Houston gets back-to-back wins
10 years after his debut, Altuve leads Astros over Indians to secure series
Jul 20, 2021, 10:28 pm
Now a veteran of 10 years, Jose Altuve continues to provide the Astros a ton of upside. Photo by Jason Miller/Getty Images.
Now a veteran of 10 years, Jose Altuve continues to provide the Astros a ton of upside.
After grabbing the opener on Monday, the Astros continued the series against the Indians on Tuesday seeking to secure the series with another victory. Thanks to a strong offensive performance, including leadoff man Jose Altuve blasting a couple of homers, they would grab a blowout victory.
Final Score: Astros 9, Indians 3
Astros' Record: 58-38, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Luis Garcia (7-5)
Losing Pitcher: Triston McKenzie (1-4)
Altuve sparks the offense
10 years to the day of his MLB debut, Jose Altuve has gone deep twice! pic.twitter.com/w83UbKjtEi
— MLB (@MLB) July 21, 2021
Possibly the biggest storyline of this game was that it was the 10-year anniversary of Jose Altuve's major-league debut. He kept the spotlight once play started, putting Houston on the board in the bottom of the first with a leadoff solo home run. He did it again to lead off the bottom of the third, doubling the Astros lead to 2-0.
Other parts of Houston's lineup would get in on the action in the bottom of the fifth, with two reaching base to set up a two-RBI single by Yordan Alvarez to make it 4-0. He, too, would later come around to score as Kyle Tucker would crush a 435-foot two-run bomb to extend the lead to 6-0 heading to the sixth. They didn't stop there, getting more runners on base to set up Michael Brantley for a two-RBI single to make it a six-run inning and 8-0 lead.
Garcia goes six shutout innings
Meanwhile, on the mound for the Astros, their starter had a great start. Luis Garcia cruised through his outing, allowing just three baserunners, all on singles which he would erase, making it through six effective, scoreless innings to maintain the lead given to him. His final line: 6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 ER, 0 BB, 8 K, 79 P.
Astros secure the series
After Kyle Tucker notched his third RBI of the night on a two-out single to make it 9-0 in the bottom of the sixth, Houston dipped into their bullpen in the top of the seventh to bring in Bryan Abreu. He worked around a two-out walk and single, erasing both to keep Cleveland off the board. Joe Smith was next, but he would have a rough inning as he allowed three runs on four-straight hits before getting through the frame.
Blake Taylor took over in the top of the ninth to try and close things out. He put a couple on base but worked around it to end the blowout win for Houston, who secures the series and gives them a chance to complete the series and season-series sweep on Wednesday.
Up Next: The third and final game of this series and the last game of the seven-game season series will get started at 7:10 PM Central on Wednesday. Lance McCullers Jr. (7-2, 2.80 ERA) will look to continue his impressive year for Houston, while Cleveland will hand the ball to Eli Morgan (1-3, 7.86 ERA).
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Dusty Baker shines while Astros struggle to find their groove
Apr 25, 2024, 10:54 am
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.