Justin Verlander throws a no-hitter
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 2-0 win
Sep 1, 2019, 2:37 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
With Toronto taking the middle game on Saturday, Houston looked to get back in the win column and take the series win with a victory on Sunday. Here is a recap of the series finale against the Blue Jays which started the final month of the regular season:
Final Score: Astros 2, Blue Jays 0.
Record: 89-49, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Justin Verlander (17-5, 2.56 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Ken Giles (2-3, 2.05 ERA).
1) Verlander throws third career no-hitter
While the Blue Jays pieced together a quality bullpen day which kept the Astros' offense in check, it was Justin Verlander shutting down Toronto on the other side. Verlander was effective and efficient, working his way to another double-digit strikeout start after seven innings while throwing 93 pitches.
He added three more in the bottom of the eighth, striking out the side in order, keeping the Blue Jays without a hit and sending the scoreless game to the ninth. After his offense scored two runs in the top of the ninth, Verlander returned to the mound in the bottom of the ninth to finish things off.
He would do so, recording another 1-2-3 inning and completing his third career no-hitter. Verlander's final line: 9 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 14 K, 0 HR.
2) Toro comes through in the ninth
Meanwhile, Houston's offense was not able to string together enough offense to score any runs through the first eight innings. With their pitcher at thirteen strikeouts and no hits through eight, Houston was desperate to back Verlander up with a run to try and complete a historic day.
Alex Bregman led the top of the ninth off with a double and would move to second on a one-out fly out, then scored on a two-run home run by Abraham Toro off of former-Astros Ken Giles to score the first two runs of the game and finally give Verlander some run support. Those two runs were the difference, lifting Houston over Toronto to take the series win.
Just hold on we're going home 🇨🇦#TakeItBack pic.twitter.com/cBxfZMqJhN
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 1, 2019
Up Next: The Astros will take a short trip to Milwaukee for a quick two-game series starting Monday with a Labor Day matchup with the Brewers at 3:00 PM. The Astros will have Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.85 ERA) on the mound going against Adrian Houser (6-5, 3.52 ERA) for the Brewers.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.