Houston's offense was firing on all cylinders
Astros crush Mariners in lopsided series opener
Aug 20, 2021, 10:16 pm
Houston's lineup obliterated the baseball in Friday's opener against the Mariners. Photo by Carmen Mandato/Getty Images.
Houston's lineup obliterated the baseball in Friday's opener against the Mariners.
With a win to avoid the four-game sweep the day prior, the Astros put the recent road struggles behind them as they turned their attention to division-rival Seattle to start a homestand on Friday night. Houston clearly had their full attention at the plate, crushing the ball throughout the game to get the lopsided win.
Final Score: Astros 12, Mariners 3
Astros' Record: 72-50, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Lance McCullers Jr. (10-4)
Losing Pitcher: Yusei Kikuchi (7-7)
Houston's offense returns home with a bang
Unlike the unsuccessful games at the plate in parts of their recent losing streak, the Astros looked much more like the team that roared back to win in Thursday's finale against the Royals. They jumped all over Yusei Kikuchi, starting in the bottom of the first, getting two runs on an RBI triple by Carlos Correa and an RBI groundout by Yordan Alvarez.
In the second, a one-out walk set up a two-run blast by Jake Meyers, doubling the lead to 4-0. They continued to tee off against Seattle's starter in the third, getting a leadoff single to set up a two-run bomb by Alvarez, followed by a solo homer by Yuli Gurriel to make it back-to-back jacks and extending the lead to 7-0. They would eventually chase Kikuchi out of the game before finishing the inning.
Back-to-back. 🤘#ForTheH pic.twitter.com/UKE7ZObGbx
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 21, 2021
McCullers Jr. posts another quality start and gets win number 10
Meanwhile, Lance McCullers Jr. was cruising over that span, having retired the Mariners lineup in order through the first three frames. Their first hit against him was a loud one, a two-out solo homer in the top of the fourth to make it 7-1. His offense got that back and more in the bottom of the fourth, continuing to make strong contact with an RBI double by Alvarez, an RBI single by Gurriel, then a sac fly later in the inning by Chas McCormick to make it a nine-run game at 10-1.
After a scoreless top of the inning by McCullers Jr., Houston put up two more runs behind him in the bottom of the fifth on a leadoff solo homer by Martin Maldonado and RBI groundout by Michael Brantley, scoring Jose Altuve, who knocked a triple in front of him, making it 12-1. McCullers Jr. would toss another inning in the top of the sixth, allowing a run on a two-out RBI single, but finishing with a quality start nonetheless: 6.0 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 HR, 102 P.
Astros take the opener in dominant fashion
After leaving the bases loaded in the bottom of the sixth, Houston handed the ball to their bullpen in the top of the seventh, bringing in Brooks Raley. He kept the lead at ten runs, hitting a batter but striking out the other three batters he faced. Pedro Baez took over in the top of the eighth, allowing a one-out solo homer to make it 12-3 but getting through the rest of the inning. Next out was Yimi Garcia, who wrapped things up in the top of the ninth with a scoreless inning to finish the lopsided win.
Up Next: The middle game of this series will get underway at 3:10 PM Central on Saturday. The pitching matchup features Jake Odorizzi (5-6, 4.74 ERA) for the Astros and Logan Gilbert (5-4, 4.42 ERA) for the Mariners.
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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.