Houston splits the series

Correa's ninth-inning homer lifts Astros over Angels

Chris Campise
Apr 6, 2021, 5:59 pm
Carlos Correa's first home run of the season was a big one. Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

With their first loss in the books, the Astros returned to Angel Stadium on Tuesday afternoon to try and end their opening road trip with a win to split the two-game set with the Angels and move back into sole possession of first place in the AL West. They had their current ace, Zack Greinke, on the mound to try and get it done.

Greinke did his part, providing seven innings of two-run baseball. It would take a late spark to get the job done for Houston, though, as the game stayed tied for most of the afternoon.

Final Score: Astros 4, Angels 2

Astros' Record: 5-1, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Ryan Pressly (1-0)

Losing Pitcher: Raisel Iglesias (1-1)

Both teams trade two-run innings early

In this game, the Angels would get on the board first. In the bottom of the first inning against Greinke, Shohei Ohtani reached on an infield single, setting up a two-run homer by Mike Trout to make it a 2-0 Los Angeles advantage. The Astros responded quickly, getting back-to-back solo shots by Kyle Tucker and Aledmys Diaz to tie the game in the top of the second.



Both starters settle in as game stays tied

The teams stayed gridlocked 2-2 as both Greinke and Angels starter Dylan Bundy settled in over the next several innings. Bundy would keep Houston off the board through six innings while striking out ten, giving way to the bullpen starting in the seventh. Greinke, meanwhile, was able to complete seven innings, allowing just two hits after the first inning. His final line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 K, 96 P.

Correa's clutch home run seals the deal

Ryan Pressly would take over for Greinke to try and keep the game tied in the bottom of the eighth. He did so, working around a two-out single to send the tied game to the ninth. Houston would finally break the stalemate, with Yordan Alvarez leading off the top of the ninth with a broken-bat single, setting up Carlos Correa's first home run of the season, a two-run shot to give the Astros their first lead of the day, 4-2.


Pressly remained on the mound in the bottom of the ninth for a rare two-inning outing and would earn the win by erasing a one-out single to end the game, splitting the short two-game series. The victory also put the Astros back in sole possession of first place in the AL West.

Up Next: Houston will travel back home for an off-day tomorrow before their home opener Thursday night. They'll get to face the A's for three more, with the opener starting at 7:10 PM Central and featuring Cole Irvin (0-1, 8.31 ERA) on the mound for Oakland and Cristian Javier (0-0, 4.91 ERA) making his second start for the Astros.

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Houston loses in San Francisco

Astros drop back-and-forth middle game to Giants to even series

Houston's offense couldn't keep up with the Giants on Saturday. Photo by Elsa/Getty Images.

With the impressive win in the opener to start the series, the Astros entered Saturday's middle game against the Giants with an opportunity to not just secure the series but surpass San Francisco for the best record in the league. They'd have to wait to take that crown, as the Giants would out-slug the Astros to even the series.

Final Score: Giants 8, Astros 6

Astros' Record: 64-41, first in the AL West

Winning Pitcher: Jay Jackson (2-0)

Losing Pitcher: Blake Taylor (2-3)

Teams trade blows early, Giants chase Greinke out early

The teams traded blows early in this one, with the Giants tagging Zack Greinke with six runs, all on homers. The first was a solo shot in the bottom of the second to start the scoring before hitting one in each inning through the fourth: two-run blasts in the third and fourth, then a go-ahead solo shot in the bottom of the fifth, putting them ahead 6-5 at the time. Greinke would face one more batter, allowing a single to end his lackluster day: 4.0 IP, 8 H, 6 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 4 K, 4 HR, 93 P.

Houston's offense kept things close to try and keep Greinke in a position to win, going up 3-1 in the third on a two-run Aledmys Diaz homer and another coming in on an error. After San Francisco scored four unanswered to make it 5-3, Diaz homered again in the top of the fifth to cut the deficit to one run before Yuli Gurriel would tie it with an RBI double.

Astros stay in it, but Giants even the series by winning the slug-fest

With Greinke exiting with no outs in the fifth, Houston handed the ball to Phil Maton, acquired in the recent Myles Straw trade, to make his debut for his new team. He worked himself into a jam, allowing a single and hitting a batter to load the bases with one out, but was able to get back-to-back strikeouts to strike out the side and strand all three runners, keeping it a one-run game.

That proved pivotal in the top of the sixth, as with two outs, Martin Maldonado would launch a game-tying solo homer, making it 6-6. Blake Taylor took over out of the bullpen in the bottom of the inning but would face just three batters, getting two outs while leaving one on as Dusty Baker moved on to Cristian Javier. Javier would watch the Giants retake the lead, getting back-to-back singles to bring in a run and make it 7-6.

Javier stayed in the game in the bottom of the seventh, allowing a leadoff single but erasing it by striking out the next three batters. Still a 7-6 game in the bottom of the eighth, Yimi Garcia made his Astros debut but did not keep the score there, allowing a leadoff solo homer to make it a two-run game. The 8-6 score would go final as Houston's offense came up empty again in the top of the ninth, setting up a rubber game in the finale.

Up Next: The series finale will get underway at 3:05 PM Central on Sunday in San Francisco. Luis Garcia (7-5, 3.19 ERA) will take the mound for Houston, going opposite Logan Webb (4-3, 3.36 ERA) for the Giants.

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