His ERA sat at 4.97, and after an underwhelming first season in Boston it was fair to wonder what he'd be able to contribute to the 2017 Sox.

Another way to think of the Red Sox offensive struggles is to consider run differential, which is the total number of runs a team scores subtracted by the total number it gives up. And so the Sox chipped in their prospects and traded for southpaw strikeout artist Chris Sale, who had been going to waste with the Chicago White Sox.

It was a bad day all around for the Red Sox. Only three clubs in Major League Baseball hit fewer home runs than the Sox, who finished the season with just 168. Altuve has won three batting titles and has accrued 200-plus hits in each of his last four seasons. But the Astros did what the Astros have always seemed to do this season - hang close, then break the game open late thanks to lots of home runs.

Judge is a terrific player, undoubtedly the rookie of the year after his 52 home runs and 114 RBIs, more than doubling Altuve's 24 regular-season homers.

Baker did not divulge his starter pitchers for Games 2 and 3 of the series, with respect to the status of Max Scherzer (16-6, 2.51 ERA) as he deals with a hamstring injury. It was one of his most dominant outings of the season.

The problem, though, is that those numbers were compiled against all comers, not just playoff teams. If the Astros can beat Sale, they already have taken away the Red Sox's primary advantage. "I told some of the guys for the first time I said, Get ready because you're going to need some earplugs".

That shift was confirmed when Verlander earned the nod for Game 1 of the American League Division Series against the Boston Red Sox, bumping Keuchel to Game 2 on Friday at Minute Maid Park. His second blast in the fifth stretched the Astros lead to 5-2.

Verlander will be making his 17th career postseason start and his first since 2014. As a result, Porcello yielded career highs in home runs, hits, runs and losses.

But where we have lost our beloved iteration of "Mr. October" we've gained something that many would consider to be more integral to any solid postseason team, something that we really didn't have in 2016: Starting pitching. He has the most recent postseason experience of the three.

Eduardo Rodriguez is perhaps the least accomplished of these three pitchers, but he is the starter I would have liked to see at home in Game 3. Heading into the series, the pitcher that would start for the third game was up for debate among the media. With Pomeranz facing off against Dallas Keuchel. I'm not sure they can, but if they do pull off the upset, they will have a real shot at hoisting their first championship since entering the league in 1962. That decision actually favors the Astros, which were 32-16 in day games this year as opposed to a Boston team that was just 25-23.

Bauer, who was a surprise choice by Indians manager Terry Francona to start Game 1 ahead of ace Corey Kluber, threw 98 pitches, striking out eight with one walk. They escaped the kind of desperate over-usage that may now handicap the Yankees and Diamondbacks. Price has a history of backing down in big situations and not taking the blame. And Altuve put up some impressive regular season numbers.