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.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
The Houston Astros are headed to San Diego to face the Padres, maintaining a 4.5-game lead over the Mariners in the AL West. With just 13 games remaining in the season, winning the division isn’t guaranteed yet. However, it would take a major surge from Seattle paired with a significant collapse from Houston for the standings to shift.
The Astros starting pitching has been leading the way, and with Spencer Arrighetti, Hunter Brown, and Framber Valdez slated to start against the Padres, you have to like Houston's chances even against a quality club like San Diego.
Speaking of pitching, should the Astros go on to win the division, it will be interesting to see who pitches Game 3 of the first playoff series. We know Framber Valdez and Hunter Brown will pitch Games 1 and 2.
The clock is ticking for JV
It appears the Astros will give Justin Verlander every chance to win that assignment, but at this point, it's hard to justify his place on the playoff roster. He's clearly the team's sixth-best starter as of today.
Remember me?
Ronel Blanco reminded everyone of what he's capable of against the Angels over the weekend. While Justin Verlander was only decent against the Halos.
The Astros 3rd postseason starter will likely be determined by the opponent. But if we're just listing the pitchers we have the most confidence in right now, Yusei Kikuchi is at the top of the list. Arrighetti oozes with upside, but there's significant downside with him as well. You typically know very early in the game which version of Arrighetti you're going to get.
To be fair, Kikuchi doesn't have much postseason experience. But he's certainly pitched in more high stakes games than Arrighetti at this point in his career. Blanco will be the wild card to watch here, as he was the club's best starting pitcher for the first half of the season.
King Tuck
Finally, we're starting to feel good about Kyle Tucker. He appears to be getting healthy just in the nick of time.
Don't miss the video above as we examine all the advantages the Astros hold over the final stretch of the season, and much more!
Catch our weekly Stone Cold ‘Stros podcast. Brandon Strange, Josh Jordan, and Charlie Pallilo discuss varied Astros topics. The first post for the week generally goes up Monday afternoon (second part released Tuesday) via The SportsMap HOU YouTube channel or listen to episodes in their entirety at Apple, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.