Astros power past the Mariners for fifth straight win
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 11-5 win
Jun 5, 2019, 12:32 am
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Houston took the first game of this four-game set on Monday night and looked to take game two and extend their winning streak to five games with a victory on Tuesday. Here's the result of the game:
Final Score: Astros 11, Mariners 5.
Record: 42-20, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Reymin Guduan (1-0, 6.00 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Brandon Brennan (2-4, 3.94 ERA).
1) Offenses trade blows, Astros get the KO
It was an exchange of solo home runs early in the game, starting with Tony Kemp who put Houston ahead 1-0 with one in the top of the third. Seattle answered with one of their own to tie the game 1-1 in the bottom of the same inning, but Robinson Chirinos would break the tie right away in the top of the fourth with a crushed solo homer, make it 2-1 Astros.
Houston extended that lead in the top of the fifth on three-straight doubles including RBI-doubles for Alex Bregman and Michael Brantley, making it a 4-1 lead. The lead would not last long, though, as the Mariners would trim the lead to 4-2 in the bottom of the sixth then load the bases to set up a go-ahead bases-clearing double to put the Astros behind 5-4.
Houston would put together a big top of the seventh to erase the deficit, getting RBIs from Derek Fisher, Yuli Gurriel, and another for Bregman to grab a two-run lead at 7-5. They kept the scoring going in the eighth, knocking in four more runs to get to double-digits after an RBI-single from Myles Straw, another RBI for Bregman on a sac fly, and a two-RBI double for Jake Marisnick, extending the lead to 11-5.
2) Miley goes five
Wade Miley started the game with five relatively strong innings, allowing just one run which came on a solo home run to tie the game 1-1 at the time. Miley returned to the mound for the sixth, but with a high pitch count and a close game was pulled after starting the inning with a walk and single. Those two runners in the sixth would eventually score, giving Miley a couple of extra earned runs. His final line – 5 IP, 3H, 3R, 3 BB, 6 K.
Josh James was first out of the bullpen, but after getting two outs would falter and allow an RBI-single then walk to load the bases, ending his appearance quickly. Next out was Reymin Guduan, called up just today to replace Corbin Martin who was optioned down to AAA after his recent struggles. Guduan would have his own issues, allowing the go-ahead three-RBI double which gave Miley an additional earned run on the night and two to James.
3) Harris, Devenski, Rodgers finish things off
After Seattle put together the big sixth inning, Will Harris would be next out of the bullpen to take over in the seventh and was able to work around a walk for a scoreless frame. Chris Devenski replaced Harris in the eighth, and thanks to a homerun-robbing catch by Josh Reddick was able to send the 11-5 game to the ninth.
In the ninth, Brady Rodgers made his second appearance after his 2019 debut on May 22nd where he went two innings while allowing a run. Tonight, though, he was asked for just one inning and would get it in scoreless fashion to cap off the win.
Up Next: The Astros and Mariners will have one more 9:10 PM start time in this series on Wednesday before an afternoon game on Thursday. Brad Peacock (5-2, 3.17 ERA) will be on the mound for Houston who will look to make it six straight wins with him on the bump. Mike Leake (4-6, 4.71 ERA) is the projected starter for Seattle.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Now that spring training is officially underway, we're able to make some observations about how the Astros 2025 roster is taking shape.
Houston's starting rotation is basically set, but we got to see Hayden Wesneski make his first start in an Astro uniform. Wesneski pitched two innings against the Mets on Tuesday, allowing one run with three strikeouts.
He's working on a curveball that's a new pitch for his repertoire, and he saw some success with it. Hopefully, adding this pitch will help keep batters off balance (especially left-handed hitters) and help elevate his game. Which is nothing new for the Astros, who have a history of helping pitchers get to the next level.
Forrest Whitley also looked good, pitching a clean inning and finishing off his final hitter with a 97 mph fastball. Whitley finally realizing his potential in the big leagues could be a huge deal for the Astros, as they're looking to lighten the workload for Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader this season.
Hader in particular could benefit from this adjustment, as he was much worse when pitching in non-save situations last season. An easy fix with Hader could be trying to limit his workload to mostly save situations. That way, you get the most out of him and achieve the goal of him pitching less innings this year.
The Houston Chronicle's Matt Kawahara wrote about Hader's struggles pitching when games were tied or Houston was trailing.
“Hader converted 34 of 38 save chances but faced more batters in non-save situations (142) than in save situations (136), a sharp pivot from his previous few seasons. Opponents slugged .271 against him in save situations and .411 in non-save situations, while his ERA was more than two runs higher (4.98) in the latter.”
And while it's easy to say “suck it up, you're getting paid a fortune to pitch,” if he's not having success in those situations, and you're looking to back off his workload, this seems like an obvious way to pivot. He's under contract for another four seasons, so the Astros are right to want to be careful with him.
Astros plate discipline
Manager Joe Espada has made it very clear that he would like his offense to see more pitches this season. And we're seeing a stark difference in the approaches from the newly acquired players (Isaac Paredes, Christian Walker) and Houston's returning hitters.
Keep in mind, Paredes was first in pitches per plate appearance last season, and Walker was 10th.
So it shouldn't come as a surprise that Paredes and Walker both worked a full count in their first at-bats on Tuesday, while Mauricio Dubon, Yainer Diaz, and Chas McCormick swung at every pitch in their first at-bats.
Hopefully the new blood in the clubhouse will rub off on the rest of the Astros lineup, which is full of free swingers, especially with Alex Bregman now playing for Boston.
Which is why we're so excited about Cam Smith's early results. While we're super pumped about his two home runs on Tuesday, we're equally impressed that he walked in his first two at-bats this spring. If anyone would naturally be jumping out of their shoes to make a strong first impression, you would think it's the guy that was traded for Kyle Tucker. But Smith was patient, and he was rewarded for it.
What is Dana Brown saying privately?
Just last offseason, Brown was talking about extending Tucker and Bregman while also signing Hader to a shocking 5-year, $95 million deal. Plus, the team signed Jose Altuve to a whopping $150 million extension. Fast-forward one year and Tucker has been traded, Bregman left in free agency, and Ryan Pressly was dealt in a salary dump. Safe to say, his vision for the ball club has changed drastically in one season. Welcome to baseball economics under Jim Crane!
We're just scratching the surface on everything covered in the video above. Be sure to hit play to watch the full conversation!
The countdown to Opening Day is on. Join Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo for the Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast which drops each Monday afternoon, with an additional episode now on Thursday. Click here to catch!
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