Houston's offense struggles in loss

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 4-1 loss

Chris Campise
Jun 8, 2019, 4:39 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The Astros were able to take game one of this series against the Orioles on Friday night, though it took eleven innings to pull off. Houston and Baltimore were right back at it on Saturday afternoon, and here's how the middle game of the series went:

Final Score: Orioles 4, Astros 1.

Record: 44-22, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Paul Fry (1-3, 3.29 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Will Harris (1-1, 1.54 ERA).

1) Reddick gets hit 1,000 in an mostly quiet offensive day

After being blanked through the first five innings, Houston finally threatened in the bottom of the sixth inning. Back-to-back singles put runners on the corners with no outs and a chance to erase a 1-0 deficit. They'd come away with just one run, getting an RBI from Yuli Gurriel on a sac fly to tie the game 1-1.

That would be the lone run the Astros would manage during the game, though Josh Reddick was able to notch a milestone with the 1,000th hit of his career with a single in the bottom of the second.

2) Valdez fills starter spot well 

Framber Valdez was terrific in his first start of 2019, filling the vacant spot in the rotation after Corbin Martin was optioned back to AAA after some rough starts. Valdez didn't allow a run until the sixth inning, a solo home run which broke the scoreless tie.

Besides that one hiccup, Valdez was electric and had a great day, recording efficient innings on his way to a seven-inning afternoon. His final line: 7 IP, 5 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 0 BB, 7 K, 1 HR.

3) Orioles go-ahead in the eighth, add insurance in the ninth

Will Harris took over for Valdez in the top of the eighth but would deal with a lot of traffic. Baltimore started the inning with a single followed by a double to get runners on the corners with no outs. Bregman made a great heads-up play on a ground ball to catch the runner between third and home to save a run and keep it a tie game.

Harris was able to get another ground ball in the next at-bat which had double-play potential but instead an errant throw by Jack Mayfield after getting the out at second allowed the go-ahead run to score. Reymin Guduan pitched the top of the ninth, but after getting two strikeouts to start the inning allowed a walk then two-run home run to put the game out of reach.

Up Next: The Astros will wrap up this series with the Orioles with the rubber game tomorrow at 1:10 PM. Wade Miley (5-3, 3.39 ERA) will be on the mound for Houston looking win the series, while Baltimore is expected to start Dylan Bundy (3-6, 4.64 ERA).

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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