Houston starts the weekend with a win
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 5-4 win
After wrapping up a 3-1 series win against the Tigers to start the week, Houston sported their "Player's Weekend" uniforms in the series opener against the Angels at home to start the three-game weekend series. Here is a recap of the opener:
Final Score: Astros 5, Angels 4.
Record: 83-47, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Zack Greinke (14-4, 2.83 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Jose Suarez (2-5, 6.67 ERA).
1) Houston builds up a lead in the middle innings
Houston was able to get on the board in the bottom of the third, cutting the Angels' lead in half at 2-1 after an RBI-single by Jose Altuve. They tied the game in next inning on an RBI by Jake Marisnick, making it a 2-2 game going to the fifth.
In the bottom of the fifth, Houston took their first lead of the night. Alex Bregman hit a two-out double, bringing Yuli Gurriel to the plate who delivered a go-ahead two-run home run to give the Astros a 4-2 advantage.
2) Greinke leaves with a lead
Zack Greinke did not have his greatest stuff on Friday night, but it was still enough to keep him in line for the win. He put the Astros down 2-0 in the top of the second, allowing three straight singles to begin the inning which resulted in a 2-0 Los Angeles lead.
He settled in after that while his team gave him a 4-2 lead, but in the top of the sixth, he would allow one more run after an error and a single before an RBI-groundout made it a 4-3 game. Greinke would remain in the game to start the seventh, getting a couple of outs while putting runners on first and third, but Will Harris could get the third out. His final line: 6.2 IP, 10 H, 3 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 1 K, 0 HR.
3) Astros hold on for the win
After the Angels pulled within one run at 4-3 in the top of the sixth, the Astros pushed it back to a two-run lead in the bottom of the seventh. Jose Altuve hit a one-out single, moved to second on a groundout for the second out, then scored on a two-out RBI-single by Alex Bregman to make it a 5-3 Houston lead.
Hector Rondon took over on the mound in the top of the eighth but was met with a solo home run to cut the lead back to one run at 5-4 before retiring the next three batters. That set up Roberto Osuna for another save opportunity, which he converted to complete the one-run win to start the weekend series.
Up Next: Houston and Los Angeles will continue this series with a Saturday night matchup getting underway at 6:10 PM. The Astros will send Wade Miley (12-4, 3.18 ERA) to the mound who has not earned a loss since June 17th, while the Angles are expected to start Dillon Peters (3-1. 3.92 ERA).
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
