HOUSTON _ Justin Verlander was his familiar, Cy Young-level self but Corey Kluber couldn't follow suit, and the Indians lost a matchup of two of the game's best pitchers and Game 1 of the American League Division Series, 7-2, to the Houston Astros on Friday afternoon at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros launched four home runs _ three of them off Kluber _ to take a 1-0 lead in the series. It was the most home runs the Indians have allowed in a single postseason game since Game 4 of the 1999 ALDS against the Boston Red Sox.
After needing only 33 pitches to get through the first three innings, Kluber delivered a sinker right down the middle to MVP candidate Alex Bregman, who crushed it for a solo home run and a 1-0 Astros lead. A walk and two singles set up Josh Reddick, who with two outs singled to right field to make it a two-run inning.
With Adam Cimber warming in the bullpen, the Indians stayed with Kluber in the fifth to face the top of the Astros lineup for a third time. Needing to keep it a 2-0 game with Verlander cruising, George Springer and Jose Altuve instead belted back-to-back solo home runs, widening the Indians' deficit to 4-0.
In Kluber's first six postseason starts, which encompassed most of his dominant 2016 October, he posted a 0.89 ERA with 35 strikeouts. In the four postseason starts since, starting with Game 7 of the 2016 World Series, he's been hit for a 10.20 ERA and nine home runs.
The Indians lineup, meanwhile, ran into a pitching buzzsaw in Verlander, who cruised though five no-hit innings and looked as dominant as ever, making the four-run deficit feel that much more insurmountable. It took until the sixth inning for the Indians to get anything going.
Yan Gomes and Francisco Lindor each singled and Michael Brantley walked with one out to load the bases and bring MVP candidate Jose Ramirez to the plate as the potential tying run. The Astros decided to not take any chances and took Verlander out in favor of Ryan Pressly, one of the game's best young relievers.
Pressly's first pitch was wild, allowing Gomes to score from third. Ramirez then grounded out to first base to bring home another run, cutting the Astros' lead to 4-2. But Pressly struck out Edwin Encarnacion to end the inning without any further damage.
The Astros added some insurance in the seventh. Catcher Martin Maldonado first launched a solo home run off reliever Cody Allen on a high fastball. After Allen allowed a single to Springer, the Indians turned to Trevor Bauer out of the bullpen. Bregman singled to left with two outs to bring home Springer and Brantley's throw to home plate _ which might have been in time _ was cut off by Josh Donaldson, who flipped it to Ramirez before he tagged out Bregman.
Bauer pitched one inning and threw 16 pitches, and Dan Otero allowed an RBI single to Reddick in the eighth.
Carlos Carrasco will take the mound opposite Gerrit Cole in Saturday's Game 2 before the series turns to Cleveland for Monday's Game 3.
