Astros dominate the Twins in lopsided win

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 11-0 win

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 11-0 win
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

After being shutout in the loss the night before, the Astros looked to turn things around on offense on Tuesday night in the dreary weather in Minneapolis for game two of four with the Twins. Here's a quick stat breakdown and three hits from the game:

Final Score: Astros 11, Twins 0

Record: 18-12, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Gerrit Cole (2-4, 3.95 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Michael Pineda (2-2, 6.21 ERA).

1) No stopping this train

Although it looked like he might be in for a rough night after walking the first two batters to start his night, Gerrit Cole turned that around quick to post his best start of the season and most dominant since his complete-game shutout with sixteen strikeouts in Arizona almost exactly one year ago.

Cole did not allow a hit until the sixth inning, and that one hit to go with three walks would be his only flaws in a seven-inning scoreless start with eleven strikeouts. The eleven Ks moved him to 65 for the year, a new record for American League starters before May and keeping him well out in front in the strikeout column in the AL.

2) Offense heats up in the cold weather 

There was no shutting out Houston's offense on Tuesday night, as they jumped ahead early on an RBI-double by George Springer in the top of the third to take a 1-0 lead. Springer doubled the lead to 2-0 with a line-drive solo dinger to lead off the fifth, then later in the same inning Carlos Correa notched an RBI with a sacrifice fly to make it 3-0.

They'd strike again in the top of the sixth, putting together a big four-run inning after a two-run homer by Jake Marisnick, a solo homer from Alex Bregman, and an RBI-single from Correa. Correa would get his third RBI of the night in the eighth, drawing a bases-loaded walk before Houston would add three more insurance runs on RBIs from Aledmys Diaz and Josh Reddick then scoring on an error to extend the lead to 11-0.

3) Bullpen finishes the shutout

With Cole's dominant night done after seven innings, Josh James came in for the eighth and was able to find his way out of a two-out bases loaded jam. Chris Devenski took over in the ninth and closed out the game to get Houston back in the win column.

Up Next: Houston and Minnesota will get started a little later tomorrow than the first two games, starting game three of four at 7:10 PM. Collin McHugh (3-2, 4.78 ERA) will start for the Astros opposite of Martin Perez (3-0, 4.44 ERA) for the Twins.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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