Tampa Bay @ Houston preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 4, 2019 ) Tampa Bay 2, Houston 6

The formula is simple for the Houston Astros - dominant pitching and a powerful, quick-strike offense built the major league's best record in the regular season and has the team primed for its second trip to the World Series in three seasons. The Astros will try to move one step closer to that goal when they host the Tampa Bay Rays for Game 2 of the American League Division Series on Saturday.

Houston sent Cy Young favorite Justin Verlander to the mound for seven scoreless innings and watched Jose Altuve homer in a postseason opener for the third straight year in Friday's 6-2 Game 1 victory over the wild-card champion Rays. "He's just been doing his thing every year," Astros manager A.J. Hinch told reporters of Altuve. "He means so much to this team. He's the heart and soul. We need a little bit of something from everybody. But it seems like all's right in the world when Josey's in the middle of what we're doing." Tampa Bay will have to face another Cy Young candidate when Houston sends right-hander Gerrit Cole to the mound opposite reigning AL Cy Young winner Blake Snell on Saturday and battling for a pair of runs late in Game 1 gives the team some confidence heading into Game 2. "Hopefully we can build from the last couple innings on the offensive side for tomorrow," Rays outfielder Austin Meadows told reporters. "We can't dwell on it. Have to move on and come ready to play tomorrow."

TV: 9:07 p.m. ET, Fox Sports 1

PITCHING MATCHUP: Rays LH Blake Snell (6-8, 4.29 ERA) vs. Astros RH Gerrit Cole (20-5, 2.50)

Snell is still working his way back from an elbow procedure that forced him to the injured list for nearly two months and did not work more than 2 1/3 innings in any of his three September starts. The 26-year-old allowed a total of three runs on five hits and five walks over six innings in those outings while striking out 11. Snell, who surrendered five runs and three homers to Houston over six innings on Opening Day, is making his first career postseason appearance.

Cole led the AL in ERA and the majors in strikeouts (326) during the regular season, setting himself up for a lucrative offseason when he hits free agency this winter. The UCLA product is 2-3 with a 3.72 ERA in five career postseason starts and doesn't plan to make changes from the approach that worked during the regular season. "We've put in a lot of hard work to get into this position, and now probably some of the hardest work is in front of us," Cole told reporters. "But we've prepared and so it's time to go out and relax and trust and not really approach it any different than how we've been approaching it, because the way we've been approaching it has been pretty consistent all year with the mindset that our process will work in October."

WALK-OFFS

1. Rays INF Eric Sogard (foot) made the ALDS roster and singled in a run during a pinch-hitting appearance on Friday.

2. Houston recorded three stolen bases in Game 1.

3. Tampa Bay 1B-3B-DH Yandy Diaz, who homered twice in the Wild Card Game, went 0-for-4 with a strikeout in Game 1.

PREDICTION: Astros 7, Rays 3