Astros take another from the Rangers
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 4 hits from the 3-0 win
May 10, 2019, 9:40 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After an exciting finish to the first game of the series, the Astros looked to take game two on Friday night against the Rangers. Here's a quick rundown and four points from the game:
Final Score: Astros 3, Rangers 0
Record: 24-15, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Justin Verlander (6-1, 2.51 ERA)
Losing pitcher: Lance Lynn (4-3, 5.48 ERA)
1) Altuve exits with an injury
After reaching base by hustling out an infield single, Jose Altuve would try to stay in and run but would eventually get removed from the game with a leg injury. The current status is left hamstring discomfort (a term Astros that fans are all too familiar with) which has him day-to-day. Hopefully, that diagnosis is correct and not something more long-term.
2) Verlander throws seven shutout innings in win
Friday night was just another day at the office for Justin Verlander. He threw seven one-hit innings of shutout baseball, and along the way threw eight strikeouts to move him to 22nd on the all-time list, sitting at 2,774 in his great career so far. The scoreless night also moved his ERA down to 2.51 on the year. The win moves him to 6-1 on the year.
3) Bottom of the order powers through
As proof that there's no easy out in this Houston lineup, it was the 7-8-9 hitters that provided most of the offense in this game. Jake Marisnick got the Astros on the board with a solo home run in the third to make it a 1-0 game. After some quiet innings, Yuli Gurriel and Robinson Chirinos made some noise with back-to-back homers to extend the lead to 3-0.
4) Pressly and Osuna close it out
With Verlander done after seven innings, the Astros looked to their one-two punch of Ryan Pressly and Roberto Osuna to close out the win. Pressly extended his scoreless inning streak to 35 with a 1-2-3 eighth including a strikeout, moving the 3-0 game to the ninth. Roberto Osuna came in looking to grab his tenth save of the year, and with a little help from Josh Reddick for the second consecutive night, was able to do so to close out the victory for Houston.
Up Next: Game three of this four-game set will get started at 7:10 PM tomorrow night in Houston. The Astros will send Gerrit Cole (3-4, 4.17 ERA) to the mound to extend his league-lead in strikeouts. He'll be up against Drew Smyly (0-2, 6.63 ERA) for the Rangers.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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The Houston Astros (20-19) are just 4–6 over their last 10 games, but the numbers tell a more encouraging story. Despite the record, Houston is slowly but surely gaining ground in the AL West, sitting just two games back with a division-best +21 run differential. The standings may not fully reflect it yet, but the Astros are showing clear signs of being on the other side of their early offensive struggles.
Through the first month and change, the team’s season-long offensive stats still look pedestrian—14th in OPS (.697), 21st in slugging (.375), 20th in runs scored (163), and just 25th in home runs (33). But zoom in on the last 15 games, and the picture shifts dramatically.
In that span, the Astros have quietly put together one of the most productive offenses in baseball. And that's with Yordan Alvarez and Jose Altuve missing time due to injury. Houston ranks 4th in OPS (.805), 6th in slugging (.442), 7th in runs (64), and 5th in doubles (22). For a team with playoff expectations, that kind of turnaround is exactly what fans have been hoping for.
The resurgence has been powered in part by rising bats in the middle of the lineup. Christian Walker, who looked stuck in a rut early on, has caught fire over the past week, hitting .385 with a .500 slugging percentage over his last 7 games. Yainer Diaz is heating up too, hitting .310 with a .448 slug over that same stretch. Zoom out a little further, and Diaz has been even better—.339 average and .559 slugging over his last 15 games. His bat is starting to match the hype.
On the mound, the Astros have had their share of turbulence, particularly in Lance McCullers Jr.’s rocky return. Saturday’s 13–9 loss to the Reds underscored some of those struggles. McCullers failed to escape the first inning, giving up walks and hitting a batter before allowing a barrage of hits. Across his two starts since returning from injury, the right-hander has walked three batters and hit one in each outing.
Even so, Houston's pitching remains a strength overall. The Astros rank 8th in team ERA and lead the majors in WHIP (1.14), while holding opponents to the second-lowest batting average (.213). The bullpen, in particular, has been nails. Steven Okert, Josh Hader, Bryan Abreu, and Brian King have all posted ERAs of 1.59 or lower, keeping games within reach when starters falter.
There’s still work to do, and the standings don’t lie. But if the last two weeks are any indication, Houston is turning the corner. The bats are waking up, the bullpen is elite, and the rotation has room to get healthy and sharper. It might not show up in the win column just yet, but make no mistake—the Astros are trending in the right direction.
We have so much more to discuss. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
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