Houston is now 2-0

Astros stay hot at the plate in win over A's

Astros Jose Alutve
Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

Jose Altuve was a huge part of Houston's win against Oakland

After handily taking care of the A's in a lopsided 8-1 win on Opening Day, the Astros sent their same lineup out to try and stay undefeated on the young season on Friday night. In game number two, they sent Cristian Javier to the mound looking to continue the success he had in his rookie campaign in the shortened 2020 season.

Javier would not last as long as Houston would have hoped, but the Astros' offense, led by a strong performance from the top of the batting order, would get the job done to improve them to 2-0 on the early season.

Final Score: Astros 9, A's 5

Astros' Record: 2-0, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Bryan Abreu (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Jesus Luzardo (0-1)

Astros find success their second time through the order

Much like the night before, the Astros were quiet at the plate the first time through the order, then gained traction the next time through. Recently-named leadoff man Jose Altuve led off the third by working a four-pitch walk, moved to third on a double by Michael Brantley, and then scored on a three-run home run by Alex Bregman, giving him one in each game so far this year and putting Houston in front 3-0.

They kept terrorizing Jesus Luzardo again in the fourth, starting with a leadoff solo homer by Yuli Gurriel followed later by Brantley's second double in as many innings, this one bringing in a run to make it a 5-0 lead and keeping him red hot at the plate. Oakland was able to find similar success their second time through the lineup as well against Cristian Javier, who started the night with three perfect innings then ran into trouble in the fourth.

Oakland knocks Javier out early

In the bottom of the fourth, Javier allowed a leadoff single followed by an RBI-triple, then later allowed a one-out sac fly to cut the lead to 5-2. A single in the next at-bat to put two on base prompted Dusty Baker to make the early pitching change, bringing in Bryan Abreu. Javier's final line: 3.2 IP, 3 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 0 BB, 4 K, 73 P.

Abreu was able to get the final out of the inning, a lengthy one, before returning for the fifth. He made quick work of Oakland, retiring three batters in order, sending the game along to the sixth. After a scoreless top-half, Abreu tried to keep his rhythm going in the bottom of the inning but had to work around a single and a walk to get through it to keep it 5-2.

Astros tack on runs in the ninth to secure the win

Thanks to an aggressive tag-up on a fly ball to the shortstop by Altuve, Houston extended their lead to four runs in the top of the seventh before moving on to their next reliever, Brooks Raley. Raley did not have the greatest stuff in his regular-season debut, giving up a leadoff walk that turned into a one-out, two-run home run to trim the lead to 6-4.

Joe Smith would complete the seventh, then Houston moved on to Blake Taylor, who would see a leadoff double come around to score and make it a one-run game after a couple of groundouts. Houston regained control of the momentum in the top of the ninth, starting with a leadoff single by Altuve, a double by Brantley, then an intentional walk to Bregman to load the bases with no outs.

Kyle Tucker was up next and brought in two runs with a single, which blasted past the shortstop into center field. Houston loaded the bases again with two out, then received some help from Myles Straw's speed to bring in another run. Ryan Pressly would come in for the bottom of the ninth, having already warmed up in preparation for a save opportunity, and closed out the win.

Up Next: Game three of this four-game series will get started at 3:07 PM Central on Saturday. Lance McCullers Jr. (3-3, 3.93 ERA in 2020), who just signed a five-year, $85 million extension with the Astros, will begin his 2021 season looking to provide a complete, healthy season for the first time since he underwent Tommy John surgery at the end of 2018. Oakland will counter with Cole Irvin, who came to the A's from the Phillies in an off-season deal.

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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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