Houston took a no-hitter into the eighth

Astros dominate Orioles to extend winning streak to eight

Chris Campise
Jun 21, 2021, 11:27 pm
Odorizzi threw five no-hit innings against the Orioles Monday night. Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images.

After an impressive four-game sweep of the Chicago White Sox to cap off their recent homestand, the Astros started a week-long road trip on Monday in Baltimore. The game was delayed about an hour due to rain, but once it got started, it was all Astros as they dominated Baltimore for their eighth straight win.

Final Score: Astros 10, Orioles 2

Astros' Record: 44-28, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Jake Odorizzi (2-3)

Losing Pitcher: Keegan Akin (0-3)

Odorizzi goes five hitless innings

Jake Odorizzi had his best start of the year, taking care of business against a struggling Baltimore lineup. He was perfect through the first four and one-third innings, retiring the first thirteen batters he faced. The only allowed baserunner came with one out in the fifth, on a walk, which he erased by sitting down the next two batters. With a rising pitch count, he would get the knuckles from Dusty Baker to end his night: 5.0 IP, 0 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 9 K, 86 P.

Houston plates five in the third

His offense gifted him with a large lead by exploding for a big third inning. The first four batters all reached base, with Chas McCormick bringing in the first run of the night on an RBI single. Yuli Gurriel brought in another with a sac fly for the first out, followed by Yordan Alvarez, who scored the remaining two players on base with a three-run opposite-field homer to make it 5-0.

Cristian Javier took over in the bottom of the sixth, completing a 1-2-3 inning to keep Baltimore hitless. Houston added to their lead in the top of the seventh, getting Yuli Gurriel's second sac fly of the night and an RBI single by Carlos Correa to make it 7-0. Javier returned to the mound, with rain falling, and retired three more Orioles hitters in order in the bottom of the seventh.

Astros take the opener

As the rain picked up in the top of the eighth, the umpiring crew had no choice but to delay the game 41 minutes with one out and a runner on. When things resumed, Michael Brantley continued to rake, hitting a two-RBI double, then a pinch-hitting Garret Stubbs made it double-digits with an RBI double to make it 10-0.

In the bottom of the eighth, Brandon Bielak hit a batter with one out, then after a missed strike three by Angel Hernandez, which would've kept the no-hitter going, Baltimore got a two-run homer to end the no-hitter and make it a 10-2 game. Brooks Raley came in for the bottom of the ninth, wrapping up the long game and giving Houston their eighth win in a row to take over sole possession of first place in the AL West with an Oakland loss earlier in the evening.

Up Next: The middle game of this three-game series will start at 6:05 PM Central on Tuesday and features the pitching matchup of Zack Greinke (7-2, 3.74 ERA) for the Astros and Jorge Lopez (2-8, 5.95 ERA) for the Orioles.

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TEXANS CAMP REPORT

11 observations from Texans training camp Day 5

We'll see if Watson is in pads on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of the Houston Texans.

The Houston Texans had their last practice before pads come on for the first time on Tuesday. There was plenty to see on Monday.

1. Deshaun Watson had his usual extremely light level of work. He did very little throwing to teammates, though he did throw to the tight ends in 1-on-1 drills.

2. Texans head coach David Culley said "nothing has changed" when asked if Deshaun Watson will be in pads Tuesday. Culley has maintained that answer for a couple of sessions now.

3. Quarterback Tyrod Taylor was back after missing Saturday with an excused personal day. Taylor has been the best quarterback in camp by a wide margin. Taylor makes better decisions with the football than other quarterbacks, but he does struggle on deeper passes. Taylor missed wildly on one deep ball and was a little wobbly on another.

4. Nobody in camp can cover wide receiver Brandin Cooks. This could be the easiest training camp of his life. He easily gets open in 1-on-1 situations.

5. Rookie wide receiver Nico Collins continues to flash his abilities in camp. Collins easily shook loose from defensive back John Reid and took the route vertical for an easy score. Collins later had a tough catch in traffic.

6. It's only been a few days, but the competition for inside wide receiver reps is tough. Former Bears wideout Anthony Miller has looked quick and nothing like the "draft bust" the Bears fans watched. Keke Coutee has rarely lost a rep, but Desmond King did win a few times over Coutee in the opening days of camp. Former Bengals wideout Alex Erickson finds himself constantly open. The cuts at wide receiver are already shaking out to be difficult.

7. Davis Mills bounced back in a sense that he couldn't be worse than he was on Saturday. The performance from Mills on Saturday was abysmal, but head coach David Culley said he liked how Mills responded today. With Tyrod Taylor back, there were fewer reps for Mills, but he had some impressive throws to go along with an off-target throw or two. Mills was far better than Jeff Driskel on Monday. Driskel tossed two interceptions right to defenders, including one that would've gone the wrong way for a score.

8. This linebacker group is interesting. With a new defensive scheme under Lovie Smith, the type of linebacker is very different from previous years. There was a clear emphasis on cover ability as these linebackers were added to the team.

9. Kamu Grugier-Hill and Kevin Pierre-Louis have both had some significant wins for the linebackers in coverage.

10. Rookie tight end Brevin Jordan looks the part physically, but he's had a rough few days, including a drop on Monday.

11. With the pads coming on Tuesday, it will be fun to watch the rebuilt defensive line clash with the many combinations of the offensive line. There will be no J.J. Watt who historically stirred up the team on day one of pads. Laremy Tunsil's cool confidence about the offensive line over the weekend leads me to believe they are a confident group, while there are spots to be won on the defensive side of the line.

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