ASTROS WIN THE FINALE

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 8-7 win

SportsMap Staff
Jun 6, 2019, 6:57 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Astros win the final game of the series in extra innings taking three out of four from the Mariners.

Final Score: Astros 8, Mariners 7 F/14

Record: 43-21, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Chris Devenski (1-0)

Losing pitcher: Matt Festa (0-1)

1) Astros get the bats going early

The Astros took a 1-0 lead in the first inning when Yuli Gurriel drove in Derek Fisher on a single to center. Robinson Chirinos extended the lead by hitting a two-run home run later in the inning. Alex Bregman added another run in the top of the 5th by hitting a solo home run.

Jack Mayfield added another run with a solo homer in the seventh. Tony Kemp drove in Robinson Chirinos with a sacrifice fly to center in the eighth inning. In the top of the tenth, the Astros scored another run on a sacrifice fly by Josh Reddick scoring Robinson Chirinos. Myles Straw started the 14th inning with a leadoff triple and scored on a sacrifice fly by Yuli Gurriel.

2) Justin Verlander has a solid outing but bullpen struggles

Justin Verlander had another quality performance striking out seven and allowing three earned runs over 6 1/3 innings. His final line – 6.1 IP, 5H, 3ER, 0 BB, 7 K. Will Harris took over for Verlander with one out in the seventh and allowed 3 runs to score before Ryan Pressly came in to get the final out of the inning.

Pressly allowed one run and recorded one out in the eighth before Roberto Osuna was called in to finish the inning. Osuna gave up an RBI single to Edwin Encarnacion with two outs in the ninth which tied the game. Hector Rondon gave up a solo bomb in the 10th which tied the game again. Josh James pitched a scoreless 11th inning and 12th inning.

Chris Devenski pitched a scoreless 13th inning. Things got scary in the 14th, but Devenski got the win for the Astros despite the bases being loaded.


Up Next: The Astros head back to Houston to begin a series with the Orioles on Friday at 7:10pm. Gerrit Cole (5-5, 3.94 ERA) takes the mound for Houston. Gabriel Ynoa (0-2, 5.06 ERA) is the projected starter for Baltimore.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

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IN DEFENSE OF FIERS

Ken Hoffman jumps to the defense of Astros whistleblower

Photo Courtesy of Say.

This article originally appeared on CultureMap.

Former Astros pitcher, Mike Fiers, might not have been the right person — but he did the right thing.

Voices on radio and social media are complaining that the Astros were unfairly singled out by Major League Baseball's lowering the boom and suspending manager A.J. Hinch and general manager Jeff Luhnow in the sign-stealing scandal, followed by team owner Jim Crane firing both of them, preceded by the owner firing the assistant general manager and demoting the team president.

Assistant general manager Brandon Taubman was dismissed after he made vulgar comments to female reporters. Astros president Reid Ryan was demoted because, well, that's an owner's prerogative.

I don't understand why anybody in the media or Astros' fan base is furious at Fiers for squealing on the Astros, or Major League Baseball for punishing the Astros so severely. They're screaming, "the Astros got screwed!"

No they didn't.

Don't be angry at Fiers — be angry at the Astros. They cheated. The Astros broke the rules on their way to winning the 2017 World Series. This was after they, and every other team, were warned not to use technology to steal signs.

The Astros aren't denying it. Hinch has apologized for it. Former pitcher Dallas Keuchel said "apologies are in order … for everyone on the team." What's hard to understand what happened? Fiers doesn't have clean hands in this saga. He played for the Astros in 2017, didn't go public about the cheating back then, and took the bonus money and glittery ring for the Astros championship.

None of that changes the facts about the Astros wayward ways. The argument — "everybody does it" — is a weak excuse. Didn't your mother ask, "If Billy jumped off the Empire State Building, would you?" Agent Scott Boras' claim – "the players just did what they were told" – is historically inexcusable. I cheer for the Astros, but I am disappointed that they cheated.

The sad part is, they probably didn't have to. The lineup was loaded with amazing players. I'm also surprised that ESPN announcer Jessica Mendoza and Hall of Fame pitcher Pedro Martinez believe this entire cheating scandal should have been dealt with in-house by MLB. That's not how things get accomplished. In-house is how problems get buried. In-house is how problems get fixed with settlements and non-disclosure agreements.

Continue on CultureMap to read why Ken Hoffman believes whistleblowers should be honored.

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