Houston takes two of three from LA
Tucker's homer lifts Astros to series win over Angels
Sep 12, 2021, 4:50 pm
Houston takes two of three from LA
After splitting the first two games of the series, the Astros hoped to have an outing more like their performance in Friday's opener than Saturday's middle game. Although it would be as strong of an offensive performance as that, they would get enough runs and have solid pitching to win the series.
Final Score: Astros 3, Angels 1
Astros' Record: 83-59, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Lance McCullers Jr. (12-4)
Losing Pitcher: Jose Quijada (0-1)
After Lance McCullers Jr. would erase a leadoff single and walk for a scoreless top of the first, Houston would get the scoring started in the bottom half. A leadoff single by Jose Altuve would get him in position, after a one-out walk, to score later in the inning on an RBI single by Yuli Gurriel, putting them in front 1-0.
McCullers Jr. held that lead well through four innings, hitting a batter in the second, allowing a single in the fourth, but retiring the other batters he faced along the way over that span. Los Angeles tied the game up against him in the fifth, though, with a one-out solo homer, the only run he'd give up on the day, as he'd go on to finish six quality innings. His final line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 7 K, 1 HR, 102 P.
.@KTuck30 is RED HOT. 🥵#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/EJMCSPxJP9
— Houston Astros (@astros) September 12, 2021
McCullers Jr. would end up getting the win, as before his last inning of work, his offense would give him a lead. Yuli Gurriel reached base on a one-out single, setting up Kyle Tucker in the next at-bat, who launched a 406-foot go-ahead homer to make it a 3-1 Houston lead. That gave their bullpen three innings to cover and hang on to the two-run advantage.
They'd do it well, using arguably their strongest trio of relievers, starting with Ryne Stanek in the top of the seventh, who sat down the Angels 1-2-3. Kendall Graveman had the eighth and was able to work around a leadoff walk and one-out single to maintain the lead. That presented Ryan Pressly with a save opportunity in the ninth. He would notch his 24th of the season to wrap up the win, giving Houston the series win and continuing to dwindle their magic number to win the division in 2021.
Up Next: With this homestand over, the Astros will take back to the road, traveling up to Arlington to take on the Rangers for the final four games of the year in a series starting Monday at 7:05 PM Central. The opener's pitching matchup sets up to be Jake Odorizzi (6-7, 4.28 ERA) for Houston and Spencer Howard (0-3, 6.21 ERA) for Texas.
One of the main areas of improvement for the Texans this season, has been the running game with the addition of Joe Mixon.
Mixon rushed for 100 yards or more in 5 of his first 6 games with the team. But unfortunately for Houston, Mixon hasn't been nearly as effective recently.
When looking at his recent numbers, Mixon has failed to rush for more than 46 yards in 3 of his last 5 games. Posting only 26 rushing yards against Miami on Sunday.
With this in mind, is the state of Houston's run game a major concern, especially when the playoffs begin?
Don't miss the video above as ESPN Houston's Joel Blank and special guest Barry Laminack share their thoughts.