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
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
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).
1) Correa picks up where he left off
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.
2) Good, but not good enough for Verlander
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.
3) Diaz exits with yet another leg injury
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.
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Coming off the opening series win over the Mets, there's a lot for the Astros to be excited about. The starting pitching led the way in all three games, and Houston's high-leverage relievers delivered when it mattered most.
Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader closed the door on the Mets in games 1 and 3. Bryan King has also looked impressive, and it appears he'll be counted on in the seventh inning to hand the lead to Abreu and then Hader.
If Ronel Blanco and Hayden Wesneski can deliver consistent performances similar to the other starters, the Astros will have one of the most feared rotations in baseball.
Plus, more help could be on the way with Lance McCullers making another step in his rehab pitching for Sugar Land over the weekend.
As good as the pitching has been, there are some legitimate concerns about the offense. Their struggles to hit with runners in scoring position in 2024 are still an issue through the first series of 2025.
Newcomers Isaac Paredes and Christian Walker have yet to do much with the bat, and the only extra-base hits this season (2) have come from Jeremy Pena and Yordan Alvarez.
As far as the learning curve in the outfield, Jose Altuve and Cam Smith are off to a decent start. And despite the shakeup at second base, the team is still getting zero production from Mauricio Dubon and Brendan Rodgers.
It appears Joe Espada's plan in the Mets series was to get everyone some playing time, which seems like a smart strategy early in the season. However, the game plan didn't pay off on Saturday, with Zach Dezenzo, Victor Caratini, and Dubon combining for zero hits.
Polarizing bats
Finally, how are we feeling about the Torpedo bats sweeping the league?
While the Yankees aren't the only team with players sporting these new sticks, their results have been the talk of MLB with the Bronx Bombers mashing 15 dingers over just three games.
With the Astros sitting at one homer on the season, why not give them a try? One thing is for sure, don't be surprised if players opt to use these new bats to break out of a slump at some point this season.
We have so much more to cover. Don't miss the video below as we examine the topics above and much, much more!
The MLB season is finally upon us! 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 live right after the game. Click here to catch!
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