Houston starts the weekend with a win
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 5-4 win
Aug 23, 2019, 10:18 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
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.
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José Soriano pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and Logan O'Hoppe hit a pair of two-run shots to end a long home run drought and help the Los Angeles Angels beat the Houston Astros 9-1 on Saturday night.
Soriano (5-5) struck out 10 and allowed one run on three hits and three walks. He has allowed just two runs in his last three starts covering 20 2/3 innings with 28 strikeouts. He hasn't allowed a home run since April 22 — a span of 11 starts.
O’Hoppe hit his 15th homer and first since May 22 in the third inning to give the Angels a 6-0 lead. The catcher capped the scoring with his second of the game in the seventh.
Jo Adell reached with a one-out infield single off Astros rookie Brandon Walter (0-1) in the second and Luis Rengifo followed with his fourth home run for a 2-0 lead.
Nolan Schanuel was hit by a pitch and Mike Trout singled and scored from first on a double by Taylor Ward for a 4-0 lead.
Jose Altuve walked and scored on a two-out single by Christian Walker in the fourth for the Astros, but the Angels answered in their half when Zach Neto doubled with two outs and scored on Schanuel's single for a 7-1 lead.
Walter allowed seven runs on nine hits in six innings in his fourth career start.
Key moment
The Angels never looked back after Rengifo homered in the second.
Key stat
Houston is 3-2 against the Angels this season and leads the overall series 133-85. That includes a 65-45 record at Angel Stadium.
Up next
Astros rookie RHP Ryan Gusto (4-3, 4.31 ERA) will start Sunday's rubber game against Angels RHP Kyle Hendricks (5-6, 4.79).