HOUSTON -- Coming into the American League Division Series, the Rays felt confident in their ability to match up against the top-seeded Astros. Tampa Bay knew Houston's lineup is one of the deepest in the Majors, and the Rays knew that Justin Verlander was going to provide quality innings.

Because of those challenges, the Rays needed to play near-perfect baseball in order to hang with the Astros. That wasn’t the case on Friday afternoon in Game 1.

For four innings, the Rays went toe-to-toe with the Astros, but a dominant performance by Verlander and a four-run fifth inning was too much for Tampa Bay to overcome in a 6-2 loss to Houston in Game 1 of the ALDS at Minute Maid Park. The Astros lead the best-of-five series 1-0, with Game 2 set for Saturday at 9:07 p.m. ET.

• Box score

In the history of best-of-five postseason series, the loser of Game 1 has gone on to take the series just 37 of 132 times (28 percent). In the Division Series with the current 2-2-1 format, teams losing Game 1 on the road took the series just nine of 40 times (23 percent).

"Hopefully we can build from the last couple innings on the offensive side for tomorrow," said Rays outfielder Austin Meadows. "We can't dwell on it. Have to move on and come ready to play tomorrow."

• Astros, experience conquer Rays in ALDS Game 1

The postseason gives some of the Rays an opportunity to show off their talent on a bigger stage. On Friday, it was Tyler Glasnow's turn to show off his electric 99-mph fastball and a sweeping curveball that sits around 15 mph slower than his four-seamer.

Despite a mild right forearm strain that sidelined him from May 10 to Sept. 8, Glasnow made four September starts spanning 12 1/3 innings. With Charlie Morton pitching the AL Wild Card Game on Wednesday night, Tampa Bay turned to Glasnow for Game 1 against Verlander. Through four innings, the Rays right-hander matched up well against the future Hall of Famer.

"Obviously I wish the score was a little different right now, but for that being my first playoff experience, it was pretty amazing," Glasnow said. "I think going out beforehand, my M.O. usually as a starter is to try and create adrenaline and I kind of pitch with emotion. Today, like, I walked outside, I was like, 'OK, I don't have to do anything.' That was a nice feeling."

Glasnow showed off his two dominant pitches and put up a zero on the scoreboard in each of the first four frames. But in the fifth inning, he walked No. 9 hitter Josh Reddick on four pitches to start the frame. Leadoff walks, especially to the bottom of the lineup, are one of the mistakes the Rays can't afford in this series.

Two batters later, José Altuve hit a well-placed 98-mph fastball at the top of the strike zone over the left-field wall, giving Houston a 2-0 lead. Altuve popped up on a similar pitch from Glasnow in the third inning, but he didn't miss it the second time. Glasnow admitted that if he could go back to the home-run pitch, he would opt to throw a curveball instead of the four-seamer.

"Hindsight's 20/20," Glasnow said. "If I went back, I would probably throw a curveball. There were a lot of heaters leading up to it. It was a good pitch, though. He's a really good hitter and he put a good swing on it."

The home run was the last pitch Glasnow threw on Friday. He tossed 76 pitches (46 for strikes), allowing two runs on four hits and three walks over 4 1/3 innings.

"Really impressed with his performance," said Rays manager Kevin Cash. "He quieted just a super-talented offense and Altuve got him there on, what looked like, a pretty fairly well-executed pitch. But it's José Altuve."

Altuve's home run got the Astros on the board in the fifth, but a defensive mistake later in the inning ultimately put the game out of reach. Chaz Roe got Yuli Gurriel to pop up, but second baseman Brandon Lowe and right fielder Meadows had some miscommunication in the outfield, allowing the ball to drop. Instead of the Rays ending the inning trailing by two runs, they stared at a 4-0 deficit against Verlander, who was on his game.

"I gotta catch it. Plain and simple," Lowe said. "I called it and I dropped it. Next time I just need to keep going forward on it and make a play on it. It's not [Meadows'] fault. It got loud and he's playing deep. That's the ball I have to catch."

Verlander tossed seven scoreless innings and held Tampa Bay to just one hit, and that didn't come until Lowe singled in the fifth inning. The Rays, who were looking to strike via the home-run ball, were unable to hit one off Verlander on Friday. Of the 35 starts Verlander made this season, it's only the 12th time he did not allow a home run.

Tampa Bay's offense didn't record a barreled ball off Verlander among the 12 batted balls. The only hard-hit ball against the right-hander came on a Willy Adames flyout in the third inning. In three starts against the Rays this season, Verlander has allowed just one run over 19 1/3 innings. The lone run came on a Meadows leadoff home run on Opening Day.

"We got Verlander-ed," Cash said.

The Rays knew of the challenges coming into the series, but they got their first taste on Friday of just how difficult this series is going to be for them. The challenge doesn't get any easier in Game 2, as they'll face Gerrit Cole, who went 20-5 with a 2.50 ERA and is a favorite to win the AL Cy Young Award. Tampa Bay will counter with left-hander Blake Snell, last year's AL Cy Young Award winner.

"Blake's going to have to lead us, of course," said Rays outfielder Tommy Pham. "We're going to have to make some plays behind him, and we're going to have to get some hits."