Astros win on late rally
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 3-2 win
May 31, 2019, 11:59 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After ending a successful homestand, the Astros took to the road to start a west-coast trip against some AL West foes. First up was a three-game weekend series in Oakland. Here's a recap of the first of those three that took place Friday night:
Final Score: Astros 3, A's 2
Record: 38-20, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Hector Rondon (3-1, 2.70 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Lou Trivino (2-2, 3.81 ERA).
1) Peacock powers through six innings
Brad Peacock did not have the same filthy arsenal on Friday night as he has had in recent starts, struggling to find the zone in many at-bats throughout the night. Still, the most significant damage he would allow came on one hit, a two-run home run in the third inning which put Oakland up 2-0. Those would be the only runs he would allow, managing to still post a decent line in what could've been a much worse start. Peacock's final line: 6 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 K.
2) Houston finally gets on the board in the seventh
Former-Astro Mike Fiers was holding Houston's lineup at bay through the first six innings, allowing just three hits over that span. Houston finally got a hit worth a run off the bat of Josh Reddick in the top of the seventh, a solo home run to cut the lead in half at 2-1. Later in the same inning, Tyler White would work a walk before getting pinch-ran for by Myles Straw. That would prove to be a great substitution as Straw's speed would prevail on an RBI-double by Tony Kemp, scoring Straw from first base to tie the game.
The offense kept rolling in the top of the eighth with Derek Fisher blasting a go-ahead solo home run to straightaway center-field on the first pitch of the inning, making it a 3-2 Houston lead, their first of the game and one that would hold through the end.
3) Rondon, Pressly, and Osuna close it out
Hector Rondon would take over for the bottom of the seventh inning, and despite allowing a leadoff double would get out of the jam thanks to some strong defense behind him, a great play by Jack Mayfield who had just entered the game at shortstop, which likely saved a run.
Now the owners of a one-run lead, the Astros non-surprisingly went to their setup man, Ryan Pressly, in the bottom of the eighth. He'd also need a big defensive play, this time from Tony Kemp, to retire Oakland in order and send the game to the ninth. Roberto Osuna came in to save the one-run game and would do so to give Houston a victory in the first of three games in this series.
Up Next: The Astros will draw another late start in Oakland tomorrow night with game two of the series starting at 9:10 PM. Houston will send ace Justin Verlander (8-2, 2.38 ERA) to the mound to try and get back in the win column after a loss in his last start as he pitches opposite of Brett Anderson (6-3, 3.86) for the A's.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
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Jamal Murray had 39 points, Michael Porter Jr. added 17 points and nine rebounds and the Denver Nuggets beat Houston 116-111 on Sunday night to snap the Rockets' nine-game win streak.
Murray, who scored 17 in the first half, had 17 in the third quarter as Denver outscored the Rockets 39-22 in the quarter to take a 96-79 lead.
Russell Westbrook had 14 points off the bench, Aaron Gordon scored 13 points with eight assists and DeAndre Jordan had 11 points and 15 rebounds for the Nuggets, which shot 51% and were 10 of 21 on 3-pointers.
Jalen Green scored 30 points, and Dillon Brooks added 21 points for Houston. Alperen Sengun had 17 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists, and Steven Adams finished with 14 points and 12 rebounds for the Rockets, which shot 44% and were 11 of 34 from behind the arc.
Trailing 109-100 with 1 ½ minutes left, Houston used a 7-1 run to cut the lead to three on a Sengun layup with 21 seconds left, but Christian Braun made two free throws with 19 seconds remaining to push the lead back to five.
Takeaways
Nuggets: Nikola Jokic missed his fourth straight game with left ankle impingement, and Denver improved to 2-2 with him out of the lineup.
Rockets: Houston remains in second place in the Western Conference with 10 games left, but the Nuggets closed to within a game of Houston.
Key moment
Sengun made one of two free throws with 14 seconds remaining, and Murray made two free throws two seconds later to push the lead to 114-108.
Key stat
Houston finished 22 of 34 from the free throw line, while Denver made 18 of 26.
Up next
Denver hosts the Chicago Bulls on Monday night, while Houston hosts the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.