Houston has won three in a row
Starter-depleted Astros secure series with win over Indians
Jul 3, 2021, 9:43 pm
Jake Odorizzi had another solid start against the Indians on Saturday. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.
Jake Odorizzi had another solid start against the Indians on Saturday.
With a large portion of their starters out of the lineup for various reasons, the Astros turned to some of their less-experienced players to attempt to secure the series win against the Indians on Saturday. Thanks to a couple of RBIs by Carlos Correa, a solid start from Jake Odorizzi, and excellent work by Houston's bullpen, they would hold on to the win over Cleveland.
Final Score: Astros 3, Indians 2
Astros' Record: 51-33, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Jake Odorizzi (3-3)
Losing Pitcher: Eli Morgan (1-3)
No lack of power for Houston
It didn't appear that the Astros were missing any of their power, with three runs in the first four innings to get a 3-0 lead. In the top of the first, they put two on base on two hits before an RBI single by Carlos Correa, then in the top of the fourth, Correa doubled the lead on a solo homer, then Abraham Toro followed one out later with a solo shot as well.
.@lmccullers43 is all of us. 😂#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/psmdbv54NB
— Houston Astros (@astros) July 4, 2021
Odorizzi gets into the seventh in line for the win
Jake Odorizzi did great with the lead, getting off to a hot start by erasing a hit in the first, walk in the second, then posting a 1-2-3 third. He would allow an unearned run, thanks to a fielding error in the inning, in the bottom of the fourth on an RBI groundout, but rebounded from the one-run fourth with another 1-2-3 inning in the fifth, then faced the minimum in the sixth thanks to a double play.
He tried to keep going in the bottom of the seventh, but back-to-back leadoff doubles to cut the lead to one ended his night, with Ryne Stanek coming in to strand the inherited runner. That finalized Odorizzi's line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 1 ER, 2 BB, 2 K, 91 P.
Astros secure the series
Houston had a chance to add some insurance runs in the top of the eighth, getting their first two runners on base then moving one to third with one out, but were unable to do anything with it. Cristian Javier was next out of Houston's bullpen in the bottom of the eighth, holding the one-run lead with a 1-2-3 inning, including two strikeouts. After a scoreless top half, Ryan Pressly came in to try and close things out in the bottom of the ninth. He did so, notching his fourteenth save of the season to give Houston the series win with a chance for a four-game sweep in the finale.
Up Next: The fourth and final game of this series, and the last of a twenty-game stretch in twenty days for the Astros, will be a 12:10 PM Central start on Sunday. The expected pitching matchup is Zack Greinke (8-2, 3.65 ERA) for Houston and Cal Quantrill (0-2, 4.11 ERA) for Cleveland.
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Michael Wacha scattered four hits over six innings, Vinnie Pasquantino homered and the Kansas City Royals beat the Houston Astros 2-0 for the second straight night Saturday to run their winning streak to six.
Wacha (1-3) once again received little run support, but the veteran right-hander made the meager production stand up on chilly evening at Kauffman Stadium. He struck out six while walking two and never allowed a runner past second base.
Steven Cruz worked the seventh for Kansas City, his seventh appearance this season without allowing a run. John Schreiber left runners on the corners in the eighth, and Carlos Estévez had a perfect ninth for his seventh save.
Bobby Witt Jr. doubled and scored in the first inning for the Royals, extending his career-best hitting streak to 18 games.
Framber Valdez (1-3) gave up a sacrifice fly to Mark Canha in the first inning and Pasquantino's shot down the right-field line in the fifth. Otherwise, the Astros left-hander kept Kansas City in check, allowing three hits and two walks over eight innings.
Valdez had tossed seven shutout innings against the Royals last August in a 3-2 victory.
The Astros, who have lost five straight at the K, have managed just nine hits while getting shut out over the first two games of the series. They had rolled into Kansas City having won three straight and five of their last six games.
Key moment
Isaac Parades hit a two-out double and Jeremy Peña followed with a single to give Houston runners on the corners in the eighth inning. Schreiber bounced back to strike out Christian Walker with a four-seam fastball to end the threat.
Key stat
The Royals have only scored seven runs in the 32 innings that Wacha has pitched this season.
Up next
RHP Hunter Brown (3-1, 1.16) tries to extend a 24-inning scoreless streak for Houston in the series finale Sunday. LHP Kris Bubic (2-1, 1.45) gets the start for Kansas City after tossing seven shutout innings against the Rockies his last time out.