Astros get a walk-off win over Mariners

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 2-1 win

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 2-1 win
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The Astros were still at home Friday night, looking to start a new series with the Mariners on a better foot than they ended their last with the Pirates. Here is a rundown of the first of three games with Seattle:

Final Score (10 innings): Astros 2, Mariners 1.

Record: 51-32, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Will Harris (2-1, 1.20 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Matt Festa (0-2, 4.67 ERA).

1) Miley does his part

Wade Miley was able to provide the Astros with a strong start on Friday night to keep them close in the game and give the offense a chance to take and hold a lead. Although Miley would work in and out of trouble a couple of times over his innings, the only real damage he allowed was a solo home run in the top of the third which gave Seattle a 1-0 lead.

Wade would go on to finish six innings while just allowing that one run, getting plenty of help on defense behind him while he induced a lot of soft contact. He would, unfortunately, not be able to get a win out of his quality start. Miley's final line: 6 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 1 HR.

2) Relief pitching keeps it close

After Miley's night ended, the bullpen came in and was able to keep it a one-run game to give Houston's offense plenty of chances to tie or go ahead. Josh James pitched a scoreless seventh despite loading the bases with two outs, then Ryan Pressly had a 1-2-3 eighth.

After finally getting a run on the board to tie the game in the bottom of the eighth, Houston sent out their closer Roberto Osuna to keep the game tied in the top of the ninth. He would do just that, getting a scoreless frame with two strikeouts to give the offense a chance to walk it off in the bottom half.

After coming up empty in the bottom of the ninth, Will Harris took over to start extra innings and worked around a leadoff single in the top of the tenth to keep the tie intact going to the bottom of the inning.

3) Offense does just enough

After looking mostly helpless on offense through the first seven innings, the Astros still had just a one-run deficit to overcome in the eighth. Things continued to look dreary until Josh Reddick delivered a two-out solo home run to tie the game and help shift the momentum back in favor of the Astros.

After getting a scoreless top of the ninth from Osuna, Myles Straw led off the bottom of the ninth with a single, then moved to second on a sacrifice bunt by Jake Marisnick. He'd be stranded there, though, sending the game to extra innings.

Yuli Gurriel would play hero in the bottom of the tenth, hitting a one-out solo home run to win the game.

Up Next: Game two of this three-game set will be nationally televised on FOX tomorrow night with first pitch at 7:15 PM. Justin Verlander (10-3, 2.67 ERA) will be on the mound for Houston looking to continue his great season as he goes opposite of Yusei Kikuchi (4-5, 5.11 ERA) for Seattle.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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