HOUSTON – The Houston Astros overcame injuries to several top stars and dealt with the fallout from their sign-stealing scandal to come a win shy of reaching the World Series for the third time in four seasons.
Now they’ll deal with an uncertain future, with Justin Verlander out all next season and George Springer and other key starters set to become free agents.The Astros fell into an 0-3 hole in the AL Championship Series before beating the Tampa Bay Rays in three straight games to force a Game 7.
But their powerful offense was stifled by former Astros pitcher Charlie Morton in a 4-2 loss, and the Astros are heading home instead of to their second straight World Series. “It’s frustrating, but these guys fought,” manager Dusty Baker said..