Houston gets back in the win column
Astros get best of Bauer, Dodgers to split series
May 26, 2021, 9:48 pm
Carlos Correa hit a go-ahead homer off of Trevor Bauer Wednesday night. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Carlos Correa hit a go-ahead homer off of Trevor Bauer Wednesday night.
After a demoralizing loss in the first of this two-game set, the Astros tried to split the series on Wednesday night by getting a win over Trevor Bauer and the Dodgers. They would get the job done, ending their four-game skid and taking one of the two games in this series.
Final Score: Astros 5, Dodgers 2
Astros' Record: 27-22, second in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Luis Garcia (3-3)
Losing Pitcher: Trevor Bauer (5-3)
Altuve greets Bauer with a homer, Garcia tosses an impressive start
After a 1-2-3 top of the first by Luis Garcia, Trevor Bauer took the mound in the bottom of the inning for the Dodgers. He was greeted by a leadoff solo homer by Jose Altuve, giving the Astros an early 1-0 lead. Garcia held the lead until the top of the third when he would have a lengthy inning, allowing an RBI single to make it 1-1. Garcia rebounded well from that lengthy inning, retiring the next nine batters in a row to complete six quality innings. His final line: 6.0 IP, 2 H, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 HR, 100 P.
Astros split the series
He would end up in line for the win, thanks to Houston's second solo home run off of Bauer, this time Carlos Correa in the bottom of the sixth to give the Astros the lead back at 2-1. Houston extended their lead in the bottom of the seventh, getting an RBI single by Altuve then a two-run homer by Aledmyz Diaz to make it 5-1.
After a 1-2-3 top of the seventh by Brooks Raley, Ryne Stanek would finish the eighth though allowed a solo homer to cut the lead to 5-2. In the top of the ninth, Bryan Abreu would attempt the save and would get it by erasing two two-out walks. The win split the two-game set with Los Angeles and improved them to one game back of the A's for the AL West lead.
Up Next: The Astros will have a day off on Thursday, then will continue this homestand with the first of three games against the San Diego Padres on Friday at 7:10 PM Central. Framber Valdez will make his 2021 debut after starting the season injured, while the Padres are expected to start Dinelson Lamet (1-0, 1.64 ERA).
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DeMar DeRozan had 21 points and the Sacramento Kings overcome an early injury to Domantas Sabonis for their third straight victory, 113-103 over the Houston Rockets on Saturday night.
Zach LaVine added 20 points for Sacramento. The Kings had a 13-3 run to push their advantage to 97-85 with 10 minutes remaining. LaVine and Keon Ellis had 3-pointers in that stretch and DeRozan scored the last five points.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 30 points and 10 rebounds. Jalen Green added 24 points in the loss that ended a two-game winning streak.
Sabonis, who entered the game averaging 19.9 points and 14.4 rebounds, left about a minute into the game with a hamstring injury and didn’t return. He was running down the court when he pulled up and grabbed his left hamstring.
Takeaways
Kings: Sacramento used a balanced scoring attack to make up for the loss of Sabonis with six players finishing with at least 12 points.
Rockets: Fred VanVleet was rusty in his return after missing 11 games with a strained right ankle, going 1 for 8 with three points in 35 minutes. The veteran needs to get back on track quickly to help stabilize an offense that has struggled at times in his absence.
Key moment
LaVine’s 3-pointer late in the third quarter which started the big run that allowed the Kings to pull away.
Key stat
The Kings outscored Houston 58-44 in the paint.
Up next
The Rockets visit Oklahoma City on Monday night, and the Kings visit Dallas that night.