Yankees too much for the Astros yet again

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 7-5 loss

Chris Campise
Jun 22, 2019, 9:25 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Carrying a six-game losing streak on their shoulders, the Astros went back to work on Saturday night in a nationally televised game to try and right the ship against the Yankees. Here's how they did:

Final Score: Yankees 7, Astros 5.

Record: 48-30, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Jonathan Holder (5-2, 5.55 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Ryan Pressly (1-1, 1.31 ERA).

1) Miley terrific early, struggles late 

Wade Miley's night started less than ideal, walking his first batter on four pitches then going down 2-0 on the next. He was able to bounce back very quickly, though, getting a double play to erase the walk and then a strikeout to end the first inning. Miley would lock in after that, keeping the Yankees hitless through the first four innings.

The first hit for New York was a loud one, a two-out two-run home run in the bottom of the fifth to capitalize on a one-out walk earlier in the inning, giving the Yankees a 2-0 lead. After the offense tied the game in the top of the sixth, Miley went back to work in the bottom of the inning but would end up loading the bases on back-to-back walks then a single to start the inning.

Will Harris would come in to finish the sixth, but not before allowing a two-run single, charged to Miley. Miley's final line: 5 IP, 2 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 4 BB, 7 K, 1 HR.

2) Taking advantage of the short porch

With little offense happening through the early goings of the game, when the Yankees broke through first with their two-run home run in the fifth things looked bleak for Houston considering their recent struggles to get runners home. Josh Reddick gave the Astros a boost of momentum in the top of the sixth with a game-tying two-run home run of his own, but they'd quickly find themselves down again with the Yankees re-taking the lead in the bottom of the inning.

Houston would respond with arguably their best inning of offense in this series in the top of the seventh, getting back-to-back two-out singles from Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley before Yordan Alvarez delivered another great moment in his early career with a go-ahead three-run home run to the short porch in right field.

That gave the Astros a 5-4 lead, but it too would quickly be erased, and Houston would be unable to answer again despite getting the go-ahead run to the plate in the top of the ninth inning.

3) Pressly with a rare shaky inning

After Will Harris would watch the Yankees re-take the lead in the sixth, Ryan Pressly would meet the same fate in the seventh. With a 5-4 lead, Houston went to Ryan Pressly to try and hold down their one-run lead. Instead, Pressly would be unable to contain New York's lineup, allowing a one-out solo home run to tie the game 5-5 before later allowing a two-RBI single to put the Yankees back in front 7-5.

After stranding two runners in the top of the inning, the Astros looked to Reymin Guduan to keep the score at 7-5 in the bottom of the eighth, and he was able to do so with a little defensive help. That would end the night of pitching for Houston with the offense coming up empty in the top of the ninth, giving them their seventh loss in a row.

Up Next: Houston will wrap up this seven-game road trip with the series finale against New York tomorrow afternoon at 1:05 PM. The Astros will turn to their ace, Justin Verlander (9-3, 2.59 ERA) to get his tenth win of the season while the Yankees are expected to start J.A. Happ (7-3, 4.59 ERA).

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

astros houston astros new york yankees yankees wade miley masahiro tanaka jose altuve alex bregman aaron judge giancarlo stanton yordan alvarez ryan pressly astros recap

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Houston couldn't keep up

Astros fall to Blue Jays as Toronto gets homer-happy

Houston's bats couldn't keep up with Toronto's Saturday night. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

With an offensive clinic in the opener on Friday night, which helped them handily defeat the Blue Jays, the Astros returned to Minute Maid Park Saturday with a chance to secure another series. Toronto had other plans, though, reversing roles with Houston by getting big home runs to even the series.

Final Score: Blue Jays 8, Astros 4

Astros' Record: 17-16, third in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Steven Matz (5-2)

Losing Pitcher: Cristian Javier (3-1)

Toronto flips the script and turns on their offense against Javier

Toronto flipped the script from the night before early in this middle game of the series, dealing damage to Cristian Javier, who so far in 2021 had been able to limit his amount of earned runs. After retiring the first four batters he faced, a one-out walk in the top of the second set up the Blue Jays' first hit of the night, a two-run home run by Cavan Biggio, giving them a 2-0 lead over Houston.

After a leadoff home run made it a 3-0 score, Javier would deal with the fallout of more walks in the top of the third, issuing two to set up a two-out two-RBI double to give the Jays a commanding 5-0 advantage. Javier would battle back and complete five full innings, getting one out into the sixth before a walk would prompt Dusty Baker to make the call to the bullpen. His final line: 5.1 IP, 4 H, 5 ER, 4 BB, 8 K, 2 HR, 91 P.

Alvarez keeps mashing as Houston tries to claw back into it

Javier would exit with at least some runs on the board in support of him, with Yordan Alvarez hitting a two-run opposite-field homer in the bottom of the fourth to cut the lead to three runs. Alvarez accounted for another run in the next inning, coming through with an RBI-single to make it 5-3, which is where the game stood as Andre Scrubb would take over in the top of the sixth.

Scrubb finished that inning for Javier and returned for a 1-2-3 seventh to keep it a two-run game. Bryan Abreu was the next reliever, and he, too, was able to retire the Blue Jays in order in the top of the eighth. The Astros continued to chip away at Toronto's lead, getting another run in the bottom of the inning on an RBI by Yuli Gurriel to make it 5-4 heading to the ninth.

Toronto evens the series

Brooks Raley entered to try and keep it a one-run game with a clean inning, but instead, two runners would reach on a walk and error before Joe Smith would enter to try and strand them. Instead, a two-out home run put the game back out of reach at 8-4, with Houston coming up empty in the bottom of the inning, setting up a rubber match in the finale.

Up Next: This series's third and final game will be an afternoon start of 1:10 PM Central on Sunday. Zack Greinke (2-1, 3.76 ERA) will try to add more wins to his record for Houston, while Nate Pearson will be making his 2021 debut for Toronto.

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