Houston's magic number is down to 1
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 6-4 win
Sep 20, 2019, 10:00 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After the mini-sweep of the Rangers concluding with win number 100 on the season which secured a playoff spot, the Astros turned their sights to clinching the division. With their magic number at 2, they could clinch on Friday with a win in the series opener against Los Angeles and an Oakland loss. Here is a recap of the first game of the weekend against the Angels:
Final Score: Astros 6, Angels 4.
Record: 101-53, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Zack Greinke (17-5, 3.05 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Jaime Barria (4-10, 6.43 ERA).
1) Starting with a bang
With a chance to clinch their division and continue to lead the battle for playoff home-field advantage, Houston came out swinging on Friday night. In the first inning, the Astros blasted three home runs with solo shots from Jose Altuve which led off the inning, and Alex Bregman as he tries to catch the sidelined Mike Trout for a possible MVP award.
Later in the inning, Carlos Correa took advantage of a runner on base with a home run of his own, a two-run bomb to extend the lead before Josh Reddick tacked on one more with an RBI-single to make it 5-0 after one.
1st inning: Altuve HR, Bregman HR, Correa HR.
These @astros are scary. š± pic.twitter.com/f2dtiPqIo7
ā MLB (@MLB) September 21, 2019
2) Greinke struggles in the fourth but finishes five innings
Zack Greinke allowed just two hits through the first three innings: a single and a solo home run which at the time cut the lead to 5-1. Carlos Correa pushed the lead back to five runs with his second home run of the night in the bottom of the third.
Greinke would struggle in the top of the fourth, however, allowing five straight hits which would score three runs to cut Houston's lead to 6-4. He would recover and toss a 1-2-3 fifth, but that would be it for him in a five-inning start, as Houston passed the ball to their bullpen to throw the last four frames. His final line: 5 IP, 7 H, 4 R, 4 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 1 HR.
3) Houston's bullpen dominant the rest of the way
Josh James was the first reliever out of Houston's bullpen to take over for Greinke in the top of the sixth and erased a two-out walk to complete a scoreless inning. Ryan Pressly, making his first appearance in a month after having surgery on his knee, returned dominantly with a 1-2-3 inning.
Will Harris did the same in the top of the eighth, holding the two-run lead going to the ninth. Roberto Osuna had the chance for another save in the top of the ninth and converted it to finish off the 6-4 win. That reduced the magic number to one, meaning the Astros are now a win or Oakland loss away from clinching the American League West. They are also just two wins away from matching last year's franchise number of 103.
Up Next: Game two of this three-game set with the Angles will be on Saturday at 6:10 PM. Wade Miley (14-5, 3.71 ERA) will get the start for Houston while Patrick Sandoval (0-3, 4.91 ERA) is expected to be on the mound for Los Angeles.
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
Most Popular
SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome
Listen Live
Astros carved up 2 of the NLās best, but thatās just part of the story
Jun 30, 2025, 4:53 pm
The Houston Astros announced on Monday that additional imaging has revealed that Jeremy PeƱa is dealing with a small fracture in one of his ribs.
PeƱa left Friday's game after being hit by a pitch in the ribs. The club originally believed they had avoided any fractures or breaks, but new information has informed them otherwise.
Update on Jeremy PeƱa: pic.twitter.com/jfCsCUKWFx
ā Houston Astros (@astros) June 30, 2025
PeƱa is heading to the 10-day injured list retroactive to June 28. This news comes at an unfortunate time, with Jeremy posting the best regular season numbers of his career. He's currently slashing .322, .378, .489 with an .867 OPS.
PeƱa will miss the Rockies and Dodgers series at a minimum.
Story on PeƱa headed to the IL with quotes from Dana Brown.
āThis isnāt one of those things where you have to be sidelined the whole time. Once the inflammation goes down, he might feel good enough to swing a bat.ā https://t.co/ih2G09Jpcf
ā Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) June 30, 2025
Let's hope the team doesn't rush him back too soon and create an even bigger problem. These quotes above from Dana Brown have me concerned. Playing through injuries can create bad habits, and Jeremy has clearly found his swing this season.