Astros win seventh straight game

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 3-2 win

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

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.

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.

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Yainer Diaz should be a big factor early in the season. Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images.

Opening Day for the Houston Astros is right around the corner and the reigning champions of the baseball world have set their final roster.

Three players whose names stood on the final 26 were catchers Yainer Diaz and Cesar Salazar as well as right-handed pitcher Ronel Blanco, and outfielder Corey Julks.

While some might be surprised to see their names on the main roster, the Astros’ logic behind it reveals the focus is not just on this season, but for the future as well.

Let’s start with Diaz and Salazar, who both edged out prospect Korey Lee for the backup catcher position. Lee was the Astros’ first-round selection in the 2019 draft. His numbers during 2023 spring training were .258/.343/.827 with two home runs and six RBI in 31 at-bats.

In comparison, Diaz’s slashes were .325/.317/.892 with one home run and eight RBI in 40 at-bats. Salazar put together a slash line of .286/.407/.978 with a home run and seven RBI in 21 at-bats.

While not making the opening day roster is a blow for Lee, Houston general manager Dana Brown said it is not necessarily a reflection of where the organization views him as a player.

Brown said it is vital for Lee to play every single day being a first-round sound selection. That would not be the case had he made the Astros roster, with Martin Maldonaldo solidified as the starter.

“He's like a big time, frontline guy with some power, so you can't have guys like that sitting on the bench at the Major League level, so you have to get him playing time,” Brown said. “Whereas Salazar is a backup catcher, and he fills that role better.”

While that argument works regarding Salazar, it will be interesting to see what Diaz does with his roster spot. Both Diaz and Lee are 24 years old. Diaz made his MLB debut last September and appeared in only six games for the Astros.

As for Blanco, the right-handed pitcher put together an impressive spring training for Houston that earned him his spot in the bullpen. The Dominican Republic native pitched 14 innings, giving up only one run. He put together a 0.64 ERA.

Blanco is going to be raring to showcase to Houston his improvement from last season. He had a rough 2022 season in the big leagues, appearing in only seven games and giving up five runs and accumulating a 7.11 ERA.

The 29-year-old beat out pitchers like Brandon Bielak and veteran Austin Davis to make the team’s crowded bullpen. For Blanco, it is all about producing in the majors.

One final player to spotlight is Corey Julks. He came as a bit of a surprise as well, with many thinking Justin Dirden's impressive spring could get him a spot on the roster. But Julks has more experience and posted a big year with the Space Cowboys in 2022. The former University of Houston Cougar crushed 31 home runs for Sugar Land last year and had a slash line this spring of .275/.318/.550 with 2 homers.

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