Astros drop series finale to Boston
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 4-1 loss
May 26, 2019, 4:16 pm
Astros drop series finale to Boston
After the thrilling walk-off win on Saturday night, the Astros had Justin Verlander on the mound Sunday looking to sweep this series and make it a 5-1 season series with the Red Sox. Here's a rundown of the game:
Final Score: Red Sox 4, Astros 1
Record: 35-19, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Eduardo Rodriguez (5-3, 5.04 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Justin Verlander (8-2, 2.38 ERA).
After driving in the winning run with a walk-off RBI-single the night before, Carlos Correa gave Houston their first run of the day in the bottom of the first inning with an RBI-single. That run would be the only one of the game for Houston, though, as they'd get just four hits during the afternoon.
Justin Verlander brought his 8-1 record and 2.24 ERA to the mound on Sunday but would have a mediocre start by his standards. Verlander allowed a couple of runs by his own doing, one on a sac fly in the third after a runner made it to third after a couple of wild pitches, Verlander's first of the year.
Boston took the lead in the fourth on a solo home run, then later would make it 3-1 by scoring on a couple of defensive errors for the Astros, giving Verlander three earned runs on the day. His final line: seven innings pitched, six hits, three runs, zero walks, and six strikeouts. The strikeouts moved him over 2,800 in his career, ending his day at 2,801 which is just two away from Cy Young who has 2,803 at number 22 on the all-time leaderboard.
Josh James was first out of Houston's bullpen and pitched a scoreless eighth, then Framber Valdez pitched the ninth during which Boston would extend the lead to 4-1 which would go down as the final score.
Aledmys Diaz would exit the game after crossing home in the first inning, tweaking his hamstring and making yet another Houston player to go out with a leg issue. Tyler White would come in to cover first base allowing Yuli Gurriel to move to second, then later in the game Tony Kemp would pinch-hit and move to second and Gurriel back to first. It's unclear so far how much time Diaz will miss.
This injury would come just one day after catcher Max Stassi left a game with a knee issue, resulting in the call-up of Garret Stubbs to take over the second catcher's spot behind Robinson Chirinos.
Up Next: With this series in the books the Astros will finish this homestand with a three-game series with their old NL-Central rivals, the Cubs. They'll start the series with a Memorial Day game which will get started at 1:10 PM and feature pitchers Gerrit Cole (4.5, 4.11 ERA) for Houston and Cole Hamels (4-0, 3.38 ERA) for Chicago.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
Cam Smith hit an RBI single in the eighth inning to give the Houston Astros a 2-1 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Thursday.
CAM SMITH COMES THROUGH! #BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/Y6dtPpXF9J
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
The rookie's second hit of the game came off Orion Kerkering (5-3) and gave the Astros their fourth straight win.
Brandon Marsh tied the game on a sacrifice fly in the top of the inning to end the Phillies' 26-inning scoreless streak.
The Astros took a 1-0 lead on Yainer Diaz’s RBI single in the second inning. They only managed three more hits off Phillies starter Christopher Sanchez, who struck out 11 with zero walks over six innings. Sanchez has not issued a walk in three straight starts.
Hunter Brown lowered his league best ERA to 1.74 by scattering three singles over seven shutout innings, with nine strikeouts. He did not allow a runner to reach second base.
FULL THROTTLE.
Hunter Brown now leads the MLB in lowest ERA (1.74). #BuiltForFuel pic.twitter.com/nkwT2MpgJQ
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
Bryan Abreu (3-3) struck out Trea Turner to end the eighth, and then struck out Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm, and Nick Castellanos in the ninth.
Abreu joined Julia Morales after the game and talked about his impressive performance!
🧹🧹🧹
After the @Astros completed their sweep of the Phillies, @JuliaMorales visited with Bryan Abreu!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/UeOOSNDKwW
— Space City Home Network (@SpaceCityHN) June 26, 2025
Rafael Marchán had two of the Phillies' four hits. Bryson Stott reached base twice and scored the Phillies' lone run.
Smith’s RBI.
Brown’s 1.74 ERA is the fourth best in Astros history through 16 starts and the best since Justin Verlander posted a 1.60 ERA through 16 starts in 2018.
The Astros open a three-game series against the Cubs on Friday with LHP Brandon Walter (0-1 3.80 ERA) on the mound.
The Phillies open a three-game series at the Braves on Friday with RHP Mick Abel (2-1 3.47 ERA) against Atlanta RHP Bryce Elder (2-4 4.77).