Astros get the series win against the Cardinals
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 6-2 win
Jul 28, 2019, 4:40 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
The series finale between the Astros and Cardinals was a rubber game after the teams split the first two games. Here is a quick recap of Sunday's matchup:
Final Score: Astros 6, Cardinals 2.
Record: 68-39, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Wade Miley (9-4, 3.06 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Dakota Hudson (10-5, 3.88 ERA).
1) Altuve with a milestone in another strong offensive performance
After a blowout the day before, Houston's offense continued to pummel the Cardinals on Sunday in the series finale. It started with the first at-bat of the afternoon, as George Springer launched the second pitch of the game for a dinger to put the Astros ahead 1-0 immediately.
Yordan Alvarez, making a start in left field after missing the starting lineup the first two games in the DH-less series, doubled Houston's lead with a solo home run in the top of the third. Wade Miley, who put down a successful bunt earlier in the game, led off the fifth inning by working a walk. Springer followed that up with a double, putting runners on second and third.
Jose Altuve dug into the box next, needing just one hit to reach 1,500 on his career. He made it a loud and memorable one, crushing a ball to left field for a three-run home run, making it a 5-0 game.
2) Good, but short start for Miley
After nearly completing a full nine innings in his last start, Wade Miley did not have the same level of dominance against the Cardinals. He had traffic on the bases in nearly every inning, giving up a walk or single in each except for his last, the fifth.
Still, he did well not to allow any runs, working in and out of trouble several times including stranding the bases loaded in the third. Miley's final line: 5 IP, 5 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, 6 K, 0 HR.
3) Houston wins the series
That set up the bullpen to complete the final four innings. Collin McHugh started the afternoon for the bullpen in the bottom of the sixth but would allow St. Louis' first run of the day before getting through the inning, making it a 5-1 game. Hector Rondon had the seventh and worked around an error for a scoreless inning.
Houston pushed the lead back to five runs in the top of the eighth, getting an RBI-double from Michael Brantley to make it 6-1. Chris Devenski took over on the mound in the bottom of the eighth, a 1-2-3 inning to send things on to the ninth.
After a quick top of the ninth, Devenski stayed in to get the last three outs, and despite allowing a leadoff home run to make it 6-2, would do so to secure the series win for Houston.
Up Next: Houston will have a day off tomorrow, but stay on the road to pick up a three-game series with the Indians in Cleveland. The series opener is Tuesday at 6:10 PM and the expected pitching matchup is a good one with Justin Verlander (13-4, 2.86 ERA) on the mound for the Astros going against Shane Bieber (10-3, 3.44 ERA) for the Indians.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
It’s May 1, and the Astros are turning heads—but not for the reasons anyone expected. Their resurgence, driven not by stars like Yordan Alvarez or Christian Walker, but by a cast of less-heralded names, is writing a strange and telling early-season story.
Christian Walker, brought in to add middle-of-the-order thump, has yet to resemble the feared hitter he was in Arizona. Forget the narrative of a slow starter—he’s never looked like this in April. Through March and April of 2025, he’s slashing a worrying .196/.277/.355 with a .632 OPS. Compare that to the same stretch in 2024, when he posted a .283 average, .496 slug, and a robust .890 OPS, and it becomes clear: this is something more than rust. Even in 2023, his April numbers (.248/.714 OPS) looked steadier.
What’s more troubling than the overall dip is when it’s happening. Walker is faltering in the biggest moments. With runners in scoring position, he’s hitting just .143 over 33 plate appearances, including 15 strikeouts. The struggles get even more glaring with two outs—.125 average, .188 slugging, and a .451 OPS in 19 such plate appearances. In “late and close” situations, when the pressure’s highest, he’s practically disappeared: 1-for-18 with a .056 average and a .167 OPS.
His patience has waned (only 9 walks so far, compared to 20 by this time last year), and for now, his presence in the lineup feels more like a placeholder than a pillar.
The contrast couldn’t be clearer when you look at José Altuve—long the engine of this franchise—who, in 2024, delivered in the moments Walker is now missing. With two outs and runners in scoring position, Altuve hit .275 with an .888 OPS. In late and close situations, he thrived with a .314 average and .854 OPS. That kind of situational excellence is missing from this 2025 squad—but someone else may yet step into that role.
And yet—the Astros are winning. Not because of Walker, but in spite of him.
Houston’s offense, in general, hasn’t lit up the leaderboard. Their team OPS ranks 23rd (.667), their slugging 25th (.357), and they sit just 22nd in runs scored (117). They’re 26th in doubles, a rare place for a team built on gap-to-gap damage.
But where there’s been light, it hasn’t come from the usual spots. Jeremy Peña, often overshadowed in a lineup full of stars, now boasts the team’s highest OPS at .791 (Isaac Paredes is second in OPS) and is flourishing in his new role as the leadoff hitter. Peña’s balance of speed, contact, aggression, and timely power has given Houston a surprising tone-setter at the top.
Even more surprising: four Astros currently have more home runs than Yordan Alvarez.
And then there’s the pitching—Houston’s anchor. The rotation and bullpen have been elite, ranking 5th in ERA (3.23), 1st in WHIP (1.08), and 4th in batting average against (.212). In a season where offense is lagging and clutch hits are rare, the arms have made all the difference.
For now, it’s the unexpected contributors keeping Houston afloat. Peña’s emergence. A rock-solid pitching staff. Role players stepping up in quiet but crucial ways. They’re not dominating, but they’re grinding—and in a sluggish AL West, that may be enough.
Walker still has time to find his swing. He showed some signs of life against Toronto and Detroit. If he does, the Astros could become dangerous. If he doesn’t, the turnaround we’re witnessing will be credited to a new cast of unlikely faces. And maybe, that’s the story that needed to be written.
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