Houston loses the series

Padres get walk-off homer to take series from Astros

Astros' Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa
The Astros tied the game late but the Padres still came out in frond on Sunday. Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images

The Astros tied the game late but the Padres still came out in frond on Sunday.

After being handed a lopsided loss in the middle game on Saturday to even up the series, the Astros tried to shrug it off and get the series victory with a win on Sunday. After battling back to tie the game late, the Padres would get the final blow to take the series.

Final Score: Padres 4, Astros 3

Astros' Record: 79-57, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Mark Melancon (4-2)

Losing Pitcher: Ryne Stanek (1-4)

Garcia rebounds from a rough first inning

With most of the offense the night prior belonging to San Diego, the Astros set off on a better foot on Sunday, getting a leadoff ground-rule double by Jose Altuve to get in position for an RBI single by Alex Bregman to take a 1-0 lead in the top of the first. The Padres matched that and more in the bottom half against Luis Garcia.

Garcia allowed a leadoff single in the bottom of the first, followed by a one-out single and walk to load the bases. A sac fly brought in one run to tie things up, then a two-out two-RBI double put San Diego in front 3-1. He rebounded nicely from that rough first inning, preventing any more damage into the sixth inning, where he would get two outs and allow a single before Dusty Baker moved on to the bullpen. Garcia's final line: 5.2 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 80 P.

Astros drop the series as Padres get walk-off homer

Down two runs in the top of the seventh, the Astros launched back-to-back jacks by Yuli Gurriel and Carlos Correa, both solo homers, to tie the game 3-3. Blake Taylor was Houston's next reliever, and with a double play, he was able to face the minimum in the bottom of the seventh.

Kendall Graveman maintained the tie in the bottom of the eighth, erasing a leadoff single for a scoreless inning. In the top of the ninth, Houston had a chance to go back in front, working back-to-back walks to start the inning, but would come away empty after a double play and strikeout. Ryne Stanek entered to try and force extra innings in the bottom of the ninth but instead would watch Jake Cronenworth blast the walk-off solo homer to win it for the Padres, handing the Astros the series loss.

Up Next: With this road trip complete, the Astros return to pick up a series with the Mariners at 6:10 PM Central on Monday. Yusei Kikuchi (7-7, 4.12 ERA) is the slated starter for Seattle, while Lance McCullers Jr. (10-4, 3.20 ERA) will pitch for Houston.

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Kyle Tucker returns to Houston this weekend. Composite Getty Image.

Two first-place teams, identical records, and a weekend set with serious measuring-stick energy.

The Houston Astros and Chicago Cubs open a three-game series Friday night at Daikin Park, in what could quietly be one of the more telling matchups of the summer. Both teams enter at 48-33, each atop their respective divisions — but trending in slightly different directions.

The Astros have been red-hot, going 7-3 over their last 10 while outscoring opponents by 11 runs. They've done it behind one of the best pitching staffs in baseball, with a collective 3.41 ERA that ranks second in the American League. Houston has also been dominant at home, where they’ve compiled a 30-13 record — a stat that looms large heading into this weekend.

On the other side, the Cubs have held their ground in the NL Central but have shown some recent shakiness. They're 5-5 over their last 10 games and have given up 5.66 runs per game over that stretch. Still, the offense remains dangerous, ranking fifth in on-base percentage across the majors. Kyle Tucker leads the way with a .287 average, 16 homers, and 49 RBIs, while Michael Busch has been hot of late, collecting 12 hits in his last 37 at-bats.

Friday’s pitching matchup features Houston’s Brandon Walter (0-1, 3.80 ERA, 1.10 WHIP) and Chicago’s Cade Horton (3-1, 3.73 ERA, 1.29 WHIP), a promising young arm making one of his biggest starts of the season on the road. Horton will have his hands full with Isaac Paredes, who’s slugged 16 homers on the year, and Mauricio Dubón, who’s found a groove with four home runs over his last 10 games.

It’s the first meeting of the season between these two clubs — and if the trends continue, it may not be the last time they cross paths when it really counts.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -112, Cubs -107; over/under is 8 1/2 runs

Here's a preview of Joe Espada's Game 1 lineup.

The first thing that stands out is rookie Cam Smith is hitting cleanup, followed by Jake Meyers. Victor Caratini is the DH and is hitting sixth. Christian Walker is all the way down at seventh, followed by Yainer Diaz, and Taylor Trammell who is playing left field.

How the mighty have fallen.

Pretty wild to see Walker and Diaz hitting this low in the lineup. However, it's justified, based on performance. Walker is hitting a pathetic .214 and Diaz is slightly better sporting a .238 batting average.

Screenshot via: MLB.com



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