ASTROS DEFEAT ROCKIES

Arrighetti fans 10 as Astros run streak to 7 games with win over Rockies

Arrighetti fans 10 as Astros run streak to 7 games with win over Rockies
Arrighetti deals, Astros defeat Rockies, 7-1. Photo by Steph Chambers/Getty Images.

Rookie Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high 10 in seven scoreless innings and Yainer Diaz had three hits to lead the Houston Astros to a 7-1 win over Colorado Wednesday that extend their winning streak to a season-high seven games.

 

The Astros, who opened 7-19, improved to 40-40 and reached .500 for the first time this season.

Arrighetti (4-6) tied a season-low with three hits and didn’t walk a batter for the first time this year in his longest start of the season.

 

Colorado fell to 0-4 against Houston this year and have lost 11 in a row at Minute Maid Park, dating to Aug. 15, 2018. Their only run Wednesday came on a sacrifice fly by Brenton Doyle in the eighth inning as they dropped a third straight game.

The Astros were up by 2 before tacking on four runs in the seventh inning to push the lead to 6-0.

Ryan Feltner (1-7) permitted seven hits and four runs in six-plus innings for his sixth straight loss.

Jose Altuve started Houston’s fourth with a single and stole second base with one out before Feltner hit Yordan Alvarez with a pitch. Altuve swiped third base before Houston took a 1-0 lead when he scored on Diaz’s single to right field.

Arrighetti retired his first 10 batters before Ezequiel Tovar singled with one out in the fourth. Colorado’s next hit came on a double by Nolan Jones with two outs in the fifth, but Arrighetti struck out Jake Cave to leave him stranded.

A two-out RBI single by Altuve made it 2-0 in the fifth.

Tovar doubled with two outs in the sixth, but Arrighetti fanned Ryan McMahon to end the inning.

The Astros started the scoring in the seventh on César Salazar’s sacrifice fly with the bases loaded that extended the lead to 3-0. Altuve hit a soft grounder to Tovar at shortstop and his throw home was high, allowing another run to score.

Alex Bregman then grounded into a forceout, but a throwing error by second baseman Brendan Rodgers sent another run home to extend the lead to 5-0. Alvarez hit a ground-rule double before the Astros made it 6-0 on an RBI single by Diaz.

Jeremy Peña made it 7-1 with an RBI single with no outs in the eighth.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rockies: Place RHP Jake Bird on the 15-day injured list with a right groin strain, retroactive to Sunday.

Astros: OF Kyle Tucker (bruised right shin) took 30 swings off a batting tee Tuesday and will travel with the team on the upcoming road trip as the Astros look for him to continue to increase baseball activity.

UP NEXT Rockies: The team is off Thursday before RHP Dakota Hudson (2-10, 5.63 ERA) opposes RHP Drew Thorpe (1-1, 5.02) in the opener of a three-game series against the Chicago White Sox Friday night.

Astros: Houston is also off Thursday and RHP Ronel Blanco (8-2, 2.34) will face LHP Jose Quintana (3-5, 4.58) in the first of three games against the New York Mets Friday night.

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The Astros need a win in the worst way. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros are looking to stop the bleeding.

After dropping their fifth straight game Monday night, and their 10th in the past 11 at Daikin Park, the American League West leaders turn to right-hander Jason Alexander on Tuesday night to face the Washington Nationals in the second game of the series.

Houston still sits atop the division at 60-47, but the recent slide has begun to test the edges of their depth and momentum. They’ll try to steady things against a Nationals team that’s playing better than its record suggests. Washington has won six of its last 10, including Monday’s 2-1 series-opening victory, and arrives with a bit of confidence behind starter Mike Soroka.

Alexander (1-1, 8.14 ERA) will make his third start of the season for Houston and is still looking for consistency after a bumpy start to his campaign. The Nationals counter with Soroka (3-8, 4.85 ERA), who has quietly put together a string of solid outings while showing improved command. Soroka has struck out 83 and posted a 1.13 WHIP over 78 innings.

Offensively, both teams have had their share of struggles of late. The Astros have hit just .241 over their past 10 games and have been outscored by 13 runs during that stretch. On Monday, they managed just one run for the third straight contest, wasting a 12-strikeout night from Framber Valdez.

Veteran second baseman Jose Altuve remains a key contributor with 17 doubles and 17 home runs, while Christian Walker has been one of Houston’s more reliable bats lately, going 12-for-37 over the past 10 games.

For Washington, Luis Garcia has tallied 22 doubles and 45 RBIs on the year, and Josh Bell has chipped in with two homers in his last 10 outings.

The Astros are still favored to bounce back — listed as -142 favorites by BetMGM — but with the recent home woes and a struggling rotation, nothing seems guaranteed right now in Houston. First pitch is scheduled for 8:10 p.m. ET.

Lineup takeaways

What is Joe Espada doing to try to snap the losing streak? He'll start with Taylor Trammell leading off and playing left field, which has Jose Altuve as the DH and hitting second. Christian Walker will once again hit third, with Cam Smith (RF) back in the cleanup spot after a day off.

Jacob Melton is returns to center field and will hit fifth, followed by catcher Yainer Diaz and Mauricio Dubon (3B).

Espada, looking to shake things up and provide the offense with a spark, goes with Shay Whitcomb over Brice Matthews at second base, and Zack Short (SS) will hit ninth.

 

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