DEMOTED
Astros send former closer Ken Giles to minors after poor effort, outburst
SportsMap Staff
Jul 11, 2018, 3:37 pm
Ken Giles is headed to the minors. Al Bello/Getty Images
Ken Giles nearly blew a save Tuesday night. Then he blew a gasket.
Then on Wednesday the Astros blew him out of the water.
Giles was sent down to Triple-A Fresno, one day after giving up three straight singles to the Oakland Athletics. He was pulled by manager A.J. Hinch and appeared to utter an obscenity as he stormed off the mound.
Giles has been a poster boy of inconsistency all season. He has an 0-2 record and 4.99 ERA in 34 appearances. But he also has 31 strikeouts and 12 saves.
"We need to get him right," Hinch told multiple reporters before Wednesday's game. "He’s not right. We need to get him right mentally and physically.”
Reportedly he has groused about his role with the team, and Tuesday night's outburst was enough to bring about change. Cionel Perez was called up to take his spot on the roster. Perez was called up briefly recently but did not get in a game.
Perez, a lefty, was 6-1 at Corpus Christi with a 1.98 ERA and 83 strikeouts in 68.1 innings.
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Jalen Green made two free throws with 3.5 seconds left and the Houston Rockets beat the Golden State Warriors 91-90 on Wednesday night to advance to the NBA Cup semifinals in Las Vegas.
Houston snapped a 15-game skid against the Warriors, winning for the first time in the series since Feb. 20, 2020. The Rockets will face Oklahoma City, which beat Dallas in the other West quarterfinal game on Tuesday night, in the semifinals on Saturday.
Alperen Sengun led the Rockets with 26 points and 11 rebounds and Jabari Smith Jr. added 15 points.
Houston led by 14 before falling behind late to set up the thrilling finish.
Houston trailed by six with about 1 1/2 minutes left before Fred VanVleet made a 3-pointer and Sengun added a layup with 27 seconds to go to cut the lead to one.
Stephen Curry missed a 3-pointer with 11 seconds left and Gary Payton II grabbed the rebound, but Green intercepted his pass and was fouled by Jonathan Kuminga to set up the winning free throws.
The Warriors had a chance to win it at the buzzer but Smith blocked Brandin Podziemski’s 3-point attempt.
Takeaways
Warriors: Golden State beat the Rockets twice this season without Curry before losing Wednesday in a game where he had 19 points.
Rockets: This young team showed poise in finishing this one after squandering a double-digit lead.
Key moment
Green’s hustle on getting the ball late to draw the foul to set up the winning free throws.
Key stat
Houston won despite making just 6 of 27 3-pointers.
Up next
While Houston heads to Las Vegas this weekend, the Warriors will return to regular-season play Sunday at Dallas.