Astros pick up the series win
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 7-1 win
Apr 24, 2019, 9:39 pm
Astros pick up the series win
After ending their three-game skid on Tuesday night, the Astros were back in action on Wednesday night with Justin Verlander on the mound to try and win the rubber match with the Twins. Here are some quick facts from the game and three hits:
Final Score: Astros 7, Twins 1
Record: 15-9, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Justin Verlander (4-0).
Losing pitcher: Kohl Stewart (0-1).
After four straight games of allowing runs to the opposing team, Justin Verlander was able to break the streak and get through a scoreless first. After three quick innings to start the game, the Twins did get a run off of Verlander via a solo home run in the top of the fourth, but he would settle right back in and pitch deep into the game, completing eight innings of one-run baseball including eight strikeouts.
Carlos Correa started the scoring with an opposite-field home run in the bottom of the second to put Houston ahead 1-0. Then, after a two-out double by Alex Bregman in the bottom of the third, Michael Brantley took advantage with a two-run homer of his own to extend the lead to 3-0. The Astros extended their lead to four runs in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI-double from Robinson Chirinos who would eventually score on a wild pitch to make it a 5-1 game. Josh Reddick added a couple of insurance runs in the bottom of the eighth, hitting a two-run homer to extend the lead further to 7-1.
After splitting the two-game series in Oakland then dropping the series to the Rangers last week, the win on Wednesday night gave Houston their fourth series win of 2019. The Astros will get four more games against these same Twins on the road in Minnesota next week, so taking care of business at home could provide momentum for the encore series.
Up Next: The Astros will stay in Houston and kickoff a four-game series with the Cleveland Indians tomorrow night. First pitch is at 7:10 PM and will feature former UCLA-teammates Gerrit Cole (1-3, 5.22 ERA) and Trevor Bauer (2-1, 2.20 ERA) going against each other.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
Joc Pederson broke a tie with a two-run home run in the sixth inning, Wyatt Langford hit a solo shot in a two-run seventh and the Texas Rangers beat the Houston Astros 5-1 on Saturday night.
Tyler Mahle (5-1) allowed the one run over six innings, keeping his ERA at 1.47 — ranking third in the AL.
The Rangers have taken two of the first three games of the four-game series.
Pederson, hitting .123 with four RBI to that point as Texas’ primary DH this season, followed Marcus Semien’s one-out single off Ronel Blanco (3-4) with a drive to right-center for his second homer of the season.
Langford’s homer off Bennett Sousa immediately followed Josh Smith’s sacrifice fly that scored Sam Haggerty. Haggerty led off with a walk and was picked off first base, but he reached third when first baseman Christian Walker threw low to second base.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead four batters in when Walker hit a 3-2 fastball for an opposite-field double to score Isaac Paredes.
Texas tied it in the third when Langford singled home Kyle Higashioka, who walked and reached third on Haggerty’s ground-rule double.
The Astros left seven runners on base and were 0 for 4 hitting with runners in scoring position.
Haggerty was a late replacement in Texas’ lineup after Evan Carter was scratched with right quadriceps tightness.
Three Rangers starters rank in the AL’s 10 top in ERA, Mahle joined by Nathan Eovaldi (fourth at 1.51) and Jacob deGrom (10th at 2.29).
Astros LHP Framber Valdez (2-4, 3.54 ERA) was set to face Rangers rookie RHP Jack Leiter (3-2, 4.34) on Sunday in the series finale.