Houston splits the series with Detroit
Astros fall to Tigers in extras in series finale
Jun 27, 2021, 3:45 pm
Houston splits the series with Detroit
Houston's offense remained cold in Detroit to finish the series on Sunday.
With their winning streak snapped in the loss in the first half of a doubleheader the day before, the Astros tried to move their new one to two games by taking the finale and, therefore, the series victory with a win Sunday. The Tigers would continue to stifle Houston's offense, though, and would get the walk-off win over Houston in extras.
Final Score (10 innings): Tigers 2, Astros 1
Astros' Record: 48-30, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Gregory Soto (4-1)
Losing Pitcher: Blake Taylor (0-2)
There wasn't much going on for either offense as the afternoon rolled on. For Jake Odorizzi, he was able to hold Detroit scoreless over five frames, allowing just a walk in the second, a single in the third, and a single in the fifth, all of which he was able to strand. His final line: 5.0 IP, 2 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 77 P.
He left in line for the win, despite the Astros only giving him one hit of support. It came in the top of the fourth when Tarik Skubal hit the leadoff batter before issuing two walks to load the bases. Carlos Correa brought in the first run of the day; a sac fly to put Houston in front 1-0.
With Odorizzi making it through five, the Astros turned to long-reliever Cristian Javier to try and eat up some innings. He would work in and out of trouble, starting with two walks in the bottom of the sixth, which he erased, then issuing two more in the bottom of the seventh while getting two outs. That prompted Dusty Baker to move on to Brooks Raley to try and get out of the jam, but Raley instead gave up a game-tying RBI single before ending the frame.
Raley remained on the mound to start the bottom of the eighth but would face one batter, issuing a walk, before Baker moved on to Ryne Stanek. Stanek escaped unscathed, allowing a single to his first batter then retiring the next three in a row to strand both runners. Tied 1-1 in the bottom of the ninth, Ryan Pressly came in and forced extra innings, posting a 1-2-3 inning.
Houston played small ball in the top of the tenth, getting a leadoff walk then a sac bunt by Jason Castro to put runners on second and third with one out, but did nothing with it as the next two batters would foul out and a groundout. Blake Taylor was the next reliever for Houston, coming in with a free runner on second trying to extend things another inning. Detroit would get the walk-off win, getting a groundout to move the runner to third, then an RBI bunt to win the game, with the Tigers and Astros splitting the four-game series.
Up Next: With this seven-game road trip complete, the Astros will continue this long stretch of games with three at home starting Monday at 7:10 PM Central with another series against the Orioles. Zack Greinke (8-2, 3.56 ERA) is slated to go up against Thomas Eshelman (0-1, 7.27 ERA) in the opener of the three-game set.
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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