Houston @ Tampa Bay preview

Last Meeting ( Oct 5, 2019 ) Tampa Bay 1, Houston 3

Dominant starting pitching and a few timely hits have the Houston Astros on the verge of the American League Championship Series. The Astros can polish off a three-game sweep in the AL Division Series when they send another former Cy Young Award winner to the mound in Game 3 at the Tampa Bay Rays on Monday.

Justin Verlander and Gerrit Cole combined to allow five hits and strike out 23 over 14 2/3 innings in Games 1 and 2, and Houston is confident right-hander Zack Greinke will give the team a similar effort on Monday. "Just like Verlander and Cole, he studies," Astros third baseman Alex Bregman told reporters of Greinke. "He knows the game of baseball. He knows his strengths, and he has a plan that he's going to try and execute every time he takes the mound. We love playing behind him, and we're going to try and play good defense for him in Tampa, Game 3." The Rays have a big hill to climb to get back into the series but will send their best pitcher this season - former Houston right-hander Charlie Morton - to the mound on Monday and manager Kevin Cash is not worried about his team rising to the occasion. "These guys do a good job of controlling the situation," Cash told reporters. "I don't think there's a real message. They know what's at stake. They've played so well all season long. We're going to have to have some things go in our favor now going forward, but we're capable of playing a really good game on Monday and see where that takes us."

TV: 1:05 p.m. ET, MLB Network

PITCHING MATCHUP: Astros RH Zack Greinke (18-5, 2.93 ERA) vs. Rays RH Charlie Morton (1-0, 0.00)

Greinke went 8-1 with a 3.02 ERA after being acquired from the Arizona Diamondbacks at the trade deadline and is pitching in the postseason for the first time since 2017. The 35-year-old allowed one or no runs in three of his last four regular-season starts and is working for the first time since Sept. 25, when he held the Seattle Mariners to two hits over 8 1/3 scoreless innings. Greinke's worst start since joining Houston came against Tampa Bay on Aug. 29, when he was reached for five earned runs and six hits over 5 2/3 innings.

Morton pitched the Rays into the ALDS with a solid performance in the Wild Card Game against Oakland on Wednesday, scattering five hits and an unearned run over five innings to earn the win. The 35-year-old won a World Series ring with Houston in 2017 - posting a 1.74 ERA in two games against the Los Angeles Dodgers - but was knocked around in his lone postseason start in 2018. Morton was not at his best at the Astros in August, allowing six runs and seven hits over four innings to suffer a loss.

WALK-OFFS

1. Bregman is 3-for-6 with a home run and four runs scored in the series.

2. Rays 1B-3B Yandy Diaz is 0-for-8 in the series after going 3-for-4 with a pair of homers in the Wild Card Game.

3. Tampa Bay is trying to become the 11th team to recover from a 0-2 hole and win a best-of-five series.

PREDICTION: Rays 5, Astros 4