PADRES AVOID SWEEP

Astros held to two runs as Padres salvage finale

Astros Jeremy Pena, sad
The Padres beat the Astros, 3-2. Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images.

Fernando Tatís Jr. hit a tiebreaking solo home run and scored all of San Diego’s runs as the Padres avoided being swept with a 3-2 win over the Houston Astros on Sunday night.

Tatís sent the first pitch he saw from Tayler Scott (1-2) 427 feet to straightaway center to give the Padres a 3-2 lead in the seventh.

Tatís scored from second on a Mauricio Dubón error in the first, and he led off the third with a triple before scoring on an RBI single by Gavin Sheets.

The Astros tied it with two runs in the fifth on an RBI single by Dubón and a Yordan Alvarez sacrifice fly.

Luis Arraez was carted off and taken to a hospital for evaluation after a first inning collision with Dubón on a play at first base. Arraez’s face appeared to collide with Dubón’s arm or elbow, and the Padres designated hitter lay motionless in foul territory next to first base for several minutes.

After being tended to by trainers from both teams, Arraez was placed on a backboard and carted out of the stadium.

Dylan Cease yielded two runs on six hits with six strikeouts in five innings for the Padres. Alek Jacob (1-0) pitched 1 1/3 scoreless innings for the win, and Robert Suarez pitched the ninth for his second save.

Starting pitcher Framber Valdez surrendered two runs on seven hits in six innings for the Astros.

Key moment

With two outs and the tying run on second in the eighth, Jason Adam struck out Victor Caratini to end the inning.

Key stat

The Padres have scored 20 runs in the seventh inning this season, the most runs they have scored in any inning.

Up next

Houston RHP Hunter Brown (2-1, 1.50 ERA) starts the opener of a three-game series against the Blue Jays on Monday night, while San Diego RHP Randy Vásquez (1-1, 1.74) starts Monday in the opener of a three-game series in Detroit.

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Astros let lead slip late in tough loss to Rays

Chas McCormick gets another start in Game 2. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros will aim to lock up a series victory Tuesday night as they face the Tampa Bay Rays in the second game of a three-game set. First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. ET.

Houston (25–22) took the opener 4–3 on Monday and has now won five of its last ten games, continuing a recent surge that has pulled them back above .500 and into second place in the AL West. Tampa Bay (21–26) sits fourth in the AL East and has struggled to find consistency, especially at home where they are now just 11–18.

The Astros will turn to left-hander Brandon Walter, who is set to make his season debut. Walter, a depth option from the Astros' system, gets the nod with the club working through recent rotation injuries.

The Rays counter with right-hander Zack Littell (3–5, 4.31 ERA), who has been solid but not dominant across his first nine starts. He’s struck out 32 batters in 54.1 innings with a strong 1.12 WHIP.

Team trends

Houston holds the AL’s fifth-best team on-base percentage (.318) and has gone 6–4 over its last 10 games, posting a .252 batting average and a 3.78 team ERA in that span. Tampa Bay is 5–5 over its last 10, hitting .236 while their pitching staff has combined for a 4.34 ERA.

Players to watch

  • Jake Meyers continues to provide timely power for Houston, while Isaac Paredes has been one of Houston's steadiest hitters, going 11-for-37 with three home runs over his last 10 games.
  • Jonathan Aranda leads the Rays with a .309 batting average and has been a consistent bat in the middle of their lineup.
  • Chandler Simpson, a recent spark plug for Tampa, is hitting .364 over his last 10 games.

Betting line

According to BetMGM, the Astros are slight road favorites at -114, with the Rays at -105. The over/under is set at 9.5 runs, signaling expectations for a potentially high-scoring matchup.

With the series opener in their pocket and Walter making his first appearance of the year, the Astros will look to keep momentum rolling in Tampa and inch closer to the top of the AL West standings.

Here's a look at Tuesday's night's lineup:

Yainer Diaz gets the night off, with Victor Caratini catching Walter in his big league debut. Chas McCormick is in the lineup again playing left field, and Zach Dezenzo gets the nod in the DH spot.

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