Astros secure series win against Seattle

Astros daily report presented by APG&E: 3 hits from the 2-1 win

Chris Campise
Sep 7, 2019, 9:07 pm
Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

Still gridlocked with the Yankees for the best record in the American League, and with two wins already in the books in the first games of this set with the Mariners, the Astros looked to lock up the series on Saturday night.

They had Justin Verlander, fresh of a no-hitter, on the mound to try and do so, and keep pace with New York and continue moving towards their magic number in the division. Here is a quick rundown of the game:

Final Score: Astros 2, Mariners 1.

Record: 93-50, first in the AL West.

Winning pitcher: Justin Verlander (18-5, 2.52 ERA).

Losing pitcher: Austin Adams (1-2, 3.54 ERA).

1) Verlander continues to dominate

Justin Verlander kept moving along dominantly to start Saturday's game with Mariners, continuing his recent stretch of success including the no-hitter in his last start. He retired the first six batters he faced in order but would snap his hitless and scoreless streak in the third, though.

A leadoff single in the top of the third would come around to score on a one-out triple, putting Seattle in front 1-0, and giving Verlander his first earned run since his start on August 21st. He settled back in after that, though, throwing four more scoreless innings en route to one of his typical successful starts. His final line: 7 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 7 K, 0 HR.

2) Houston ties in the sixth, goes ahead in the seventh

After being held scoreless through the first five innings, Alex Bregman finally gave Houston their first run against Yusei Kikuchi with a solo home run to lead off the sixth. With his 100th walk earlier in the night, and the home run giving him his 100th RBI on the year, Alex Bregman joined Mike Trout as the only other player in the majors with 100 runs, 100 walks, and 100 RBIs.

After tying the game in the inning prior, Houston took their first lead of the night in the bottom of the seventh. Kyle Tucker led the inning off by pinch-hitting and appeared to hit a home run after hitting a ball off of the left-field scoreboard that made it into the stands but instead was ruled a double and fan interference. He moved to third on a wild pitch, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Josh Reddick, making it a 2-1 Astros lead.

3) James and Harris finish it off

With Verlander's night over after seven one-run innings, it was up to Houston's bullpen to preserve the one-run lead that had him in line for the win. Josh James was out first to throw the top of the eighth and despite putting two runners on with one out, was able to get back-to-back strikeouts to end the inning.

With Roberto Osuna's usage high in recent days, Houston turned to Will Harris to notch the save in the ninth. He did so, retiring the Mariners in order, securing the series win.

Up Next: Houston and Seattle will conclude this four-game series on Sunday at 1:10 PM. Gerrit Cole (15-5, 2.81 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros opposite of Felix Hernandez (1-5, 6.02 ERA) for the Mariners.

The Astros daily report is presented by APG&E.

astros recap houston astros astros mlb recap mlb score astros vs mariners mariners score mariners recap seattle mariners justin verlander alex bregman yordan alvarez astros score

Most Popular

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome

Listen Live

Houston gets the lopsided win

Valdez, Astros dominate the Angels in 10-0 rout in Anaheim

Framber Valdez was dominant against the Angels on Monday night. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images

With a series win at home over the weekend, the Astros started their final regular-season road trip on Monday, squaring off against the Angels in Anaheim. They held the momentum firmly in their favor all night, dominating both sides of the game to start the series with a victory.

Final Score: Astros 10, Angels 0

Astros' Record: 89-61, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Framber Valdez (11-5)

Losing Pitcher: Jaime Barria (2-4)

Siri leads off with a bang

With Jose Altuve being given the night off, Houston gave Jose Siri a shot at the leadoff spot, and he delivered to start the opener in Anaheim. He launched a missile to left field, 426 feet, to put the Astros in front 1-0 before the Angels could record an out. Later that same inning, they strung together three singles, the third being an RBI by Carlos Correa to double the lead.

Valdez goes seven shutout innings

That gave Framber Valdez a lead to work with as he stepped on the rubber in the bottom of the inning, and he didn't give it up as he would post a dominant start. He started with a 1-2-3 first, worked around a couple of singles in the second, then used a double play to face the minimum in the third.

He retired Los Angeles in order again in the fourth, stranded a two-out single in the fifth and a single and a walk in the sixth. He had his worst inning of the night in the seventh, giving up a leadoff single then loading the bases on back-to-back two-out walks. He'd escape the jam, though, keeping the shutout alive and finalizing his impressive line: 7.0 IP, 6 H, 0 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 98 P.

Astros take the opener in lopsided fashion

Houston tacked on an insurance run in the top of the eighth, getting a one-out double by Correa to set up an RBI single by Marwin Gonzalez, pushing the lead to 3-0. Things escalated from there, as another single put two on base for Martin Maldonado, who blew the game open with a three-run homer to make it a six-run lead.

Brooks Raley took over for Valdez in the bottom of the inning, and with a 1-2-3 inning, made it his eighth appearance in a row without allowing a run. The Astros didn't let up in the top of the ninth, getting two hits and a walk to load the bases before a grand slam by Gonzalez made it 10-0 and gave him 5 RBI in a two-inning span. Seth Martinez, called up by the Astros earlier in the day, made his big-league debut in the bottom of the ninth and closed out the lopsided win to put Houston's magic number at 6.

Up Next: The second of this four-game set will be another 8:38 PM Central start on Tuesday. Jose Urquidy (7-3, 3.38 ERA) will take the mound for the Astros, going opposite Packy Naughton (0-2, 4.32 ERA) for the Angels.

From Your Site Articles
Related Articles Around the Web
astros astros score astros recap astros vs angels angels angels score angels recap mlb mlb scores mlb recaps shohei ohtani framber valdez jose siri marwin gonzalez

SportsMap Emails
Are Awesome