for the AL Cy Young Award, went 15-0 with a 1.46 ERA at home during the regular season.
