Justin Verlander carried a no-hitter into the sixth inning and the Houston Astros hammered four home runs en route to a 7-2 victory Friday over the Cleveland Indians in Game 1 of the American League Division Series at Minute Maid Park in Houston.Alex Bregman opened the scoring with a solo shot in the fourth inning Ron Santo Jersey , which was followed by a Josh Reddick RBI single later in the frame. Jose Altuve and George Springer added homers in the fifth as the 'Stros raced out to a 4-0 lead.The Indians trimmed the lead to two in the sixth, but the Astros pulled away for good with two runs of their own in the seventh, including a home run by Martin Maldonado. Astros Look Primed to Defend Title After Playoff OpenerOne of the most common questions in the aftermath of Houston's World Series triumph last year was whether the club had dynasty potential.An extended rebuilding process, which featured three straight years of at least 106 losses starting in 2011, has yielded a roster with an incredible collection of hitters entering the prime of their careers together. The result was 103 wins during the regular season.BYU鈥檚 Cosmo the Cougar Is the Next Superstar MascotJoshua Johnson Is HS Footballs Quadruple ThreatThe Champions x Queer EyeHappy 26th Birthday to OBJ 馃帀Happy Anniversary to the Cubs Curse-BreakingD-Rose Turned Back the Clock and Put Up 50Will Drake鈥檚 Favorite Teams Reverse the 6 God Curse?Sports Worlds Halloween Costumes Went HardUp Your Halloween Game with Giant Pumpkin RegattaThe Champions: Episode 6 Is ComingDubs Trolled Fergie So Hard It Became a ChallengePurdue Footballs No. 1 Fan Is Inspiring the TeamOne Road to MLB Starts with a Bottle Cap and BroomstickIts Been a Wild Month with Flyers鈥?Mascot Gritty馃専The Champions: Episode 5 馃専CP3-Rondo Blowup Was a Long Time ComingMahomes Is Showtime Off the Field TooCFBs Creative Entrances Put WWE to ShameWorld Pole Climbing Championships Are Something ElseNBA Let Players Know They Have to Cover Branded TattoosRight Arrow IconThe Astros kept rolling right along Friday. They made quick work of two-time AL Cy Young Award winner Corey Kluber, who allowed six hits, two walks and four earned runs in 4.2 innings, and their pitching staff took care of the rest.BYU鈥檚 Cosmo the Cougar Is the Next Superstar MascotJoshua Johnson Is HS Footballs Quadruple ThreatThe Champions x Queer EyeHappy 26th Birthday to OBJ 馃帀Happy Anniversary to the Cubs Curse-BreakingD-Rose Turned Back the Clock and Put Up 50Will Drake鈥檚 Favorite Teams Reverse the 6 God Curse?Sports Worlds Halloween Costumes Went HardUp Your Halloween Game with Giant Pumpkin RegattaThe Champions: Episode 6 Is ComingDubs Trolled Fergie So Hard It Became a ChallengePurdue Footballs No. 1 Fan Is Inspiring the TeamOne Road to MLB Starts with a Bottle Cap and BroomstickIts Been a Wild Month with Flyers鈥?Mascot Gritty馃専The Champions: Episode 5 馃専CP3-Rondo Blowup Was a Long Time ComingMahomes Is Showtime Off the Field TooCFBs Creative Entrances Put WWE to ShameWorld Pole Climbing Championships Are Something ElseNBA Let Players Know They Have to Cover Branded TattoosRight Arrow IconFinding a weakness is hard. Even outside of the loaded lineup and a terrific group of starting pitchers, the Astros also possess a dependable relief corps while also being efficient in the field and on the basepaths.The Indians couldn't find an answer in Game 1 and, if Houston maintains that level of play throughout the postseason, a repeat is certainly possible. Verlander's Strong Outing Sets Tone for Stacked StaffAll of the tangible factors suggest the Astros are again a serious World Series threat. There are always intangible elements involved in any title run Ernie Banks Jersey , and one of those is setting the tone in Game 1.Verlander did that Friday. He kept the Cleveland offense, which ranked third in runs during the regular season, without a hit until the sixth. While his final stat line shows two earned runs in 5.1 innings, he was far more dominant than those numbers suggest.BYU鈥檚 Cosmo the Cougar Is the Next Superstar MascotJoshua Johnson Is HS Footballs Quadruple ThreatThe Champions x Queer EyeHappy 26th Birthday to OBJ 馃帀Happy Anniversary to the Cubs Curse-BreakingD-Rose Turned Back the Clock and Put Up 50Will Drake鈥檚 Favorite Teams Reverse the 6 God Curse?Sports Worlds Halloween Costumes Went HardUp Your Halloween Game with Giant Pumpkin RegattaThe Champions: Episode 6 Is ComingDubs Trolled Fergie So Hard It Became a ChallengePurdue Footballs No. 1 Fan Is Inspiring the TeamOne Road to MLB Starts with a Bottle Cap and BroomstickIts Been a Wild Month with Flyers鈥?Mascot Gritty馃専The Champions: Episode 5 馃専CP3-Rondo Blowup Was a Long Time ComingMahomes Is Showtime Off the Field TooCFBs Creative Entrances Put WWE to ShameWorld Pole Climbing Championships Are Something ElseNBA Let Players Know They Have to Cover Branded TattoosRight Arrow IconThe 2011 AL MVP also providedthe blueprint for attacking the Indians' hitters forthe rest of the Astros staff, including fellow starters Gerrit Cole, Dallas Keuchel and Charlie Morton.Ultimately, Houston's offense is powerful enough to win a lot of playoff games, but the club is also destined to play some low-scoring pitchers' duels. Being able to win either way is crucial to October success, and perhaps no team is better prepared for that than the Astros.Verlander and the offense both showed that in the playoff opener.Tribe Must Take Game 2 To Avoid Quick ExitKnowing all of those things about the Astros and seeing them firsthand Friday, the Indians must head into Game 2 with a must-win mentality.It starts with creating more offensive noise early in innings. Only once Friday did Cleveland's leadoff batter get on base鈥攁 Yan Gomes single to open the sixth, which is also the only frame the Indians put runs on the board. That's no coincidence.The Tribe also need a shutdown performance from Carlos Carrasco http://www.chicagocubsteamshop.com/authentic-ryne-sandberg-jersey , who struggled against the high-powered Astros during the regular season. He allowed eight earned runs on 15 hits and three walks in 13.1 innings across two starts against the AL West champions.If the Indians drop Game 2, it's hard to imagine a path for them to win three consecutive games to complete a monumental comeback against the reigning champs.What's Next?The host Astros will attempt to take a commanding 2-0 series lead when they send Cole (2.88 ERA) to the mound Saturday against the Tribe's Carrasco (3.38 ERA). First pitch is scheduled for 4:37 p.m. ET on TBS. The St. Louis Cardinals finished July with a 7 ½-game deficit in the NL Central. They were still in the race for a wild card, but after trading outfielder Tommy Pham to Tampa Bay, they didn’t seem like a team that was on the verge of making a serious run at the postseason.Then the Cardinals began playing some of their best baseball of the year.St. Louis is 14-4 this month, and even after a loss to Milwaukee on Sunday, the Cardinals are just four games behind the division-leading Cubs. Philadelphia (68-56) and Colorado (68-56) lead the race for the National League wild cards, with Milwaukee (69-57) percentage points behind and St. Louis only a half-game back.The Cardinals took advantage of a soft spot in their schedule, beating up on the Marlins and Royals earlier this month. But over the past week, they also went 5-2 against the Nationals and Brewers. So far in August, St. Louis leads the NL in batting average, on-base percentage and ERA. Matt Carpenter has hit 14 home runs since the All-Star break and leads the NL with 33.It’s been just over a month since the Cardinals fired manager Mike Matheny and replaced him on an interim basis with Mike Shildt. St. Louis has plenty of challenges ahead — its next six games are on the road against the Dodgers and Rockies — but the Cardinals have done enough to climb clearly into contention in the wild race for the NL’s postseason spots.Elsewhere around the majors:RISING STARRonald Acuna Jr. is showing why he was considered one of the game’s top prospects coming into the season. The 20-year-old Atlanta outfielder is hitting .355 with 12 homers and 24 RBIs since the All-Star break. His 1.191 OPS over that span is the best mark in the National League for anyone with more than 60 at-bats.Acuna hit leadoff homers in three straight games before Miami’s Jose Urena hit him with his first pitch Wednesday night.ON A ROLLOakland took two of three from Houston and now trails the Astros by only a game atop the AL West. The Athletics were actually tied for first before dropping the series finale Sunday.On the morning of June 16 Billy Williams Jersey , the A’s were 34-36 and trailed Houston by 11 ½ games. They were also 11 behind Seattle for the second wild card. Since then, Oakland is 40-14.DOUBLE TROUBLEThe Pittsburgh Pirates made a splash at the trade deadline when they acquired right-hander Chris Archer from Tampa Bay, but they’re nine games out in the NL Central after splitting four games with the Cubs.Pittsburgh allowed only four runs in that series but dropped the first two games by identical 1-0 scores. The Pirates hit into seven double plays in Friday’s game.HIGHLIGHTThe Texas Rangers got out of a bases-loaded, nobody-out jam with a triple play against the Los Angeles Angels on Thursday night. Third baseman Jurickson Profar made a diving stop on David Fletcher’s one-hopper and stepped on third for a force play. He also tagged Taylor Ward, the runner who started the play at third, when Ward left the bag. Then Profar threw to second for another force.Some of the Angels’ runners may have been confused, since at first it was hard to tell whether Profar had gloved Fletcher’s grounder on a short hop or caught it on the fly. It was the first time since 1912 that a team pulled off a triple play without the batter being one of the outs.LINE OF THE WEEKJose Bautista hit a grand slam and had seven RBIs for the New York Mets as they routed Philadelphia 24-4 in the opener of a doubleheader Thursday. It was quite a turnabout for the Mets, just over two weeks after they were beaten 25-4 by Washington.