Sale, Cora make early exits as Red Sox lose ALCS opener  —  BOSTON (AP) Red Sox ace Chris Sale and manager Alex Cora both made early exits in Boston's 7-2 loss to Houston in Game 1 of AL Championship Series on Saturday night.  —  Sale lasted just four innings, giving up two runs, one hit, four walks and a hit batter.

Justin Verlander delivered the one thing worth remembering about Game 1 — victory  —  BOSTON — At times, Game 1 of the American League Championship Series devolved into a comedy of errors and miscues, looking more like a rec league softball game between two teams that were sipping from can of Natty Light between innings.

Red Sox biggest postseason concern exposed: Can pitching compete with Astros?  —  BOSTON — October baseball has a way of blinding us to regular-season realities.  —  We can understand, rationally, that the outcome of one individual baseball game is never reliably predictive and that great teams …

Your Sunday ALCS guide: Can the Red Sox bounce back?  —  It wasn't the most crisp win in postseason history, but the Astros ground down the Red Sox bullpen to notch a 7-2 victory in Fenway Park in the first game of the American League Championship Series.  Will they be able to expand …

Flawless Astros will be very hard to beat if they play like this  —  BOSTON — The only way for anyone to stop the Houston Astros from winning back-to-back World Series championships is by playing perfect baseball.  —  The Astros are too talented, a team without obvious flaws.

Red Sox's Chris Sale makes early exit from ALCS Game 1  —  BOSTON — Red Sox ace Chris Sale made an early exit in Game 1 of the American League Championship Series against the Houston Astros.  —  Sale lasted just four innings Saturday night, giving up two runs on one hit and four walks as Boston dropped the series opener 7-2.

LIVE BLOG: Reddick, Gurriel blasts provide insurance runs for Astros in Game 1 of ALCS  —  This is a series between baseball's two strongest teams.  —  10:50 p.m. Yuli Gurriel put the final touches on an Astros victory in Game 1 of the ALCS with a three-run home run.  —  The Astros beat the Red Sox 7-2 at Fenway.

Hall of Famer Jim Palmer criticizes Manny Machado for lack of hustle in Game 2 of NLCS  —  Manny Machado's baserunning in Game 2 of the National League Championship Series did not go unnoticed.  —  The Los Angeles Dodgers shortstop was roasted on social media and during the Fox Sports broadcast …

Detroit Tigers' rebuild going in right direction, but no end is in sight  —  What do I think?  —  I get that question a lot, from readers and fans, friends and my barber, strangers who want to know when they'll watch winning baseball in Detroit again.  —  I think the Detroit Tigers are going in the right direction.