Houston takes game one of this exciting series
Altuve leads the Astros offense to opener win over Giants
Jul 31, 2021, 12:46 am
Jose Altuve drove in five runs on two homers in Friday's opener against the Giants. Photo by Thearon W. Henderson/Getty Images
Jose Altuve drove in five runs on two homers in Friday's opener against the Giants.
With the trade deadline come and gone, the Astros began a high-profile series with the Giants in San Francisco on Friday night. Thanks in part to a big night at the plate by Jose Altuve, they would get the impressive win to start the series in what could be a World Series preview.
Final Score: Astros 9, Giants 6
Astros' Record: 64-40, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Framber Valdez (7-2)
Losing Pitcher: Kevin Gausman (9-5)
Altuve and Houston's offense build a lead
The Astros, as they have often done in recent matchups, were able to grab an immediate lead in the first inning. They worked three straight singles to start the game, the third an RBI by Yuli Gurriel. They went on to load the bases, setting up an RBI walk by Kyle Tucker to double the lead to 2-0 but would leave the bases loaded to end the frame.
After the Giants evened things up with a two-run third, Jose Altuve, who started the game with a single, homered in back-to-back at-bats in the fifth and sixth. The homer in the fifth was a solo go-ahead shot, but the louder of the two came in the top of the sixth. Houston loaded the bases in front of him, and Altuve took advantage with a grand slam to extend the lead to 7-2.
2 HR, 5 RBI tonight for @JoseAltuve27. 😤 pic.twitter.com/EFF3oNTr5W
— MLB (@MLB) July 31, 2021
Valdez goes five innings
The game taking place in the NL ballpark of the Giants meant that Framber Valdez was not just pitching but also hitting. On the mound, he retired the first seven batters in a row before San Fransisco would get their two runs in the third on back-to-back RBI hits with one out. Valdez finished that inning and two more before being pinch-hit for in the top of the sixth ahead of Altuve's slam. His final line: 5.0 IP, 4 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K, 89 P.
Graveman makes a strong debut as Astros hold on to take the opener
That set up the start of the bullpen's night in the bottom of the sixth. Blake Taylor was first, and he allowed the Giants to trim a run off the lead with back-to-back doubles before finishing the inning. Ryne Stanek came in for the bottom of the seventh but would have a rough appearance as two runs would score on two singles, a walk, and an error, making it 7-5. That prompted a change to bring in Kendall Graveman to make his Astros debut, entering with two on and two out. He would get the third out, sending the game to the eighth, where Carlos Correa would give him another run to work with on an RBI double.
Graveman returned in the bottom of the inning, making a strong statement to finish off his first appearance with his new team by striking out the side to retire all four batters he faced. In the top of the ninth, Aledmys Diaz would help get one more run back for insurance, leading the inning off with a solo home run to make it a four-run game at 9-5. Ryan Pressly came in to try and close things out in the bottom of the ninth. Despite allowing a run on three straight hits to start the inning, he did so, finishing the win for Houston to start this three-game set.
Up Next: The middle game of this series will be a 3:05 PM Central start on Saturday. Zack Greinke (10-3, 3.48 ERA) will try to get his eleventh win of the year for the Astros, while the Giants will send Alex Wood (9-3, 3.65 ERA) to the mound looking for his tenth.
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Dansby Swanson hit a three-run homer during Chicago's four-run first inning and the short-handed Cubs beat the Houston Astros 4-3 on Wednesday night.
Playing without Cody Bellinger, Chicago used Swanson's big swing and a solid start by Jameson Taillon to earn its second straight win. It will try to sweep the three-game set against the struggling Astros on Thursday.
Taillon (2-0) allowed two runs, one earned, and seven hits in 5 2/3 innings on a chilly evening at Wrigley Field. The right-hander struck out four and walked two in his second start since he began the season on the injured list with a back strain.
“Before that back injury, I just really liked where we were at,” Taillon said, “and I feel like we were able to use that downtime as like, let’s stay on the straight and narrow, stay on the right path.”
Houston lost for the seventh time in eight games. It has scored a total of 21 runs during the slide.
Manager Joe Espada tried to spark his sputtering lineup by moving Alex Bregman into the second spot, between Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez. But the Astros went 1 for 10 with runners in scoring position and left 10 runners on base.
Altuve opened the ninth with a drive to left against Héctor Neris for his sixth homer. But Neris retired Bregman, Alvarez and Kyle Tucker for his second save in three opportunities.
Bellinger was placed on the 10-day injured list with two fractured ribs on his right side. The center fielder got hurt during the series opener Tuesday night.
There was no word just yet on a timetable for his return.
“The doctors will come up with a plan,” manager Craig Counsell said, “and, like everything, he’s got to get symptom-free first and we’ll go from there.”
Nico Hoerner and Ian Happ singled for Chicago in the first against Spencer Arrighetti. Michael Busch delivered a sacrifice fly and Christopher Morel walked before Swanson hit a two-out drive to left for his third homer.
The Cubs also got off to a fast start Tuesday night, jumping on the Astros for five runs in the first in a 7-2 victory.
“We’ve just been pretty committed to our plans coming in and put some good swings on some balls and that’s just a testament to the work that the guys are doing in the cage,” Swanson said.
Arrighetti (0-3) was pulled with two outs in the fourth. The right-hander allowed seven hits, struck out seven and walked two in his third major league start.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Astros: LHP Framber Valdez (elbow soreness) threw about 40 pitches during a bullpen session. “He came off the mound feeling good,” Espada said. Valdez remains in line to start this weekend during a two-game series against Colorado in Mexico City. … RHP Cristian Javier (neck discomfort) played catch back in Houston. “The doctor saw him, and it looks like he's improving,” Espada said.
Cubs: RHP Kyle Hendricks is taking pills to help with the inflammation from his low back strain. He also is getting treatment and playing catch to help keep his arm moving. He isn't too concerned about the injury. “It just made sense to give it the time to settle down, get out of there and give myself a chance to get back to 100 percent,” he said. ... OF Seiya Suzuki (right oblique strain) has resumed baseball activities.
UP NEXT
Houston right-hander Justin Verlander (1-0, 3.00 ERA) makes his second start since he missed the beginning of the season because of shoulder inflammation. Right-hander Javier Assad (2-0, 2.11 ERA) takes the mound for Chicago.