BALTIMORE (AP) — Gerrit Cole knows the 2018 season will ultimately

be judged on how he performs in the playoffs.So for at least a week http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , the Houston Astros right-hander will savor what he accomplished from April through September.Cole went over 200 innings with a sharp outing against the Baltimore Orioles, and Houston got a home run from Josh Reddick in a 2-1 victory Friday night.The Astros close out the regular season at Camden Yards this weekend after clinching the AL West title on Tuesday night. Houston opens the playoffs at home against Cleveland on Oct. 5.Cole gave up one run, five hits and a walk over six innings. His four strikeouts gave him 276 for the season, and he finished with 200 1/3 innings.Although Cole wasn’t involved in the decision, he will enter the playoffs with a 15-5 record, a 2.88 ERA and a five-game winning streak.“I thought it was a great body of work,” Cole said. “I thought a lot of the personal numbers reflect how well we’ve played as a team this year. Certainly the innings mark for sure.”Manager A.J. Hinch couldn’t have been happier with the way Cole pitched this season.“He exceeded really anything we could’ve hoped for,” Finch said. “It’s not easy to get through 200 innings. It’s not easy to post over time and get the quality he did. It’s one thing to have expectations. It’s another to step up and do it.”Cole and the Astros trailed 1-0 in the sixth before Reddick tied it with his 17th home run, a drive off rookie David Hess that sailed over the right-field scoreboard.Marwin Gonzalez put Houston in front with a bases-loaded single in the eighth off Tanner Scott (3-3).Tony Sipp (3-1) and Collin McHugh each pitched one inning before Roberto Osuna worked the ninth for his 21st save. He’s 12 for 12 since coming to the Astros from Toronto in late July.The game ended with center fielder Jake Marisnick making a diving catch of a sinking liner by Renato Nunez with the potential tying run on second base.“Defensively you’re not going to do too many walk-off things,” Marisnick said, “but that was pretty cool.”PICK ME!Hinch intends to talk to players about their status for the postseason on Sunday. With such a glut of talent on the roster, it’s likely that a handful of players will see their seasons unexpectedly come to an end.“They’re all avoiding me,” Hinch said. “This is the deepest team that most of these guys have played on Huston Street Jersey , so they’re realists. They understand that this is a hard team to crack.”He plans to reveal his starting post-season rotation by the end of the weekend.MR. JONESAdam Jones was selected the Most Valuable Oriole in a poll of writers and broadcasters who cover the team.Jones is 33, his contract expires after this season and the Orioles are rebuilding with youth. So, these could be his last days in Baltimore.Many in the crowd gave him a standing ovation during each of his four trips to the plate.He responded with an RBI double in the first inning and hit a drive to the warning track in the ninth.The fans are unsure if Jones will be back, and so are his teammates. “To think it could be the end is sad,” catcher Caleb Joseph said.Afterward, Jones said, “Three more games in 48 hours, and we’ll evaluate after that.”DAVIS DONEOrioles first baseman Chris Davis has apparently put an end to one of the worst seasons in major league history.Baltimore manager Buck Showalter said Friday that Davis — mired in a 1-for-37 skid — probably won’t play again in 2018.Davis will finish with a .168 batting average, lowest by a qualifier in big league history. The previous record was .179, by Rob Deer in 1991 and Dan Uggla in 2013.UP NEXTAstros: Justin Verlander (16-9, 2.60 ERA) and Dallas Keuchel (12-11, 3.75 ERA) warm up for the playoffs in Saturday’s single-admission doubleheader.Orioles” Dylan Bundy (8-16. 5.49 ERA) puts an end to a disappointing season, and rookie Yefry Ramirez (1-7 http://www.angelsfanproshop.com/authentic-zack-cozart-jersey , 6.07 ERA) seeks his first win since July 24. BOSTON (AP) — Think the Red Sox are asleep at the ballpark? You may be right.Catching some Zzzzs during downtime could help Boston be more alert during the first coast-to-coast World Series in 20 years.A sleep room was opened last year at Fenway Park, adjacent to the gym next to the home clubhouse. Two bunk beds contain four queen-sized mattresses.Steve Pearce used it before hitting a double off Houston ace Gerrit Cole and scoring the tying run during the Game 2 win in the AL Championship Series.“I was like, I am exhausted. I went upstairs and I took a nap. I didn’t even hit BP that day,” he remembered. “Don’t fight. Just go take a nap, and that’s actually better for you than trying to play a game running on fumes.”Boston’s World Series opener against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Tuesday night is just the start of the final stretch of an 8½-month endurance test. Six weeks of spring training is followed by 162 games in 186 days and then a postseason of up to 4½ weeks. Even the fittest, sturdiest players are knackered.Now add in a 2,611-mile flight to the West Coast after Game 2 and a return East possibly between Games 5 and 6.No wonder the Red Sox put a new-wave space into the oldest park in the majors.Because in an industry where little expense is spared in seeking the smallest edge, it may be important to figure in box springs along with box scores.“Comfy beds, comfy pillows. Really dark. It’s a good area if you want some peace and quiet,” All-Star infielder and outfielder Brock Holt said. “It’s a good place to have just to kind of wind down and get out of all the hustle and bustle, what’s going around the clubhouse, and just kind of get some quiet time.”The room, about 12 feet by 12 feet Nolan Ryan Jersey , is similar to freshman college housing — with a darkened window that keeps out ambient light. There is a wood floor, and each bunk bed has a five-step ladder. Above are a pair of slightly yellow lights and an air duct that creates a sound a bit like white noise.Reliever Joe Kelly heads there whenever he feels tired.“It’s amazing. I love it,” he said. “It’s cold. Dark. Great beds. Very useful.”A 2017 paper by Northwestern University researchers Alex Song, Thomas Severini and Ravi Allada published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science examined travel by big league teams from 1992-2011.“We observed that jet-lag effects were largely evident after eastward travel with very limited effects after westward travel,” the authors wrote. “Jet lag impacted both home and away defensive performance. Remarkably, the vast majority of these effects for both home and away teams could be explained by a single measure, home runs allowed.”Their recommendation: “A starting pitcher scheduled for a game in which the team is jet lagged might travel to the game location a few days ahead of the team, to adjust to the new time zone.”While many clubs send the next day’s starter to the following city ahead of the team, the pitcher usually travels just a day in advance.The rest of the team, those players grind it out.“There are times when your body is just not 100 percent. There are sometimes you’re exhausted,” Pearce said. “Sometimes you just need to shut your eyes for about 30 minutes. And with a small locker room like ours, it’s good to get up there and just hide out for a little bit.”