REDS DEFEAT ASTROS
Bloop single drives in 2 runs as Reds hold off Astros for a 5-3 win
Sep 2, 2024, 8:48 pm
Justin Verlander couldn't catch a break. Composite Getty Image.
Santiago Espinal’s well-placed bloop single drove in two runs in the fifth inning, and the Cincinnati Reds beat Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros 5-3 on Monday.
Ty France had four hits as Cincinnati stopped Houston’s five-game win streak. Amed Rosario had two hits and drove in a run.
Yainer Diaz had two hits and three RBIs for the Astros in the opener of a three-game interleague series. Verlander (3-5) was charged with five runs and eight hits in 4 2/3 innings.
Houston had a chance in the ninth, but came up empty. With Jason Heyward aboard after a leadoff single, Jose Altuve struck out looking against Emilio Pagán. Justin Wilson then earned his second save when he retired Yordan Alvarez on a liner to center.
Carson Spiers (5-5), the third of five Cincinnati pitchers, worked 2 1/3 innings for the win. He was charged with one run and three hits.
With Cincinnati’s top three starters on the shelf with injuries, manager David Bell has used a creative approach.
“The bullpen through all of this, it’s just unbelievable what they’re doing,” Bell said. “We understand what’s happening, and it means a lot.”
Verlander walked the bases full in the first inning. TJ Friedl hit a sacrifice fly, and France singled in Elly De La Cruz for a 2-0 lead.
“I was all over the place in that first inning,” Verlander said. “The mechanics, not good. The location needed to be better. I made some decent pitches that weren’t called but it’s hard to get pitches when you’re all over the place.”
Diaz responded with a tying two-run single in the third against Julian Aguiar.
Cincinnati went ahead to stay with a two-out rally in the fifth. With runners on second and third, Espinal’s blooper landed in shallow right field. Espinal swiped second and scored on Rosario’s single off Kaleb Ort.
“I felt the last few innings, especially the last couple, were a lot better,” Verlander said. “In the fifth inning, it was a tough pill to swallow.
Cincinnati collected 13 hits, but it went 3 for 11 with runners in scoring position and left 14 runners on base.
The Reds were coming off an extra-innings win on Sunday that salvaged the finale of their four-game set with NL Central-leading Milwaukee.
The Reds had pulled even with the Cardinals for second place in the division after a sweep of St. Louis in mid-August. It’s been rough going from there, with Cincinnati dropping 12 of 18 and sliding back down in the standings.
WORTH NOTING
The Reds recalled outfielder Blake Dunn from Triple-A Louisville and designated first baseman Dominic Smith for assignment.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: INF Alex Bregman missed a fifth straight game with elbow inflammation.
UP NEXT
After a rare day off in the middle of a series, Astros right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (7-11, 4.63 ERA) is the scheduled starter against Reds right-hander Nick Martinez (6-6, 3.78 ERA).
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Looking for an inspiring underdog or a glass slipper lying around in San Antonio? This year's version of the Final Four is not for you.
Fittingly for an NCAA Tournament in which big schools from big conferences took record numbers of spots in the first week, then hogged them all for the Sweet 16, the last week will bring a collection of all four teams seeded No. 1 to the sport's biggest stage to play for the title.
When Florida meets Auburn in an all-Southeastern Conference clash and Duke faces Houston in a meeting between the Atlantic Coast and Big 12 conferences, it will mark only the second time since seeding began in 1979 that all four No. 1s have made it to the final weekend.
The last time it happened, in 2008, one of the teams was Memphis, which hailed from Conference USA.
This time around, there are no mid-majors or small majors. Only the best teams from the best conferences — except the Big Ten, which will hasn't had a team win it all since 2000 — who also have the nation's best players.
Here's a look at the best player on each team (for Auburn, Duke and Florida, they are AP All-Americans ), along with another who might make an impact in San Antonio once the games start Saturday.
Johni Broome and Tahaad Pettiford, Auburn
Broome hit his elbow hard in the second half of the Tigers' 70-64 win over Michigan State. He left the court, but then came back, saying team doctors told him there was nothing wrong. He averages 18 points and nearly 11 rebounds and had 20-10 games in both wins this week. Clearly, his health will be a storyline.
If NBA scouts only look at backup guard Pettiford's tournament, where he has averaged 17.2 points and sparked Auburn on a huge run in the Sweet 16 win against Michigan, they'd pick him in the first round. If they look at his overall body of work, they might say he still needs work. Either way, he could be a difference-maker over two games.
Cooper Flagg and Khaman Maluach, Duke
There are times — see the 30-point, seven-rebound, six-assist skills clinic against BYU — when Flagg just looks like he's toying with everyone. There are other times — see Saturday's win over Alabama — when he looks human. Which is more than enough, considering all the talent surrounding him.
Maluach is 7-foot-2 and has a standing reach of 9-8. If any opponent overplays him, they can expect a lob for an alley-oop dunk. He shot 12 for 15 over Sweet 16 weekend, and pretty much all the shots were from 4 feet or closer.
Walter Clayton Jr. and Will Richard, Florida
Clayton made the tying and go-ahead 3s in Florida's ferocious comeback against Texas Tech. He finished with 30 points and his coach, Todd Golden, said, “There’s not another player in America you would rather have right now than Walter Clayton with the ball in his hands in a big-time moment.”
During one two-game stretch in February, Richard had two points in one contest and 21 the next. During another, he scored zero, then 30. Fill in the blanks here, but he could be a big factor for the Gators either way.
Joseph Tugler and L.J. Cryer, Houston
Fittingly for the team with the nation's best defense, a player who only averages 5.5 points could be the most valuable for the Cougars. Tugler is on everyone's all-defense list, and for Houston to have any chance at stopping Flagg, it'll have to figure out ways to use Tugler to do it.
Cryer is Houston's leading scorer at 15.2 points a game. If the Cougars end up as national champs, it will have to be because he played the two best games of his life.