Astros shutout in Minnesota
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 1-0 loss
Apr 29, 2019, 9:13 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After big back-to-back wins to split the four-game series with the Indians in Houston, the Astros hit the road with game one of four against the Twins on Monday night. Here's a quick rundown and three hits from the game:
Final Score: Twins 1, Astros 0
Record: 17-12, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Jake Odorizzi (3-2).
Losing pitcher: Justin Verlander (4-1).
1) No support for Verlander
Justin Verlander provided Houston another solid start, going six innings during which he allowed just one run on a solo home run to go with just one other hit, two walks, and striking out seven. The home run continued his streak of allowing one, a streak that has plagued him in every start this year, one in each of his seven starts. Still, six innings of one-run baseball shouldn't earn you a loss on most nights, but tonight it did, dropping his record to 4-1.
2) Bats can't crack Odorizzi or bullpen
Houston's offense could not string together enough hits to do any damage against Jake Odorizzi, allowing him to complete seven shutout innings during which he allowed just four hits, one walk, and struck out seven. They'd also have no luck against the bullpen, getting just one hit in the final two innings to go shutout in the game.
3) More solid innings from Houston's bullpen
After Verlander's six innings, the Astros looked to their strained bullpen to keep them in the game. Hector Rondon took over in the seventh and threw a perfect inning. Framber Valdez, after earning a win in two great innings the night before, had the eighth and worked around a leadoff double to keep it a one-run game going to the ninth where the Astros would come up empty.
Up Next: Houston will have game two of this four-game set tomorrow night with first pitch at 6:40 PM. The Astros will send Gerrit Cole (1-4, 4.71 ERA) to the mound to try and improve his tough early numbers against Michael Pineda (2-1, 5.63 ERA) for the Twins.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Jacob deGrom went eight innings to win his fourth consecutive start for the Texas Rangers, who got Jake Burger's solo home run off Hunter Brown in a 1-0 win over the Houston Astros on Thursday night in an anticipated pitchers' duel that certainly lived up to expectations.
Two-time Cy Young Award winner deGrom (4-1) is having quite a comeback after missing most of the last two seasons following Tommy John surgery. The 36-year-old right-hander struck out seven, two of those to end innings with two runners on base, while walking one and giving up five hits.
Brown (6-2), who is 10 years younger that deGrom, struck out nine without a walk while scattering three hits in his first career complete game. The righty was tied for the major league lead in wins and retired the first 12 batters he faced before Adolis García lined a double to left to start the fifth.
Shawn Armstrong worked around a two-out walk in the ninth for his second save.
Burger went deep leading off the sixth, a 394-foot drive into the Texas bullpen in right-center for his fourth homer of the season.
Key moment
Rangers right fielder García made a sliding catch of a sinking liner by Mauricio Dubón for the final out of the seventh when Houston had a runner at second base. García had several nice plays, including a sliding catch near the line after running a long way to open the fourth.
Key stat
Bruce Bochy got his 2,195th career win to break a tie with Sparky Anderson for the sixth-most by an MLB manager. Bochy, who turned 70 last month, is in his 28th season as a manager, his third in Texas.
Up next
Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi (4-2, 1.78 ERA) goes into Friday night having allowed only two earned runs over 25 innings in his last four starts (3-0). Right-hander Lance McCullers Jr. (0-1, 15.75) makes only his third start for Houston since the 2022 World Series.