Astros take series from Royals in a blowout

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 9-0 win

Chris Campise
May 8, 2019, 9:55 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The Astros looked to put the disaster of Tuesday night behind them and get the series win with a victory on Wednesday night against the Royals. Here are some quick facts and three hits from the game:

Final Score: Astros 9, Royals 0

Record: 22-15, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Brad Peacock (3-2, 4.30 ERA)

Losing pitcher: Jorge Lopez (0-4, 6.07 ERA)

1) Offense strikes back

The Astros enacted their revenge on the Royals from the night before with a big offensive night of their own. It started with Houston's first batter of the night as George Springer led off the bottom of the first with a solo home run. They struck again in the third, putting together a five-run inning on a couple of sac flies from Alex Bregman and Aledmys Diaz, a solo home run from Carlos Correa, and a two-run home run by Michael Brantley. Brantley made it back-to-back innings and at-bats with a home run, coming up big again in the fourth with a solo home run to extend the lead to 7-0.

They were at it again in the bottom of the fifth, getting an RBI groundout from Max Stassi then sacrifice fly from Springer to extend the lead to 9-0.

2) Filthy Peacock

Peacock had his slider working and in control in this start, allowing just two baserunners through the first four innings. He got into some trouble in the top of the fifth, loading the bases with one out, but would get out of it with back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning. He bounced back from that with two more dominant innings, completing seven shutout frames. Peacock's final line: 7 innings pitched, 0 runs, 3 hits, 1 walk, and a career-high 12 strikeouts.

3) James shuts it down

With Peacock's night done after seven fantastic innings, Josh James took over in the eighth and worked around a leadoff walk to keep the shutout going into the ninth. In the ninth, he hit a batter but still completed the shutout with another scoreless inning, giving him two innings of work with a walk, hit batter, and five strikeouts.

Up Next: The Astros will stay here in Houston with a four-game series against the rival Rangers starting tomorrow night. First pitch is at 7:10 PM and will feature Wade Miley (2-2, 3.20 ERA) for Houston on the mound opposite of Mike Minor (3-2, 2.40 ERA) for the Rangers.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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Houston drops the game to Arizona

D-backs outslug Greinke and Astros to take series opener

Photo by Stephen Brashear/Getty Images

With the series win over the Rangers by taking two of three games in the middle of the week, the Astros welcomed the Diamondbacks to Minute Maid Park for a three-game weekend series, Houston's final three regular-season home games. Here is how the opener unfolded:

Final Score: Diamondbacks 6, Astros 3.

Record: 25-26, second in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Zac Gallen (2-2, 3.00 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Luis Garcia (0-1, 2.53 ERA).

Houston scores first, but Arizona grabs a lead against Greinke

Houston would get on the board first on Friday night, with George Springer reaching base in the bottom of the first on an error, moving to second on a walk, then to third on a single, as the Astros loaded the bases with no out to threaten a big inning. Instead, they would come away with just one run, with Springer taking home on a wild pitch, grabbing the 1-0 lead, but leaving runs on the table.

They doubled their lead in the bottom of the third, getting a two-out RBI-double by Kyle Tucker to make it a 2-0 Houston lead. The D-backs responded in the top of the fourth, getting back-to-back singles to lead off the inning before a three-run homer by Kole Calhoun off of Zack Greinke would put Arizona in front, 3-2. Greinke would finish one more inning before Houston would move to their bullpen, striking out the side to bring his total to nine on the night, making the bad fourth inning the one blemish on his night. His final line: 5.0 IP, 6 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 0 BB, 9 K, 1 HR, 89 P.

Astros tie it, but D-backs take the opener

George Springer would get Greinke off the hook in the bottom of the fifth, leading off the half-inning with a solo bomb to tie the game at 3-3. Luis Garcia was first out of Houston's bullpen and retired Arizona in order for a 1-2-3 inning in the top of the sixth. He returned for the top of the seventh but would allow a leadoff single, RBI-triple, and wild pitch to bring in two runs. He would face two more batters, allowing a double and getting a strikeout, before Dusty Baker would come out to get him, now down 5-3.

Blake Taylor would make his return from the IL after Garcia, getting back-to-back outs to finish the inning. He continued on in the 5-3 game in the top of the eighth, but allowed a one-out solo homer to Calhoun, his second of the night and fourth RBI. That made it a 6-3 D-backs lead, which would go final as Houston would go scoreless after Springer's home run back in the fifth.

Up Next: The middle game of this three-game set will start Saturday at 6:10 PM Central. The pitching matchup will be Luke Weaver (1-7, 6.70 ERA) for Arizona and Cristian Javier (4-2, 3.22 ERA) for Houston.

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