Houston's relievers can't get it done

Houston's bullpen falters again, Rangers secure series win

Astros' Jose Alutve and Carlos Correa
Houston's bullpen faltered once again on Saturday. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Houston's bullpen faltered once again on Saturday.

After a tough loss in Friday's opener where a comeback to force extras was wasted, Houston returned to Globe Life Field on Saturday to try and even the series. Although they would lead early, their bullpen would once again be the cause of some of the issues that resulted in another loss, giving the Rangers a secured series win with a potential sweep in the cards for Sunday's finale.

Final Score: Rangers 8, Astros 4

Astros' Record: 26-20, second in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Kolby Allard (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Andre Scrubb (1-1)

McCullers battles through five innings while teams trade runs

Both Houston and Texas put together lengthy innings at the plate in the first. The Astros sent seven batters to the plate in the top half, starting with Jose Altuve extending his hitting streak to sixteen games to start things off. They went on to load the bases with no outs, getting an RBI fielder's choice grounder by Yordan Alvarez and a sac fly by Yuli Gurriel to jump out to an early 2-0 lead. In the bottom of the inning, the Rangers worked back-to-back walks to start Lance McCullers Jr.'s day.

He went on to strike out four batters in the frame, one reaching on a wild pitch, and before things moved to the second, he had already used 40 pitches. Chas McCormick extended the lead by one more run, hitting a leadoff solo homer to start the second inning, making it 3-0. McCullers Jr. dealt with more traffic in the following innings, erasing a single and walk in the second, then allowing a two-RBI double in the third, making it a one-run game. His offense got one of those back in the top of the fourth, as an RBI groundout would make it 4-2. He finished two more innings, allowing a solo homer in his fifth and final inning, leaving with a 4-3 lead. His final line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 105 P.

Houston's bullpen blows another one

Brandon Bielak came out of the bullpen for the bottom of the sixth, getting two outs before hitting a batter and prompting Dusty Baker to move on to Andre Scrubb to finish the inning. Scrubb remained in the game in the bottom of the seventh, greeted by another homer by Adolis Garcia, a solo shot to tie the game 4-4. Scrubb would get one more out before Enoli Paredes would come in to try and keep it a tie game.

Instead, he would load the bases with a walk and an error, then giving up a two-RBI double to give the Rangers their first lead of the day at 6-4 and continuing Houston's bullpen woes. They would score two more on some defensive miscues on the final play of the inning, extending the new advantage to 8-4. That score would go final as Houston would go scoreless the rest of the way. The loss gives the Rangers a chance for the three-game sweep on Sunday, potentially returning the favor for Houston's recent four-game sweep.

Up Next: The finale of this series will start at 1:35 PM Central on Sunday, featuring a pitching matchup of Cristian Javier (3-1, 3.27 ERA) for the Astros and Mike Foltynewicz (1-4, 5.18 ERA) for the Rangers.

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The Padres beat the Astros, 3-2. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a tiebreaking solo home run and scored all of San Diego’s runs as the Padres avoided being swept with a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night.

Tatís sent the first pitch he saw from Tayler Scott (1-2) 427 feet to straightaway center to give the Padres a 3-2 lead in the seventh.

Tatís scored from second on a Mauricio Dubón error in the first, and he led off the third with a triple before scoring on an RBI single by Gavin Sheets.

The Astros tied it with two runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Dubón and a Yordan Alvarez sacrifice fly.

Luis Arraez was carted off and taken to a hospital for evaluation after a first inning collision with Dubón on a play at first base. Arraez’s face appeared to collide with Dubón’s arm or elbow, and the Padres designated hitter lay motionless in foul territory next to first base for several minutes.

After being tended to by trainers from both teams, Arraez was placed on a backboard and carted out of the stadium.

Dylan Cease yielded two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in five innings for the Padres. Alek Jacob (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his second save.

Starting pitcher Framber Valdez surrendered two runs on seven hits in six innings for the Astros.

Key moment

With two outs and the tying run on second in the eighth, Jason Adam struck out Victor Caratini to end the inning.

Key stat

The Padres have scored 20 runs in the seventh inning this season, the most runs they have scored in any inning.

Up next

Houston RHP Hunter Brown (2-1, 1.50 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series against the Blue Jays on Monday night, while San Diego RHP Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.74) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series in Detroit.

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