 with a pregame video recounting the highlights of his two-year stint with the team. Morton, who won Game 7 of the AL Championship Series and Game 7 of the World Series in 2017 to help Houston to its first title, tipped his cap after receiving a standing ovation following the tribute.Houston's hitters didn't give Morton nearly as warm of a reception in his first trip to Minute Maid Park since signing with the Rays. The Astros tagged him for seven hits and a season-high six runs in four innings, which tied his shortest start this season.''They got me with that one, and then they took it to me on the mound,'' Morton said with a laugh, referring to the video.Verlander's ejection came with the Astros up 9-0 when he thought he struck out Tommy Pham. Instead the pitch was called a ball, and the right-hander yelled something to home plate umpire Pat Hoberg.Pham then doubled to center on Verlander's next pitch. Verlander then yelled at Hoberg at least three times before he threw him out just as Pham reached second base. Verlander continued to jaw at Hoberg while he walked off the field and after he reached the dugout.Verlander didn't believe his ejection was warranted.''My back was turned. I guess he heard what I said,'' Verlander said. ''I could have cleaned up the language a little bit but it wasn't toward him, it was toward my opinion of the call and he took exception to that.'' Verlander (16-5) allowed four hits and struck out four in 5 1/3 innings while lowering his ERA to an AL-leading 2.69. His early exit helped end a streak of seven straight games with double-digit strikeouts. But Verlander, who leads the majors with 243 strikeouts, stayed around long enough to collect his 16th win, which ranks second in the big leagues.''I'm not sure he made hardly any mistakes,'' manager A. J. Hinch said. ''I told him not to let the last inning ruin his day. I thought he threw a great game.'' It was a much different performance than Verlander's previous start, when he threw a two-hitter in a 2-1 loss to the Tigers.After that start, the Astros denied a newspaper reporter access to the clubhouse until after Verlander finished his postgame session with the media, and he later tweeted that he didn't want to speak to the reporter because of unspecified ''unethical behavior in the past.'' Against the Rays, the Astros kept piling on after the early onslaught against Morton. The first of Alvarez's two homers was a three-run shot in the fifth, and Jake Marisnick knocked in two runs with a single in a five-run sixth.Tampa Bay put third baseman Michael Brosseau on the mound in the seventh, and Alvarez hit a solo shot with one out for his 21st homer.The Rays got their only run on Joey Wendle's first homer of the season in the seventh.TRAINER'S ROOMRays: CF Kevin Kiermaier was out of the lineup with rib pain after being injured on Sunday. But manager Kevin Cash said he's doing better and should be back in the lineup Wednesday. ... RHP Tyler Glasnow (right forearm strain) will make a rehabilitation start for Class A Charlotte on Friday and is expected to make three or four appearances in the minors before rejoining the Rays. ... LHP Blake Snell (arthroscopic elbow surgery) is scheduled to throw a bullpen session Friday for his first work on the mound since his operation.Astros: RHP Josh James (right shoulder soreness) will pitch several innings for Triple-A Round Rock later this week. If that goes well, he could come off the injured list sometime next week.THEY SAID IT''It seems like every time Charlie threw a ball they could handle, they certainly did and made us pay for it.'' - Cash on Morton's outing.UP NEXTRays: LHP Ryan Yarbrough (11-3, 3.29 ERA) starts Wednesday night. Yarbrough allowed two runs - one earned - in 4 1/3 innings in his last start, but didn't factor in the decision in Tampa Bay's 5-2 win over Baltimore.Astros: RHP Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.75 ERA) is scheduled to start Wednesday night. Cole struck out 12 in seven scoreless innings in his last start to win his 11th straight decision as the Astros beat Detroit 6-3.---More MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB and https://twitter.com/-Sports)
Verlander, Astros ready for Rays in series openerFLMThe ebb and flow of the six-month regular season once again has the Houston Astros, winners of seven of their last eight games and co-owners of the best record in the American League following their sweep of the Los Angeles Angels, riding high with some considering what the final five weeks of the schedule might bring.And while a third consecutive 100-win season appears all but certain, the Astros have goals to achieve beyond that benchmark. Earning home-field advantage would be a welcome reward for their perseverance through the 162-game slog, but that big-picture pursuit continues to yield to the day-by-day commitment to winning singular games, with the Astros focused on the visiting Tampa Bay Rays and their three-game series showdown starting Tuesday at Minute Maid Park."I don't want to think about the next five weeks," Astros manager A. J. Hinch said. "I want to think about an incredible day off (Monday) with the boys and get to a really good team with the Rays and just keep that one-day-at-a-time (mentality). I know it's a cliche, but it's real on how we have to operate."At the end of the season, we can count how many wins we have and see where that takes us, but our center focus is on Charlie Morton and the boys from Tampa." Right-hander Justin Verlander (15-5, 2.77 ERA) will open the series on the mound for the Astros on Tuesday. He had been 5-0 with a 2.30 ERA over his previous seven starts before taking the loss Aug. 21 against the Detroit Tigers despite allowing just two runs on two hits while posting 11 strikeouts over nine innings in a 2-1 setback.Verlander leads the majors in strikeouts (239) and WHIP (0.81) while pacing the American League in innings (178 2/3). He is 9-4 with a 3.30 ERA over 19 career starts against the Rays, including a victory on Opening Day when he allowed one run on three hits and one walk with nine strikeouts over seven innings.Morton (13-5, 2.85) gets the start for the Rays. The veteran right-hander has alternated wins and losses since the All-Star break, going 3-3 with a 4.10 ERA over eight starts in that span while posting 55 strikeouts in 48 1/3 innings.Morton is 4-5 with a 5.74 ERA over 10 career starts against the Astros, for whom he pitched two seasons (2017-18) and recorded the final out of the 2017 World Series. He defeated the Astros on March 29 after allowing two runs on three hits and two walks with eight strikeouts over five innings in a 4-2 victory at Tropicana Field.Unlike Houston, the Rays have been treading water of late at 5-6 over their last 11 games, having dropped consecutive games at Baltimore last weekend after reaching a high-water mark of 22 games over .500. Injuries have undermined their exceptional pitching, the timing of which is critical given the Rays' three-way chase of the two American League wild-card bids alongside Cleveland and Oakland.What happened against the Orioles wasn't beneficial, but the Rays must move on."They're over with now. They're not that important anymore," Rays manager Kevin Cash said. "Now we've got to ... focus on going to Houston, a good team, where we've got to play good baseball." --Field Level Media
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