Astros secure series win against Cubs
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 4 hits from the 9-6 win
May 28, 2019, 10:18 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Houston had the chance to secure the series win against Chicago on Tuesday night after the win on Memorial Day. With injuries piling up, the game marked another debut, this time for catcher Garret Stubbs. Here is a recap of the game:
Final Score: Astros 9, Cubs 6.
Record: 37-19, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Josh James (2-0, 5.10 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Jon Lester (3-4, 3.59 ERA).
1) Memorable debut for Stubbs
Garret Stubbs, just like Jack Mayfield the day before, squared up a ball in his first major league at-bat to record a double as his first hit. In his next appearance, he tied the game 3-3 on a blooper RBI-single. He'd finish 2-for-4 with an RBI at the plate while catching five different pitchers behind it in the win.
2) Forgettable night for Martin
While Stubbs had a great debut, Corbin Martin had his third straight rough appearance. Martin worked around a couple of singles in the first for a scoreless inning but got hammered in the top of the second as the Cubs would hit three solo home runs in the span of four batters.
He'd come back and work around a leadoff walk for a scoreless third, but with his pitch count rising and after allowing a two-out walk, would see his night come to an end. His final line: 3.2 IP, 5H, 3R, 3ER, 3BB, 4K.
3) Strong offensive showing
Yuli Gurriel started the scoring on Tuesday night with an RBI-double to put the Astros up 1-0 in the bottom of the first. After going down 3-1, Alex Bregman answered with a solo home run to lead off the bottom of the third, trimming the lead to 3-2.
Stubbs notched his first RBI in the bottom of the fourth to tie the game, then Houston went on to double up the Cubs with an RBI-single from Derek Fisher then a two-RBI double by Michael Brantley, making it a 6-3 Houston lead. In the bottom of the sixth, after Chicago had just tied the game in the top half, Bregman delivered his second home run of the night, a two-run bomb to put the Astros back in front, 8-6.
They didn't stop there; Tony Kemp hit a two-out single in the bottom of the seventh, stole second, moved to third on an error, then scored on an RBI-double from Jake Marisnick to give Houston an insurance run at 9-6.
4) Bullpen tasked with providing long relief
With Martin's night done after just three and two-thirds innings, the Astros went to Josh James to eat up a few innings. James finished off the fourth with a strikeout, then racked up two more in a scoreless fifth. In the sixth, though, he'd let the Cubs come right back with a two-run home run followed immediately by a solo shot to make it a 6-6 game.
With a new 8-6 lead, Hector Rondon took over for the seventh and with a little assistance from a great catch in foul territory by Tony Kemp, got through a scoreless inning. Ryan Pressly came in, as usual, for the eighth, and was able to work around a leadoff double to maintain the three-run lead.
Roberto Osuna was brought in for another save opportunity in the top of the ninth. He saved fans the theatrics of the day before, getting through the inning with no runs scored to complete the 9-6 win and give Houston the series victory.
Up Next: The Astros and Cubs will wrap up this inter-league series tomorrow night with a 7:10 PM start time for the final game. The pitching matchup will be Wade Miley (5-2, 3.32 ERA) who will try to complete the sweep for Houston facing off with Kyle Hendricks (4-4, 3.34 ERA) for Chicago.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Jeremy Peña homered and Yordan Alvarez got his first hit this season, a tiebreaking double in the sixth inning that lifted the Houston Astros to a 2-1 win over the New York Mets on Saturday night.
Houston took two of three in a season-opening series between 2024 playoff teams.
Spencer Arrighetti (1-0) allowed just one hit, a first-inning double to Juan Soto, and one run with five strikeouts in six innings. Astros closer Josh Hader walked Soto to start the ninth before retiring the next three batters for his second save, completing the one-hitter.
The game was tied with two outs in the sixth when Alvarez knocked a double off the wall in center field to send Isaac Paredes home from first base, putting Houston on top 2-1.
Griffin Canning (0-1) gave up four hits and two runs over 5 2/3 innings in his Mets debut.
Canning had allowed just one hit on a leadoff single to Jose Altuve when Peña gave the Astros their first homer this season on his shot to the seats in left field with no outs in the fifth to make it 1-0.
Soto doubled with one out in the first and Brandon Nimmo walked with two outs. Arrighetti retired the next 13 batters before walking Jose Siri to start the sixth.
Siri stole second against his former team before advancing to third on a flyout by Francisco Lindor.
Soto then grounded out to Arrighetti and Siri dashed home, sliding in just before the tag to tie it at 1.
The Mets went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
Key moment
The double by Alvarez that gave Houston the lead for good.
Key stat
Canning, who spent his first five seasons with the Angels, fell to 0-4 in 10 career starts against the Astros.
Up next
Both teams are off Sunday before Houston hosts the Giants for a three-game series beginning Monday night and the Mets play at Miami that night.