Houston has lost three in a row
Astros drop third straight with extra-inning loss to Twins
Aug 7, 2021, 4:34 pm
Houston's offense couldn't get it done in extra innings on Friday night in the loss to the Twins. Photo by Harry How/Getty Images
Houston's offense couldn't get it done in extra innings on Friday night in the loss to the Twins.
Losers of back-to-back games, the Astros tried to right the ship on Friday night at home against the Twins in the second of this four-game set. After a couple of early home runs had them looking in prime position, the game would ultimately go to extra innings, where Minnesota would complete the comeback.
Final Score (11 innings): Twins 5, Astros 4
Astros' Record: 65-45, first in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Juan Minaya (2-0)
Losing Pitcher: Rafael Montero (5-4)
Jones and McCormick homer Houston to a lead
Oppo taco! đź#ForTheHÂ pic.twitter.com/Rq9u5Zdmoh
â Houston Astros (@astros) August 7, 2021
After a scoreless first inning on both sides, Houston put a runner in scoring position with a two-out double in the bottom of the second, setting up Taylor Jones for a two-run homer to start the scoring and give the Astros a 2-0 advantage. Then, in the bottom of the fourth, Chas McCormick extended the lead by another run with a solo blast, making it 5-0, heading to the fifth.
Greinke cruises early, then gets dinged
After cruising through the first four innings, the Twins were able to get to Zack Greinke in the top of the fifth. A leadoff solo home run cut the lead to two runs, then back-to-back singles followed to set up an RBI groundout later in the inning, making it a one-run game. They kept the pressure on Greinke in the next inning, leading the top of the sixth with a double, then tying the game with a one-out RBI single, knocking him out of winning position. His final line: 6.0 IP, 6 H, 3 ER, 1 BB, 3 K, 1 HR, 82 P.
Astros lose in extras
It was then on the Houston bullpen to give their offense a chance to get back in front. Ryne Stanek was first, tossing a scoreless seventh, followed by a 1-2-3 eighth by Kendall Graveman. Still gridlocked in the ninth, Ryan Pressly returned to the mound from his paternity leave and maintained the stalemate with a scoreless ninth with two strikeouts. After going down in order in the bottom of the ninth, the Astros moved on to Phil Maton in the top of the tenth to try and keep the Twins off the board by erasing the free runner on second. Instead, Minnesota would get their first lead of the game with a single to move the runner to third and a sac fly to break the tie, 4-3.
Houston responded, getting a productive out by Michael Brantley to move Jose Altuve, the free runner, to third to start the bottom of the tenth. Yordan Alvarez re-tied things in the next at-bat with an RBI single, but they would again come up short of a walk-off. Rafael Montero was Houston's next reliever but would allow an RBI single to begin the eleventh, putting the Twins back on top 5-4 before he would finish the frame. Minnesota held on to that lead, finishing off the win in the bottom of the eleventh to hand Houston their third-straight defeat.
Up Next: The third game of this series will get underway at 6:10 PM Central on Saturday. Houston will try to end their losing skid and get back into this series with Luis Garcia (7-6, 3.49 ERA) on the mound, while the Twins will try to secure the series win with Michael Pineda (4-6, 3.89 ERA).
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Left-hander Mitchell Parker threw seven shutout innings, and Luis Garcia Jr. had three singles and two RBIs and the Washington Nationals beat the Houston Astros 6-0 on Sunday.
The Nationals have won three of their past four series after starting the season 2-6.
After allowing two runs over five innings last Monday in his major league debut, a 6-4 win over the L.A. Dodgers, Parker (2-0) was even more effective in his second major league start, allowing three hits, striking out eight and walking none, throwing 57 of his 73 pitches for strikes.
âHe has so much poise," Nationals manager Dave Martinez said. "Heâs ready. He gets the ball, ready to get back on the mound. I watched him today. He threw a ground ball. The play was made and he got right on the mound and was holding his glove up as if, âhey, come on, give me the ball, like Iâm ready to get back on thereâ. It was cool to watch. He understands what he wants to do.â
Parker mixed his 85-87 mph splitter, 81-82 mph curveball and 92 mph four-seam fastball. He struck out Jose Altuve and Jeremy Peña a combined four times. Dylan Floro and Matt Barnes each added a scoreless inning for Washington.
Parker was thrilled to be able to throw the splitter for strikes, something that did not come as easy against the Dodgers.
â100 percent, yeah," Parker said. "We were able to get in there for more swings and misses. They were more competitive pitches. Going to keep working on it, seeing if we can keep it where it is at.â
Astros right-hander Hunter Brown replaced scheduled starter Cristian Javier, who was scratched from Sundayâs series finale with neck discomfort. Javier was placed on the 15-day injured list retroactive to April 14, and right-hander Spencer Arrighetti was called up from Triple-A Sugar Land.
Manager Joe Espada said they have not decided yet on an MRI for Javier.
âNeck discomfort, started a few days ago,â Espada said. âHe tried to work through it but just couldnât happen. This kind of just came out of nowhere. So, we are going to see what happens here.â
Brown allowed three runs and three hits and a walk in the first but then settled down, lasting four innings when his pitch count reached 84.
âEven in the first I felt like made some good pitches," Brown said. "Came to the outing prepared. Kind of did what I wanted to and it just didnât fall our way there.â
GarcĂa Jr.âs two-run single to center field highlighted the three-run first inning for the Nationals.
âWe try to score every inning,' Garcia Jr. said through a translator. "But definitely when we score the first inning it gives you a different kind of sense of confidence throughout the game and it carries on through the games a different feeling.â
Joey Meneses had a bases-loaded two-run single to right field off Shawn Dubin in the fifth to make it 5-0. Nick Senzel hit his first home run of the season in the sixth to close out the scoring.
The Astros' tailspin continues, having lost five of their past six and nine of their past 12.
âIt is not ideal in the situation that we are in but we are in this situation,â Espada said. âAnd we got to fight through this. We have guys in there who are capable of giving us innings and some of them are doing that. We are going back to playing the style of baseball that everyone sees the Astros play. We feel pretty good about the guys that we have in there to get us some good innings."
TRAINERâS ROOM
Astros left-hander Framber Valdez threw again Sunday and has a chance of starting one of the games in Chicago his week. âWe will see how he feels,â Astros manager Joe Espada said. âOnce we see how he feels, we will start talking about the possibilities if he can pitch in Chicago or not.â
Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz said he is about â90 percentâ recovered from the flu that placed him on the 10-day injured list on April 12. Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Ruiz will go on a rehab assignment this week to play a couple of games before returning to the club.
UP NEXT
Houston travels to Chicago to begin a three-game series against the Cubs on Tuesday. Espada confirmed JP France and Justin Verlander will start two of the games, but did not specify the order. Spencer Arrighetti, who was called up for Javier, is an option for the opener.
Washington has a day off before hosting the L.A. Dodgers on Tuesday night. Left-hander Patrick Corbin (0-3, 8.06 ERA) faces the Dodgers for the second consecutive start.