Rays can't beat 3 aces, finally fold in ALDS vs Astros

HOUSTON (AP) — Unable to beat three aces in a row, the Tampa Bay Rays finally folded against Houston.

With baseball's most inexpensive roster, the young Rays tried all they could to avoid elimination again Thursday night. They started an infielder who had barely played in the last month, went to their bullpen early to bring in their own Cy Young Award winner and kept changing pitchers the way they had throughout the playoffs.

In the end, they couldn't win three straight AL Division Series games against a trio of Astros arms with a combined salary of $66 million — about the same as the entire Tampa Bay payroll.

Gerrit Cole struck out 10 more Rays in eight innings, following his 15-strikeout performance in Game 2, and Houston won 6-1 in the decisive Game 5 to advance to a third consecutive AL Championship Series.

Tampa Bay's outstanding season, meanwhile, is over.

After victories at home over Cy Young winners Zack Greinke and Justin Verlander to force this juicy series from Tropicana Field back to Minute Maid Park, the plucky Rays returned to Houston somewhat perturbed by a perceived lack of credit for what they had done.

Before winning Games 3 and 4 to extend the ALDS, they had already avoided an early exit by winning the wild-card game in Oakland.

"I don't know about everyone else, but I got annoyed of hearing about Houston this, Houston that. ... They weren't talking about us at all," said Blake Snell, last season's AL Cy Young Award winner.

"Everybody is counting us out already. They're making the schedule the Yankees and the Astros," shortstop Willy Adames said before Game 5.

Well, make way for the AL East champion Yankees and the AL West-winning Astros. Game 1 of the ALCS is Saturday night in Houston.

Except for a home run by journeyman second baseman Eric...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/Rays-can-t-beat-3-aces-finally-fold-in-ALDS-vs-14511787.php