Astros blown out by Pirates

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 14-2 loss

Chris Campise
Jun 26, 2019, 9:27 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

After getting their 50th win of the season in the series opener against the Pirates on Tuesday night, the Astros sought to continue winning and secure a series win on Wednesday. Here is a recap of the middle game:

Final Score: Pirates 14, Astros 2.

Record: 50-31, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Dario Agrazal (1-0, 2.70 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Framber Valdez (3-4, 4.57 ERA).

1) Valdez digs early hole

Framber Valdez would not be able to provide Houston with a better start than his last outing, and in fact would struggle even more heavily against the Pirates than he did the Yankees last weekend. Valdez struggled with his command, getting into bad counts that Pittsburgh would take advantage of, scoring six runs over the first three innings.

Valdez would finish the third, but with his shaky command and already having the Astros behind 6-1, was lifted in the forth to set up six innings for the bullpen. Valdez’s final line: 3 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 6 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 1 HR.

Chris Devenski was able to get through two perfect innings in the forth and fifth, but would allow a two-run home run in the top of the sixth to extend the Pirates’ lead to 8-1. Hector Rondon and Collin McHugh would get through the seventh and eighth innings before Tyler White was thrown into action in the ninth to close things out. He’d allow six runs and only get two outs before Max Stassi would be brought in for the last out.

2) Springer’s leadoff dinger highlights offense

Already facing a 2-0 deficit before getting to the plate, George Springer did his part to try and shift the momentum back Houston’s way by launching a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the first to cut the lead in half.

That would be the only notable offense for Houston until the eight when they'd get an RBI-groundout from Yordan Alvarez to make it an 8-2 game, but that would be as close as they’d get to a rally.

Up Next: The Astros will wrap up this series with the Pirates tomorrow with an afternoon game at 1:10 PM. Houston will have Brad Peacock (6-5, 3.62 ERA) on the mound to face former-Astro Joe Musgrove (5-7, 4.57 ERA) with the series on the line.

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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