MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nolan Arenado and Colorado had one good stretch

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Nolan Arenado and Colorado had one good stretch at the plate. That was it for the whole afternoon.Tough couple of days for the Rockies‘ star-studded lineup.Arenado helped Colorado rally against Milwaukee’s vaunted bullpen in Game 1 of the NL Division Series Corey Dickerson Jersey , but the Rockies were unable to finish off Jeremy Jeffress. Mike Moustakas then hit an RBI single in the 10th inning to lift the Brewers to a 3-2 win Thursday.Led by Arenado and Trevor Story, Colorado finished among the major league leaders in several offensive categories this year. But the Rockies have been held in check since they bashed five homers in a 12-0 victory over Washington last Sunday, leaving them in a tie for the NL West lead.“We’ve got to put better at-bats together, all of us,” Arenado said. “I think we’re having a little trouble there the last few games. But at the same time, we’re facing good pitching. It’s tough. These guys are good.”Colorado had just one hit Thursday before Gerardo Parra and Matt Holliday opened the ninth with consecutive singles off Jeffress, who had made 11 consecutive scoreless appearances since Aug. 31. Charlie Blackmon singled in Parra and DJ LeMahieu reached on an error before Arenado tied it at 2 with a sacrifice fly to center.The Rockies had a chance for more, but Blackmon was tagged out in a rundown on David Dahl’s grounder to first and Jeffress struck out Story to end the inning.“I thought we did a good job at the end, stringing together some hits, put a couple runs up when it didn’t look good,” Blackmon said. “We didn’t really do a whole lot offensively until that ninth inning.”That missed opportunity proved costly when Moustakas came up with the game-ending hit against Adam Ottavino.Game 2 of the best-of-five series is back at Miller Park on Friday.“We just got to be ready to go tomorrow,” Arenado said. “It’s a borderline must-win really.”Colorado had a chance to win the NL West before it lost 5-2 in the tiebreaker at Los Angeles on Monday. It had just two hits before Arenado and Story hit back-to-back homers in the ninth inning.Arenado hit a sacrifice fly in the first in the wild-card game Tuesday night in Chicago, and Colorado didn’t score again until Tony Wolters‘ 13th-inning RBI single in a 2-1 victory over the Cubs. The Rockies finished with 11 hits, but went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 11 runners on base.Playing in their fourth city in five days — covering approximately 2,700 miles — it was more of the same in the NLDS.Perhaps that shouldn’t be such a surprise. Playing away from hitter-friendly Coors Field, the Rockies ranked 20th in runs (335) and 29th in batting average (.225) on the road.Carlos Gonzalez tripled with two out in the fifth for Colorado’s first hit. But Ian Desmond tapped back to the mound on Corbin Burnes’ next pitch, ending the inning.LeMahieu and Ryan McMahon each walked, and then were thrown out trying to steal second.“I think it was more about how they threw the ball than our at-bats Austin Meadows Jersey ,” manager Bud Black said. “I mean, they pitched really, really well.”Arenado hit .297 with an NL-best 38 homers this year, helping stop the Triple Crown bid by Brewers star Christian Yelich. But the 27-year-old Arenado went 0 for 3 with two strikeouts in just the third playoff game of his stellar career.Story, who set career highs with 37 homers and 108 RBIs this season, also struck out three times, and Dahl went 0 for 4 with two Ks.None of the Rockies’ hitters saw a pitcher more than once.“They have a good bullpen. We knew that coming in,” Arenado said. “But we feel like we had some good at-bats. Hit the ball hard, just right at people sometimes.” Gregory Shamus/Getty ImagesThe Houston Astros are one step closer to defending their World Series title after completing a three-game sweep over the Cleveland Indians in the American League Division Series.George Springer hit two home runs in a 3-for-6 day to help Houston earn an 11-3 road win on Monday in Game 3. Cleveland led 2-1 until 10 straight runs led to an easy victory for the visitors.The three wins in the best-of-five series also gives the Astros their first playoff sweep in franchise history.Terry Francona Costs Indians With Pitching Staff GambleTrevor Bauer was a Cy Young candidate as a starter over the course of the season, but manager Terry Francona has decided to use him exclusively in relief this series, appearing in all three games.After allowing a run in 2.2 innings to start the series, he gave up three runs (two earned) in a miserable Game 3. He also had a pair of throwing errors that helped extend the decisive seventh inning.paul hoynes hoynsieTrevor Bauer has made 5 errors in his career. In the seventh inning in Game 3 of the ALDS, hes made 2.The Astros built their momentum and piled on the scoring against Cody Allen and others, totaling 10 runs in the last three innings. Five relievers were used to cover four innings, and all but one allowed at least one run.MikeClevinger had been all the Indians could have hoped for in his first career postseason start, especially afterproven starters Corey Kluber and Carlos Carrasco were unspectacular in Games 1 and 2.A solo home run was the only run heallowed in five innings that also included nine strikeouts.This wasn't enough to factor into the decision, though, as the bullpen couldn't hold onto the lead.The Indians succeeded in the past because Francona wasn't afraid to be unconventional with his pitching staff. Andrew Miller and Cody Allen virtually carried the club to the World Series in 2016.Unfortunately http://www.piratesfanproshop.com/authentic-colin-moran-jersey , the bullpen wasn't nearly as effective in 2018 and the manager's gambles didn't pay off in the playoffs. Bruce Hooley of105.7 The Zone gave his thoughts on the situation:Bruce Hooley BHOOLZNo other manager in baseball -- NONE -- could survive achieving less in 3 consecutive seasons with this starting staff and this talent. NONE! And before you say, quot;We won the Central 3 times. Thats hard.quot; Given the competition it is no harder than winning at solitaireThe players do have to perform, but Francona didn't put his best ones in a position to succeed during the series.Astros Incredible Depth Makes Them Team to Beat...AgainJust like last postseason, the Astros are getting a lot of production from a wide variety of hitters already in the playoffs.Jose Altuve is the biggest name in the lineup while Alex Bregman was the best hitter in 2018, but there are several other players who can and will hurt you if given the opportunity.George Springer hit two home runs, including one in the fifth to start Houston's scoring for the day:MLB MLBYou can鈥檛 keep these Astros down for long. jrp8xNfpX2MLB MLB#Postseason Springer is a BEAST. sZYZMC6MRBMarwin Gonzalez then came through with the big hit in the seventh inning, driving in two runs with a bases-loaded double:MLB MLB.marwinGF9 with another MASSIVE hit. #ALDS FQexZ5g8ICAfter an RBI single later in the game, Gonzalez finished 7-for-13 in the ALDS.He and Springer were also two of five Astros players with at least four hits in the series.Carlos Correa even got in on the action with an eighth-inning three-run home run, which was his first hit of the postseason.No. 4 hitter Yuli Gurriel did virtually nothing in the series but Houston kept on going with little resistance. We also haven't seen the best out of Altuve, the reigning AL MVP.If these players reach their ability andCorrea builds off his big hit, the Astros' lineup could be unstoppable.Houston had the worst scoring offense of all the AL playoff teams (despite being sixth in the majors), but the team excels because it's not too reliant on one or two players coming through night after night. In a long postseason, this could be the difference.After the supporting cast showed what it could do a year ago, the Astros look ready for another championship run in 2018.Indians Must Find Impact Hitter In Offseason After Quiet ALDSGame 3 was better for the Indians offense than the first two outings, where the team was held to a combined three runs on six hits. However, the final installment wasn't too much better with just three runs, with the problem being a lack of production from the team it was hoping to rely on most.Jose Ramirez looked like an MVP for much of the regular season but was no help in the ALDS while going 0-for-11 at the plate with three strikeouts.He was 0-for-4 in the must-win Game 3, ending his season by grounding into a double play. Considering he also hit 2-for-20 in the postseason last year David Freese Jersey , there are legitimate concerns about his playoff hitting.Meanwhile, the rest of the middle of the order didn't do much better.Ramirez,Edwin Encarnacion and Josh Donaldson, the team's three through five hitters, combined to go 1-for-10 Monday and the trio only had two hits all series. This won't win too many games regardless of the opponent.Francisco Lindor did his job,getting a hit in each game of the series with home runs in each of the last two. Still, you need a lot more than just a leadoff hitter in order to make a deep run in the playoffs.Looking forward, the Indians have some tough decisions with their lineup withDonaldson, Michael Brantley and Melky Cabrera among those hitting free agency this offseason. Whether or not these players are re-signed, the team still needs other hitters it can trust to carry the offense when the other stars aren't hitting.Even if Ramirez has better days, he and Lindor can't do it all by themselves.If the Indians want to extend this contention window, they need to add at least one more big-time hitter this winter. What's Next?With a ticket already punched in the ALCS, the Astros can now relax until the start of the next round on Oct. 13. The squad will take on the winner of the other ALDS between Boston Red Sox and New York Yankees, although Houston will only have home-field advantage against the Yankees.