Astros win seventh straight game
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 3-2 win
The Astros were riding a six-game winning streak into a three-game series with the Orioles in Baltimore on Friday night. Here is a quick recap of the series opener:
Final Score: Astros 3, Orioles 2.
Record: 76-40, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Wade Miley (11-4, 2.99 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Dylan Bundy (5-12, 5.04 ERA).
1) Another win for Miley
Wade Miley did his job against the Orioles on Friday night, throwing another low-score solid start. He only allowed a few hits in the early goings of the game but allowed a costly hit in the bottom of the fifth when he allowed a solo home run to get the Orioles within a run at 2-1.
He quickly moved past the homer, finishing the fifth then getting two outs into the sixth before his pitch count caught up with him and Houston made the call to their bullpen. Miley's final line: 5.2 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 1 HR. The one-run start not only kept Miley in line for his eleventh win of the season, but it also moved his ERA below 3.00 at 2.99
2) Offense not as strong as expected, but strong enough
It looked like Houston's bats were going to feast on Baltimore's pitching after their successful first inning. It started with a one-out single by Jose Altuve, who would come around to score the first run of the game on a two-out RBI-double by Alex Bregman. Yordan Alvarez was up next and continued his fantastic introduction to the league with an RBI of his own, a single to score Bregman and extend the lead to 2-0.
1. Can't keep Bregman out of the corner.
2. Can't keep Yordan from driving in runs. #TakeItBackpic.twitter.com/C9ZYWHzwNt
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 9, 2019
They would go surprisingly quiet after that, getting only a handful of hits through the middle innings. After the Orioles cut the lead in half in the fifth, Houston was able to push it back to two runs in the top of the seventh. Robinson Chirinos led the inning off with a single, then scored on an RBI-triple by Jose Altuve.
3) Make it seven straight wins
After Will Harris finished the sixth for Wade Miley, it was Joe Smith who took over on the mound for the seventh. He would complete the inning, but not without allowing Baltimore's second solo home run of the night to make it a 3-2 Houston lead.
Ryan Pressly made his return from the injured list in the bottom of the eighth inning and was able to keep Baltimore scoreless by working around a one-out walk and single, stranding both with back-to-back strikeouts to send things to the ninth. Roberto Osuna took over for another save opportunity in the bottom of the ninth and converted it to finish off Houston's seventh win in a row
Up Next: This series continues with game two on Saturday at 6:05 PM Central from Baltimore. The expected pitching matchup is Aaron Brooks (2-5, 5.45 ERA) for the Orioles going against newly acquired Aaron Sanchez (4-14, 5.76 ERA) who will be looking to repeat the success of his hitless six-inning debut with the Astros last weekend.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
