Astros' winning streak extended to ten games
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 4 hits from the 7-3 win
May 18, 2019, 9:47 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
With a win under their belt from the night before, the Astros looked to secure the series win with a victory on Saturday night. Here are the quick facts and four hits from the game:
Final Score: Astros 7, Red Sox 3
Record: 31-15, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Josh James (1-0, 4.56 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Hector Velazquez (1-3, 5.53 ERA).
1) Starting with a bang
The Astros came out firing starting with leadoff man George Springer drilling a triple to start the game. He'd come around to score on an RBI-double by Michael Brantley to start a five-run first inning with RBIs from Josh Reddick and Yuli Gurriel, along with a two-RBI double by Tyler White, putting Houston ahead 5-0 and knocking Hector Velazquez out of the game before Boston could even come to the plate.
2) Rougher start for Martin
After a terrific debut last week by Corbin Martin, he had a tougher matchup in the Red Sox and in the hostile environment of Boston. He'd watch one run come across in the bottom of the first after walking the bases loaded on three consecutive two-out walks then a passed ball by Max Stassi scored the run to make it 5-1. After a quick second inning, Martin allowed a walk then RBI-double in the third, making it a 6-2 game at the time.
He allowed a solo home run just around Pesky's Pole in the bottom of the fourth, then after back-to-back singles to lead off the bottom of the fifth had his night come to an end. Josh James was able to come in and erase those runners, putting Martin's final line at 4 innings pitched, 3 runs (2 earned), 4 walks, and 0 strikeouts.
3) Staying out in front
After the big five-run first inning, the Astros made sure to maintain a multiple-run lead with Boston taking some runs back. In the second, Houston was able to get runners on the corners with one out, setting up an RBI sac fly by Carlos Correa to make it 6-1. Josh Reddick led off the fifth with a solo home run, putting the lead back to four runs at 7-3, a score that would hold until the end.
4) Five strong innings from the bullpen
As mentioned, Josh James came in to get all three outs in the fifth after Martin was unable to get through it. James would go on to eat up three big innings, all scoreless, maintaining the four-run lead and saving some other bullpen arms from having to be used. Will Harris entered the game to pitch the eighth and retired the Red Sox in order to send the game to the ninth. In the ninth, Roberto Osuna took over in a non-save situation and was able to finish off the win.
Up Next: Houston and Boston will wrap up this series tomorrow with the first pitch of the game at 12:05 PM. The Astros will send Wade Miley (4-2, 3.51 ERA) to the mound to try and complete the sweep, but to do so he'll have to beat out Boston's ace Chris Sale (1-5, 4.24 ERA).
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Houston spent time this week practicing an inbound play that coach Kelvin Sampson thought his team might need against Purdue.
Milos Uzan, the third option, ran it to perfection.
He tossed the ball to Joseph Tugler, who threw a bounce pass right back to Uzan, and the 6-foot-4 guard soared to the rim for an uncontested layup with 0.9 seconds left, giving the top-seeded Cougars a 62-60 victory — and a matchup with second-seeded Tennessee in Sunday's Elite Eight.
“Great execution at a time we needed that,” said Sampson, who is a win away from making his third Final Four and his second with Houston in five years. “You never know when you’re going to need it.”
The Cougars (33-4) made only one other basket over the final eight minutes, wasted a 10-point lead and then missed two more shots in the final 5 seconds. A replay review with 2.2 seconds left confirmed Houston would keep the ball when it rolled out of bounds after the second miss.
Uzan took over from there.
“I was trying to hit (L.J. Cryer) and then JoJo just made a great read,” Uzan said. “He was able to draw two (defenders) and he just made a great play to hit me back.”
Houston advanced to the Elite Eight for the third time in five years after falling in the Sweet 16 as a top seed in the previous two editions of March Madness. It will take the nation's longest winning streak, 16 games, into Sunday’s Midwest Region final.
The Cougars joined the other three No. 1 seeds in this year's Elite Eight and did it at Lucas Oil Stadium, where their 2021 tourney run ended with a loss in the Final Four to eventual national champion Baylor.
They haven't lost since Feb. 1.
Uzan scored 22 points and Emanuel Sharp had 17 as Houston survived an off night from leading scorer Cryer, who finished with five points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Houston still had to sweat out a half-court heave at the buzzer, but Braden Smith's shot was well off the mark.
Fletcher Loyer scored 16 points, Trey Kaufman-Renn had 14 and Smith, the Big Ten player of the year, added seven points and 15 assists for fourth-seeded Purdue (24-12). Smith assisted on all 11 second-half baskets for last year’s national runner-up, which played in front of a friendly crowd about an hour’s drive from its campus in West Lafayette.
“I thought we fought really hard and we dug down defensively to get those stops to come back,” Smith said. “We did everything we could and we just had a little miscommunication at the end and they converted. Props to them.”
Houston appeared on the verge of disaster when Kaufman-Renn scored on a dunk and then blocked Cryer’s shot with 1:17 to go, leading to Camden Heide’s 3 that tied the score at 60 with 35 seconds left.
Sampson called timeout to set up the final play, but Uzan missed a turnaround jumper and Tugler’s tip-in rolled off the rim and out of bounds. The Cougars got one more chance after the replay review.
Sharp's scoring flurry early in the second half finally gave Houston some separation after a back-and-forth first half. His 3-pointer at the 16:14 mark made it 40-32. After Purdue trimmed the deficit to four, Uzan made two 3s to give Houston a 10-point lead in a tough, physical game that set up a rare dramatic finish in this year's tourney.
“Smith was guarding the inbounder, so he had to take JoJo,” Sampson said. “That means there was no one there to take Milos. That's why you work on that stuff day after day.”
Takeaways
Purdue: Coach Matt Painter's Boilermakers stumbled into March Madness with six losses in their final nine games but proved themselves a worthy competitor by fighting their way into the Sweet 16 and nearly taking down a No. 1 seed.
Houston: The Cougars lead the nation in 3-point percentage and scoring defense, an enviable combination.
Scary fall
Houston guard Mylik Wilson gave the Cougars a brief scare with 13:23 left in the game. He leapt high into the air to grab a rebound and drew a foul on Kaufman-Renn.
As the play continued, Wilson was undercut and his body twisted around before he landed on his head. Wilson stayed down momentarily, rubbing his head, but eventually got up and remained in the game.