Astros extend winning streak to ten games
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: Astros 9, A's 1
Apr 17, 2019, 12:10 am
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Riding three straight series sweeps, and after a day off on Monday, the Astros were back in action against the A's in Oakland on Tuesday night looking to make it ten straight wins. Here's a rundown of the game:
Final Score: Astros 9, A's 1
Record: 12-5, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Collin McHugh (3-1).
Losing pitcher: Marco Estrada (0-2).
Star of the game: Alex Bregman had the highlight of the game, a huge grand slam which put Houston up 8-0 in the fourth inning. They ended up being unnecessary insurance runs, but it kept the offense of the Astros firing and keeps their momentum high going into tomorrow night.
Notes: George Springer got the game started in the best way for the Astros, launching a leadoff dinger to put Houston up 1-0. Josh Reddick extended the lead in the top of the second, hitting a two-run home run to make it a 3-0 game. The Astros kept scoring, loading the bases with one out in the top of the fourth before Springer worked an RBI-walk then Alex Bregman busted things open with a two-out grand slam to double the lead to 8-0. Meanwhile, Collin McHugh had a great start, keeping Oakland off the board with just two hits and two walks along with five strikeouts over his six innings of work. The runs kept coming for Houston, getting an RBI from Robinson Chirinos to extend the lead further to 9-0. Josh James took over on the mound for the Astros in the seventh and threw two scoreless innings, keeping the shutout going into the ninth. Reymin Guduan made his first appearance since swapping roster spots with Framber Valdez, but it was a rough one, loading the bases and allowing a sac fly to end the shutout, ending his appearance early. Chris Devenski entered to clean things up and get the last two outs to wrap up the win.
Up Next: Houston and Oakland will wrap up the short two-game series tomorrow night with first pitch at 9:07 PM. The Astros will have Wade Miley on the mound looking to make it eleven wins in a row for Houston and improve his 1-1 record and 3.45 ERA, while the A's will look to Frankie Montas who sits at 2-1 with a 3.18 ERA.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E
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Michael Wacha scattered four hits over six innings, Vinnie Pasquantino homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 2-0 for the second straight night Saturday to run their winning streak to six.
Wacha (1-3) once again received little run support, but the veteran right-hander made the meager production stand up on chilly evening at Kauffman Stadium. He struck out six while walking two and never allowed a runner past second base.
Steven Cruz worked the seventh for Kansas City, his seventh appearance this season without allowing a run. John Schreiber left runners on the corners in the eighth, and Carlos Estévez had a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Bobby Witt Jr. doubled and scored in the first inning for the Royals, extending his career-best hitting streak to 18 games.
Framber Valdez (1-3) gave up a sacrifice fly to Mark Canha in the first inning and Pasquantino's shot down the right-field line in the fifth. Otherwise, the Astros left-hander kept Kansas City in check, allowing three hits and two walks over eight innings.
Valdez had tossed seven shutout innings against the Royals last August in a 3-2 victory.
The Astros, who have lost five straight at the K, have managed just nine hits while getting shut out over the first two games of the series. They had rolled into Kansas City having won three straight and five of their last six games.
Key moment
Isaac Parades hit a two-out double and Jeremy Peña followed with a single to give Houston runners on the corners in the eighth inning. Schreiber bounced back to strike out Christian Walker with a four-seam fastball to end the threat.
Key stat
The Royals have only scored seven runs in the 32 innings that Wacha has pitched this season.
Up next
RHP Hunter Brown (3-1, 1.16) tries to extend a 24-inning scoreless streak for Houston in the series finale Sunday. LHP Kris Bubic (2-1, 1.45) gets the start for Kansas City after tossing seven shutout innings against the Rockies his last time out.