Astros offense stalls in 5-0 defeat to Phillies

Phillies defeat the Astros, 5-0. Photo by Al Bello/Getty Images.

Aaron Nola tossed four-hit ball over seven shutout innings and Nick Castellanos hit a three-run homer to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to their fourth straight win, 5-0 over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night.

The Phillies may have put their summer malaise behind them over the last two weeks, winning the last two games of a series in Kansas City and the first two games of a three-game set against Houston. The Phillies have won eight of 13 games overall and maintained their healthy lead in the NL East -- six games ahead of Atlanta, entering Tuesday -- and are again playing like the team that opened as one of the best teams in baseball into the All-Star break.

Nola (12-6) earned a needed win after going winless in his last seven starts, a span that included five no-decisions and two losses. The right-hander last won a game on July 11, against the Dodgers. Nola struck out two in the first inning, getting his 56th career win at Citizens Bank Park off to a fast start. The 56 wins ties him with former Phillies ace Cole Hamels for most in the 21 seasons at the ballpark.

Nola earned a rousing standing ovation from the crowd of almost 40,000 fans after he finished the seventh. He struck out six and walked one over his 102 pitches.

José Ruiz and Tanner Banks each tossed a scoreless relief inning.

Nola had the run support he needed after the Phillies scored four times off Justin Verlander (3-4) in the third inning.

Trea Turner poked a single to right that scored Austin Hays, who opened with a leadoff double. A night after his RBI single in the 10th inning off Houston closer Josh Hader won the game, Bryce Harper sliced a single to left that set the stage for Castellanos. Castellanos hit a curveball into the left field seats for his 18th homer of the year and a 4-0 lead.

At 41 years, 189 days, Verlander is the oldest active pitcher in the major leagues. While the three-time Cy Young Award winner missed this season with neck stiffness and right shoulder inflammation, he remained a pivotal part of the rotation as Houston chases an AL West crown.

Verlander struck out three, walked one, allowed four runs and gave up seven hits in five innings.

Alec Bohm added an RBI single in the seventh.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Phillies LHP José Alvarado was expected to return this season after he was placed a day earlier on the restricted list for a personal matter. The 29-year-old Alvarado has a 4.30 ERA in 56 appearances this season. He has converted 13 of 16 save opportunities.

UP NEXT

The Astros send RHP Spencer Arrighetti (6-11, 4.94 ERA) to the mound against Phillies RHP Taijuan Walker (3-5, 6.26 ERA). Walker has lost his last eight starts and hasn't won a game since May 22.

houston astros astros

Texas hosts Clemson on Dec. 21. Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images.

No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.

The winner of the Clemson-Texas first-round game on Dec. 21 will play No. 10 Arizona State in the Jan. 1 Peach Bowl in Atlanta in the CFP quarterfinals.

For Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik, who is from Austin, Texas, the game will be a homecoming.

“We recruited him hard," Texas coach Steve Sarkisian said Sunday, calling Klubnik “a winner. He will do whatever it takes to put his team in position to be successful.”

Added Sarkisian: “When he made the decision to go to Clemson, honestly I wasn’t surprised. Both his parents went to (Texas) A&M.”

Klubnik applauded the announcement of the game at Texas for Clemson's seventh CFP appearance.

“For him to be going to his first playoff in Austin, Texas, where he grew up, you can’t make that up,” Clemson coach Dabo Swinney said. “Pretty cool opportunity for him and his family to go compete against Texas there in Austin.”

Swinney said his only visit to the Texas stadium was to watch Klubnik play in a high school playoff game.

“We’ve never played Texas or played in that stadium,” Swinney said. “... It’s going to be amazing. It’s one of the best venues in college football.”

The Longhorns (11-2) were seeded No. 5 in the CFP following their 22-19 overtime loss to Georgia on Saturday night in the Southeastern Conference championship game in Atlanta.

Sarkisian said his players were “really excited” to see Texas land the No. 5 seed and have the opportunity to play in the Longhorns' first game against Clemson.

Texas safety Andrew Mukuba is a Clemson transfer. Sarkisian said players already were calling the matchup the “Mukuba Bowl.”

Swinney said: “I love Mukuba. I just love his spirit and love his heart. He was a really neat kid.

“I certainly wish he had been able to finish here. He did everything that was asked of him at Clemson. Made a bunch of big plays.”

Clemson (10-3) beat SMU 34-31 in the Atlantic Coast Conference championship game Saturday night to land an automatic CFP berth. The Tigers are ranked No. 16 in the CFP but were given the 12th and lowest seed. As the fifth-highest ranked league champion, the Tigers do not get a bye and instead must visit Texas.

Arizona State (11-2) earned a bye by rolling over Iowa State 45-19 in the Big 12 championship game Saturday. The Sun Devils were led by running back Cam Skattebo's 170 rushing yards in their impressive win to cap their first season in the Big 12.

Peach Bowl president Gary Stokan noted the Sun Devils were picked to finish last in the Big 12.

“You proved them all wrong,” Stokan told Arizona State coach Kenny Dillingham.

Arizona State players celebrated the announcement of their No. 4 seed.

Dillingham said he hopes the conference championship and berth in the CFP helps him recruit and continue to build the program.

“Hopefully this stage will help get our branding out there, and show people that we can be one of the newer brands in college football," Dillingham said. "Every 10-15 years a new brand shows up, and a new brand becomes a national brand.”No. 4 Texas will be competing for a return trip to Atlanta when it plays at home against No. 13 Clemson in the first round of the College Football Playoff.