Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr was short on answers after the Philadelphia Phillies tied the World Series record of five home runs in Tuesday's 7-0 rout.

McCullers was on the mound for all five homers as the Phillies claimed a 2-1 World Series lead at a rowdy Citizens Bank Park. He became the first pitcher in postseason history to allow five home runs in a game.

The Astros starter gave up a walk and three homers in the first two innings, but rallied to retire seven batters until blasts from Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins saw him pulled with the Phillies in an unassailable position in the fifth inning.

"I got beat, man," McCullers told reporters. "They hit a lot of solid pitches, I thought.

"At the end of the day, we got beat pretty bad, and I got beat up pretty bad."

The five homers came four types of pitches, with two sliders, a change-up, a curveball and a sinker, but nothing worked for McCullers.

"Listen, I am who I am," McCullers said. "I'm going to throw a lot of off-speed. Everyone knows that."

The Phillies had come up against McCullers late in the regular season, when he gave up six hits but only one earned run, yet they seemed to know what was coming this time.

"He's a guy that we saw at the end of the year in Houston," Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. "Got to see his pitches then. He just left pitches in the middle of the plate today."

Bryce Harper, who delivered a two-run blast in the first inning, added: "We talked about it before the game, just trying to get on him early, trying to get on him often."

Seven-time All-Star Harper, who is a two-time NL MVP, along with Rhys Hoskins have six homers this postseason which is the second most in franchise history. Harper is also hitting at .382 this postseason.

"I'm just so focused on winning," Harper said. "I'm not focused on anything else besides that. Just having the opportunity to come in here and grateful for the opportunity to be here. Just grateful to be here with this team and this organisation. I'm not really worried about anything else."

The Phillies are 6-0 at home this postseason cheered on by their boisterous fans, having blasted 17 homers in those games too, with Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park to come on Wednesday.

"Just walking into the ballpark, just being back home, I think is such a momentum swing for us," Harper said. "We all come in here and we're ready to go and we're excited to get on the field, because we know they're going to show up and there's going to be 46,000 people here screaming and yelling and going crazy."

Houston Astros starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr was short on answers after the Philadelphia Phillies tied the World Series record of five home runs in Tuesday's 7-0 rout.

McCullers was on the mound for all five homers as the Phillies claimed a 2-1 World Series lead at a rowdy Citizens Bank Park. He became the first pitcher in postseason history to allow five home runs in a game.

The Astros starter gave up a walk and three homers in the first two innings, but rallied to retire seven batters until blasts from Kyle Schwarber and Rhys Hoskins saw him pulled with the Phillies in an unassailable position in the fifth inning.

"I got beat, man," McCullers told reporters. "They hit a lot of solid pitches, I thought.

"At the end of the day, we got beat pretty bad, and I got beat up pretty bad."

The five homers came four types of pitches, with two sliders, a change-up, a curveball and a sinker, but nothing worked for McCullers.

"Listen, I am who I am," McCullers said. "I'm going to throw a lot of off-speed. Everyone knows that."

The Phillies had come up against McCullers late in the regular season, when he gave up six hits but only one earned run, yet they seemed to know what was coming this time.

"He's a guy that we saw at the end of the year in Houston," Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto said. "Got to see his pitches then. He just left pitches in the middle of the plate today."

Bryce Harper, who delivered a two-run blast in the first inning, added: "We talked about it before the game, just trying to get on him early, trying to get on him often."

Seven-time All-Star Harper, who is a two-time NL MVP, along with Rhys Hoskins have six homers this postseason which is the second most in franchise history. Harper is also hitting at .382 this postseason.

"I'm just so focused on winning," Harper said. "I'm not focused on anything else besides that. Just having the opportunity to come in here and grateful for the opportunity to be here. Just grateful to be here with this team and this organisation. I'm not really worried about anything else."

The Phillies are 6-0 at home this postseason cheered on by their boisterous fans, having blasted 17 homers in those games too, with Game 4 at Citizens Bank Park to come on Wednesday.

"Just walking into the ballpark, just being back home, I think is such a momentum swing for us," Harper said. "We all come in here and we're ready to go and we're excited to get on the field, because we know they're going to show up and there's going to be 46,000 people here screaming and yelling and going crazy."

A trio of rookies starred as the Tampa Bay Rays began the road back to the World Series with a 5-0 win over the Boston Red Sox in Game 1 of the American League Division Series (ALDS). 

After posting an AL-best 100-62 record during the regular MLB season, the Rays got standout performances from pitcher Shane McClanahan and hitters Wander Franco and Randy Arozarena as they opened their defence of the AL pennant at Tropicana Field. 

McClanahan scattered five hits in five shut-out innings on Thursday, striking out three without walking a batter in his first postseason start. 

The Rays became the first team in MLB playoff history to have two rookies post an extra-base hit and another rookie toss a scoreless start in the same game, per Stats Perform.

His team-mates gave him run support early, as Franco doubled home a run in the first, then came around to score on a Yandy Diaz single. The 20-year-old phenom would add another double in the seventh.

Nelson Cruz, who at 41 is more than twice as old as his Dominican countryman Franco, went deep in the third for his 18th postseason home run. 

Not to be outdone, the breakout star of the 2020 playoffs – though still technically a rookie – Arozarena added a majestic solo shot to left in the fifth inning, then stole home in the seventh. 

According to Stats Perform, Arozarena is the first player in MLB postseason history to hit a home run and steal home in the same game. 

Tampa Bay will send another rookie to the mound in Game 2 as Shane Baz takes the ball against Red Sox veteran Chris Sale. 

The Houston Astros opened the other ALDS with an emphatic 6-1 victory over the Chicago White Sox as Lance McCullers Jr. was dominant on the mound for the home side. 

McCullers allowed four hits and did not walk a batter in 6.2 shut-out innings while striking out four, making him the first Astros pitcher to go at least that long in a postseason game without a walk since Brandon Backe against the White Sox in the 2005 World Series.

In 15 career postseason games, McCullers has a 2.87 ERA and has struck out 9.62 batters per nine innings. 

Yordan Alvarez entered the game with just 14 hits in 58 postseason at-bats (.241) but he was the hitting star for Houston in Game 1.

The designated hitter reached base three times in four trips to the plate, driving in a run with a double in the third inning and another with a solo homer in the fifth. 

While Alvarez did the heavy lifting, Jose Altuve provided the highlight of the night with a nifty slide to score from third on an Alex Bregman grounder to third base in the third inning. 

Game 2 is Friday in Houston with the Astros sending Framber Valdez to the mound against Chicago's Lucas Giolito. 

Dodgers at Giants

Eternal rivals the Los Angeles Dodgers and San Francisco Giants have each won 107 games this season, and they open their National League Division Series (NLDS) with Walker Buehler and Logan Webb on the mound on Friday.