Astros set franchise record with 104th win of the year
Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 2 hits from the 3-0 win
Sep 25, 2019, 11:44 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images
After an absolute gem by Gerrit Cole the night before lifting the Astros to a franchise record-tying 103rd win, Houston was back in Seattle on Wednesday night to wrap up the season series with the Mariners and continue their quest to lock up the best record in the league. Here is a quick rundown of the game:
Final Score: Astros 3, Mariners 0.
Record: 104-54, first in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Zack Greinke (18-5, 2.93 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Yusei Kikuchi (6-11, 5.46 ERA).
1) Greinke nearly completes first career no-hitter
Zack Greinke had a tough road in front of him in terms of trying to follow Gerrit Cole's great night in the game on Tuesday. He stood up to the challenge, retiring every batter he faced until he allowed a walk in the bottom of the sixth, which turned into an inning-ending double play.
That would go down as the only baserunner for Seattle through the first eight innings, as Greinke would take a no-hitter into the ninth inning. He would allow a one-out single in the bottom of the ninth, followed by another to prompt A.J. Hinch out of the dugout to go to his bullpen and bring in Will Harris to get the last two outs. Greinke's final line: 8.1 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 0 HR.
64 MPH filth. 🤮 pic.twitter.com/mioKC5Vk2AÂ
— MLB (@MLB) September 26, 2019
2) Alex Bregman and Yordan Alvarez get Houston on the board, Tucker homers late
Houston wasted no time getting some runs on the board, getting a leadoff single by George Springer who would score from first on an RBI-double by Alex Bregman. Bregman would score on an RBI-double by Yordan Alvarez in the next at-bat, creating an early 2-0 lead in the top of the first.
Alex Bregman would finish with another efficient night at the plate, going 3-for-4 with the RBI. Those two would end up being the only runs scored until the ninth inning, when Kyle Tucker would hit a leadoff solo homer to extend the lead to 3-0.
Up Next: Houston will begin their final series of the regular season, a four-game set in Los Angeles against the Angels, with the opening game Thursday at 9:07 PM. Wade Miley (14-6, 3.91 ERA) will get another chance to show that he hasn't completely fallen off the wagon for the Astros, while the Angels are expected to start Jaime Barria (4-10, 6.43 ERA).
The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.
Yainer Diaz homered, Josh Hader got the last four outs for his major league-leading 25th save, and the Houston Astros spoiled Shohei Ohtani's 31st birthday, beating the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-4 on Saturday.
Ohtani made his fourth mound start of the season, pitching two scoreless innings as he continues to work his way back from elbow surgery. He struck out the side in the second.
Justin Wrobleski (4-3) relieved Ohtani to start the third, and that's when the Dodgers' problems started. Zack Short hit a two-run double as Houston scored four times in the inning. Diaz went deep leading off the fourth, his 11th of the season.
Mookie Betts hit his 11th homer for the Dodgers in the first, and Miguel Rojas' two-run shot in the fourth pulled LA within 5-4.
Jose Altuve led off the seventh with a triple and scored on a sacrifice fly.
Hader entered with two on and two out in the eighth and struck out pinch-hitter Esteury Ruiz. In the ninth, he allowed a leadoff single to Ohtani but retired Betts, Will Smith and Freddie Freeman to end it.
Framber Valdez (10-4) struck out seven and allowed four runs in six innings.
Key moment
The Dodgers sent Michael Conforto to the plate to pinch-hit with two out in the eighth, and the Astros brought in Hader. Manager Dave Roberts replaced Conforto with Ruiz, who fanned on Hader's slider.
Key stat
The Astros have scored 24 runs in the first two games of the series. On Friday night, they handed the Dodgers their worst loss in the history of Dodger Stadium, 18-1.
Up next
Astros RHP Ryan Gusto (5-3, 4.90 ERA) will face the Dodgers' Emmet Sheehan (0-0, 2.25) for Sunday’s series finale.