For the defending World Series Champion Houston Astros there may not be a tomorrow if they don’t win tonight.
The Astros now trail the Boston Red Sox three games to one in the American League Championship Series after losing Game Four 8-6 at Minute Maid Park.
The Astros had a chance in the bottom of the ninth, but Andrew Benintendi's diving catch of Alex Bregman's bases-loaded line drive in the ninth ended the game. Jackie Bradley Jr.'s two-run homer in the sixth put Boston in front for good.
But the Astros may not have needed Bregman’s heroics if a fan, Troy Caldwell, hadn’t interfered with what may have been a two run homer for Jose Altuve in the bottom of the first inning. Replay confirmed he did, and the Astros lose by a two run margin. But Altuve isn’t upset.
“What would you do as a fan? I would do the same thing. I’m trying to catch the ball,” Altuve stated. “I don’t have anything against him. He’s an Astro fan that’s rooting for us.
In the end, manager A.J. Hinch says the Astros have to live with what happened.
“Jose pays the biggest price. The trajectory of the ball made it look like it was going to leave the ballpark,” Hinch said.
Justin Verlander gets the start for the ‘Stros in tonight’s must-win Game Five, which gets underway at 7:09pm. Coverage on Sports Talk 790 starts at 5 o’clock.