Astros hold on to win the series opener with Detroit
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 5-4 win
Houston's recent road trip was a disappointing one, finishing 4-6 over the ten-game span that was meant to be full of easy wins. They did, however, finish it with a win in Oakland to take the sting out of it slightly, giving them something to build on in the first game of a ten-game home stand. First up was a four-game series with the Tigers. Here is a quick recap of the opener from Monday night:
Final Score: Astros 5, Tigers 4.
Record: 80-46, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Wade Miley (12-4, 3.18 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Edwin Jackson (3-6, 8.46 ERA).
1) Miley works in and out of trouble over 5.2 innings
Wade Miley's night did not start as planned; he allowed four consecutive singles to begin the night, giving Detroit an early 1-0 lead. After a 1-2-3 second, he would struggle with the top of Detroit's order again, allowing a couple of singles and a sacrifice fly to cut the lead to 4-2.
He settled in over the next couple of innings, working around two singles in the fourth to strike out the side and followed that with two more strikeouts in a scoreless fifth. He returned to start the top of the sixth inning with his pitch count nearing 100 and would get two quick outs before allowing a solo home run followed by a single, prompting a call to the bullpen to end his night.
Hector Rondon was able to get the third out of the sixth, completing Miley's pitching line. That line: 5.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 1 HR.
2) Astros get a big four-run first inning, but Carlos Correa injures his back
Home cookin' always deserves seconds. 🥩#TakeItBackpic.twitter.com/KN2YmcDuFK
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 20, 2019
Houston wasted no time getting after Edwin Jackson, getting an RBI-single from Yordan Alvarez and two-RBI double by Yuli Gurriel in the bottom of the first. Gurriel would score on an error in the next at-bat, putting the Astros up 4-1 through one.
Carlos Correa must have tweaked something during his at-bat in that first inning, as between innings he was removed from the game with the designation of back discomfort. The Astros were held to their initial four runs until the fifth when Robinson Chirinos extended the lead to 5-2 with a sacrifice fly.
3) Houston holds on late to win
After finishing the sixth, Hector Rondon stayed in the game for the top of the seventh but was met with a leadoff solo homer to start the inning and make it a one-run Houston lead. He would go on to complete the inning with a couple of strikeouts.
Will Harris took over on the mound in the top of the eighth and was able to work around a two-out walk and broken-bat single to get Houston three outs away from the win. With the score still 5-4 going to the top of the tenth, Houston went to their closer Roberto Osuna who was able to earn another save by working around a one-out double.
Up Next: The second matchup of this four-game set will take place Tuesday at 7:10 PM. Aaron Sanchez (5-14, 5.79 ERA) will get the start for Houston and attempt to replicate the success of his first two starts with Houston and distance himself from the poor performance of his third and most recent one. He will go up against Spencer Turnbull (3-11, 3.75 ERA) for Detroit.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
