Astros rout Indians to complete sweep of ALDS
The Houston Astros have punched their ticket to the American League Championship Series after sweeping the Cleveland Indians in three games.
The defending champions toppled Cleveland 11-3 in the series finale, outscoring their opponent by a cumulative 21-6 score in the series.
Houston will face either the Boston Red Sox or New York Yankees once the two teams resolve their ALDS matchup, which is currently tied 1-1. If the Red Sox advance, they will hold home-field advantage in the ALCS. However, if the Yankees make it through, the Astros will have home-field advantage.
The Indians now have lost nine straight postseason elimination games dating back to Game 6 of the 1995 World Series, setting an MLB record, according to Anthony Castrovince of MLB.com.
Dating back to the 1995 World Series, the Indians had lost eight straight elimination games, according to Sarah Langs of ESPN, who added that it was the longest streak in postseason history. With the Game 3 defeat, Cleveland pushed the drought to nine consecutive contests.
In the 11-3 rout, George Springer came up big, hitting a pair of home runs to set the franchise record with 10 career postseason homers.
Monday's game marks the final time the Indians will wear Chief Wahoo in any capacity. The club announced prior to the season that it would scrap the controversial logo following the 2018 campaign.