Astros drop their third straight game

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 4-3 loss

Chris Campise
Jun 18, 2019, 8:33 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Looking to end their two-game skid, the Astros sent their ace Justin Verlander to the mound to try and get back in the win column on Tuesday night against the Reds. Here is a recap of the middle game of the series:

Final Score: Reds 4, Astros 3.

Record: 48-26, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Anthony DeSclafani (4-3, 4.22 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Justin Verlander (9-3, 2.59 ERA).

1) Offense comes up just short again

After finding themselves down three runs early, the offense had trouble putting any big innings together to threaten to take a come from behind lead. They didn't get on the board until the top of the sixth, trimming the lead to two runs on an RBI-double by Yordan Alvarez.

Down 4-1 in the top of the eighth, the Astros would have their best inning offensively, getting a leadoff walk to set up a two-run home run for Alex Bregman to make it a one-run game. Brantley would hit a no-out single next and move to second on a wild pitch but would be left stranded to keep them behind in the game. They would come up empty in the top of the ninth to drop their third straight game.

2) Early homers haunt Verlander

Justin Verlander continued to struggle with home runs in his start on Tuesday night, allowing a solo and two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning to put Houston in a quick 3-0 hole. Though Verlander would rebound well from those early runs, his offense would be unable to get him off the hook.

He'd go on to allow just two hits over the next five innings, but with his night nearing an end with two outs in the seventh, would get dinged with one more home run to extend Cincinnati's lead back to three-runs at 4-1. Verlander's final line: 7 IP, 6 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 3 HR.

Chris Devenski pitched a scoreless eighth inning, but there would be no bottom of the ninth with the offense going down 1-2-3 in the top half of the inning, ending the loss for Houston.

Up Next: Houston will wrap up his series with Cincinnati tomorrow with an early game starting at 11:35 AM. The pitching matchup for the finale will be Gerrit Cole (6-5, 3.67 ERA) for the Astros going against Tyler Mahle (2-7, 4.33 ERA) for the Reds.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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Astros finish the series with a win

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 6-2 win

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

With an overpowering win on Wednesday night, the Astros went into the series finale on Thursday night hoping to split the series and travel back to Houston on a good note. Here is how the game went:

Final Score: Astros 6, Angels 2.

Record: 61-37, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Wade Miley (8-4, 3.25 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Matt Harvey (3-5, 7.09 ERA).

1) Bats stay hot

Houston's offense provided another significant lead early in Thursday night's game, getting two two-out walks in the top of the first to set up a two-RBI double by Yordan Alvarez to take an immediate 2-0 lead. They followed that up with a three-run third inning, including RBIs from Josh Reddick and Yuli Gurriel along with a solo home run by George Springer.

Alex Bregman extended the lead in the fifth, getting a solo home run of his own to make it a 6-0 lead. They would ride those six runs all the way to the end to the victory.

2) Miley with a decent start

Wade Miley had an excellent start to his night, getting through the first four innings without allowing a hit with just a couple of walks. He allowed the first hit to the Angels in the fifth, but would not allow a run until the sixth.

In the bottom of the sixth, Miley would have his worst inning of the evening, allowing a couple of hits which paired with an error would end up putting the Angels in position to trim the lead to 6-2. Will Harris came in to finish off the inning.

Still, it was a decent night for Miley, and with the early offense behind him, he was able to leave in line for the win. His final line: 5.1 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 3K, 0 HR.

3) Bullpen finishes off the series split

After Harris finished off the sixth for Miley, the seventh belonged to Collin McHugh. Mchugh worked around a one-out double, keeping it at 6-2 heading to the eighth.

Ryan Pressly took over for his usual eighth-inning role, and he was able to work around a leadoff double by Mike Trout by retiring the next three batters to send things to the ninth. Roberto Osuna came in for the ninth and recorded the final three outs, despite a two-out triple, to complete the win.

Up Next: The Astros will take a late-night flight back to Houston tonight to start a weekend three-game series with the Rangers beginning on Friday night. The series opener will be at 7:10 PM tomorrow and it the expected pitching matchup is Mike Minor (8-4, 2.73 ERA) for the Rangers going up against Houston's ace, Justin Verlander (11-4, 2.98 ERA).

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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