the same thing: Alex Bregman was made for these moments.The young third baseman was great for the defending champions all season and now that the calendar has flipped to October he’s taken his play to another level Blake Snell Jersey , slugging two home runs to help Houston to a 2-0 lead in the AL Division Series against the Cleveland Indians.“He loves the bright lights,” praised George Springer, MVP of the World Series last year. “He loves the big stage … he believes he should get a hit every time or make the big play or score the big run. That’s just who he is and when you have a guy like that it makes you want to do the same thing.”Game 3 is Monday in Cleveland.The 24-year-old Bregman had the best year of his career this season, leading the AL with a career-high 51 doubles, and setting career marks by hitting .286 with 31 homers and 103 RBIs. His breakout season helped carry the offense in a year where last year’s MVP Jose Altuve and star shortstop Carlos Correa struggled with injuries.“He brings joy to the team,” Altuve said. “He shows up here and lets everybody know he’s ready to play and … you see how he plays and you’re like: ‘OK. I want to join him, and I want to play at the same level he’s playing.'”Bregman gave Houston its first run of the playoffs this season when he hit a solo homer off Corey Kluber in the fourth inning of Game 1 on Friday. It was the first of four homers hit by the Astros in a 7-2 win. The Astros were up by 1 in Game 2 on Saturday when Bregman connected off Trevor Bauer with two outs and none on in the seventh to add some insurance in the 3-1 victory.“This is what it’s all about,” Bregman said. “This type of baseball is a blast. Everybody in that clubhouse is living and dying on every pitch. It’s fun to play these types of games.”Bregman, the second overall pick in the 2015 draft, hit four homers and drove in 10 runs in his postseason debut last season to help the Astros to their first World Series title. He homered twice against the Dodgers in the World Series Rob Refsnyder Jersey , and his two-out single in the 10th ended Houston’s thrilling 13-12 win in Game 5.Selected as an All-Star for the first time, he hit a tiebreaking home run in the 10th inning at Nationals Park in July that sent the AL to victory.Bregman never seems daunted by important moments despite having played just two full seasons in the majors.Manager AJ Hinch said Bregman has a “calm heartbeat” and he knows the Astros can always count on him when they need a big play whether it be on offense or defense.“I love how he describes pressure. He describes pressure as a privilege,” Hinch said. “That, to me, shows someone that gets it, someone that is going to be able to handle the moment.”Though Hinch and the Astros have come to expect this level of play from the former LSU standout, the manager sometimes takes a step back simply to appreciate his greatness.“It’s amazing to watch him do it time after time after time,” Hinch said. “We’re getting spoiled. Guys aren’t supposed to do it at this level at that rate he’s been doing.”Altuve, who became the first Astro to win MVP since Jeff Bagwell collected the National League award in 1994, has been wowed by Bregman’s development this season. In a stacked MVP race led by Boston’s Mookie Betts and J.D. Martinez and Angels star Mike Trout http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , Altuve believes that his teammate’s season was the most impressive.“Bregman does something big for us every single game,” Altuve said. “He’s the kind of player that you really want to have on your team. He had an MVP season. He’s my MVP.”Bregman isn’t interested in discussing individual awards and accolades and says his only focus is helping the Astros repeat as champions. And as much as he’s done so far, he’s constantly working to do more and get better.“This was definitely, definitely something I envisioned doing, (but) I think there’s so much room to improve on both sides of the ball, and I look forward to working on it,” he said. PHOENIX (AP) — Bryan Mitchell’s strong return to San Diego’s rotation and a big boost from Franmil Reyes‘ bat put Arizona in a deeper hole in the NL West.Reyes homered twice and had four RBIs, Mitchell pitched five effective innings in his return from the DL and the Padres knocked off the playoff-contending Diamondbacks 6-2 Monday night.“I just tried to take one pitch at a time and not really let things speed up,” said Mitchell, who earned his first win since April 12 http://www.raysfanproshop.com/authentic-evan-longoria-jersey , 2017. “It had been a while so that first inning was kind of different, but we were able to get out with one run, limit the damage there. I definitely settled in after that.”Mitchell (1-3) was sharp in his first start off the DL due to a right elbow impingement, holding the Diamondbacks to a run on two hits — all in the first inning.Reyes hit a three-run homer off Zack Godley (14-8) in the second inning and a solo shot off the right-hander in the fourth. Austin Hedges added a two-run single in the eighth inning for the Padres, who have won five of seven.Reyes had his first career multihomer game and has homered in five of the past nine games to extend his hitting streak to nine games.“He looks really confident in the batter’s box,” Padres manager Andy Reid said. “I can’t really think of anybody in big league baseball who has as much pop or more pop than him.”Steven Souza Jr. had a run-scoring single in the first inning and Paul Goldschmidt an RBI double in the eighth for Arizona. The Diamondbacks were limited to five hits in their fourth loss in five games, dropping two games behind Colorado in the NL West.“This is a group of guys that have done it before. They have done it this year at times,” Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo said. “It obviously hasn’t been as consistent as we have seen it. The same theme I have been talking about. Grind it out, keep getting after it, stay with the process. If it is not there for you Christian Arroyo Jersey , hand it off to the next guy.”The Diamondbacks returned to the desert after a difficult trip to Southern California. Arizona entered a four-game series with the Dodgers atop the division and left a game back after Los Angeles won three of four. All three loses came when the Dodgers rallied late, including Matt Kemp’s two walk-off hits off Archie Bradley.The Diamondbacks found themselves needing to rally after Godley walked the first two batters of the second inning and Reyes followed with a three-run homer to the pool deck in right-center to put San Diego up 3-1.Godley gave up two hits for the second straight start, but both were home runs. He allowed four runs and struck out six in five innings.“I felt like I made really, really good pitches,” Godley said. “I made two bad pitches on the night. Both of them I paid for.”LOPEZ RECALLEDThe Diamondbacks recalled RHP Yoan Lopez from Double-A Jackson and transferred 3B Jake Lamb to the 60-day disabled list. Arizona signed Lopez to an $8.27 million bonus coming out of Cuba in 2015, but he spent four seasons in the minors and at one time considered leaving baseball. The 25-year-old was 2-5 with 12 saves and led Southern League relievers in opponent average at .174. Lamb had season-ending left shoulder surgery last month.PADRES MOVESSan Diego reinstated RHP Luis Perdomo (right shoulder) from the 10-day disabled list and RHP Kirby Yates from the bereavement list. Both will work in the Padres’ bullpen.TRAINER’S ROOMDiamondbacks: Catcher Alex Avila had a foul ball bounce off the dirt and hit him in the throat in the third inning, but stayed in the game before being replaced by a pinch hitter in the seventh.UP NEXTDiamondbacks LHP Robbie Ray has allowed three runs or less his past five starts heading into Tuesday’s game against the Padres. San Diego LHP Joey Lucchesi is winless in four career starts against the Diamondbacks with a 7.71 ERA.