Houston improves to 15-12

Urquidy, Astros hold on to early runs to secure series against Rays

Astros' Jose Urquidy
Jose Urquidy cruised through the Rays on Saturday. Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images

Jose Urquidy cruised through the Rays on Saturday.

After dominantly taking the series opener the night prior, the Astros returned to Tropicana Field to try and lock up a series win with a victory against the Rays on Saturday. They would do so, albeit with fewer runs scored but with a similar formula from their pitching, with Jose Urquidy giving his team another great outing from their starter.

Final Score: Astros 3, Rays 1

Astros' Record: 15-12, tied for second in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Jose Urquidy (2-2)

Losing Pitcher: Josh Fleming (1-3)

Astros get their damage done early



At least in the first inning, Houston's offense was able to pick up right where they left off on Friday night, getting early damage against Josh Fleming. Jose Altuve started the game by getting into scoring position, driving the game's first pitch for a double. That set up Alex Bregman for a one-out RBI single, then he and Yordan Alvarez, who worked a walk, would come around to score on a two-RBI single by Yuli Gurriel, putting the Astros out to the early 3-0 lead.

Urquidy cruises to seven scoreless

That gave Jose Urquidy runs on the board before he even took the mound, not that he needed all of them. On his 26th birthday, the right-hander from Mexico had himself a day, blanking the Rays over seven innings while allowing just four hits. At one point, he retired eleven straight, five on strikeouts. All told, it was a great start: 7.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 91 P.

Houston secures the series

The 3-0 score held long into the game, with Tampa Bay moving to their bullpen in the top of the seventh, then Houston in the bottom of the eighth when they brought in Brooks Raley. He kept the Rays off the board, retiring the three batters he faced, two via strikeout, to send the three-run game to the ninth.

Ryan Pressly would come in for the save opportunity, eventually converting it despite allowing a run to break up the shutout. The victory secures the series win for the Astros and temporarily moves them back into a tie with Seattle for second place in the division.

Up Next: This series's third and final game will start at 12:10 PM Central on Sunday from St. Petersburg. Cristian Javier (3-0, 0.87) will look to help Houston complete the sweep by continuing his early success in 2021, while Rich Hill (1-1, 7.25 ERA) will get the start for Tampa Bay.

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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