Decisive factors for Astros in series opener against Phillies
ASTROS-PHILLIES PREVIEW
26 August 2024
The Phillies host the Astros on Monday night. Photo by Logan Riely/Getty Images.
Houston Astros (70-60, first in the AL West) vs. Philadelphia Phillies (76-54, first in the NL East)
Philadelphia; Monday, 6:40 p.m. EDT
PITCHING PROBABLES: Astros: Ronel Blanco (9-6, 3.14 ERA, 1.06 WHIP, 136 strikeouts); Phillies: Zack Wheeler (12-6, 2.73 ERA, 0.98 WHIP, 170 strikeouts)
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK: LINE Phillies -161, Astros +137; over/under is 8 runs
BOTTOM LINE: The Philadelphia Phillies play the Houston Astros after Garrett Stubbs had four hits against the Royals on Sunday.
Philadelphia is 76-54 overall and 42-23 in home games. The Phillies have the third-ranked team batting average in the NL at .259.
Houston has a 70-60 record overall and a 35-31 record on the road. The Astros have the ninth-best team on-base percentage in MLB play at .321.
Monday’s game is the first time these teams meet this season.
2022 World Series rematch
Bregman 3B
Alvarez LF
Diaz C
Peña SS
Singleton DH
Caratini 1B
Gamel RF
Meyers CF
Whitcomb 2B
— Brian McTaggart (@brianmctaggart) August 26, 2024
TOP PERFORMERS: Kyle Schwarber leads the Phillies with 28 home runs while slugging .471. Trea Turner is 14-for-43 with three doubles, a home run and seven RBI over the last 10 games.
Jose Altuve has 22 doubles and 18 home runs for the Astros. Alex Bregman is 13-for-44 with two doubles and six home runs over the past 10 games.
LAST 10 GAMES: Phillies: 6-4, .298 batting average, 3.21 ERA, outscored opponents by 25 runs
Astros: 5-5, .266 batting average, 2.97 ERA, outscored opponents by nine runs
INJURIES: Phillies: Spencer Turnbull: 60-Day IL (back), Luis Ortiz: 60-Day IL (ankle), Dylan Covey: 60-Day IL (shoulder)
Astros: Yordan Alvarez: day-to-day (neck), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (undisclosed), Ryan Pressly: 15-Day IL (back), Kyle Tucker: 60-Day IL (shin), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (forearm), Jose Urquidy: 60-Day IL (forearm), Oliver Ortega: 60-Day IL (elbow), Bennett Sousa: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Penn Murfee: 60-Day IL (elbow), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Lance McCullers Jr.: 60-Day IL (elbow), Kendall Graveman: 60-Day IL (elbow)
Stephen Curry scored 31 points and the Golden State Warriors built a huge lead and held on to beat the Houston Rockets 95-85 on Sunday night in Game 1 of the first-round playoff series.
The seventh-seeded Warriors led by 23 in the third quarter, but second-seeded Houston cut it to 69-60 entering the fourth.
A basket by Amen Thompson with about 5 1/2 minutes remaining got the Rockets within four. Curry hit his fifth 3-pointer of the night a few seconds later to make it 82-75.
The Rockets cut it to four again with about 2 1/2 minutes left on a 3 by Fred VanVleet. This time Moses Moody hit a 3-pointer to start a 7-0 run that made it 91-80 and sent fans streaming for the exits.
Game 2 of the best-of seven series is Wednesday night in Houston.
It was the 100th career playoff coaching victory for Golden State’s Steve Kerr, who moved into a tie with Larry Brown for sixth-most playoff wins.
Curry was 12 of 19 from the field, hitting 5 of 9 3-pointers. Jimmy Butler added 25 points, seven rebounds, six assists and five steals in his playoff debut for the Warriors after joining them in a trade from Miami in February.
The Rockets, who returned to the playoffs for the first time since 2020, got 26 points from Alperen Sengun in his first career postseason game. But VanVleet and Jalen Green struggled, making just 7 of 34 shots.
VanVleet was 2 of 13 from 3-point range on a night Houston made just 6 of 29 3-pointers and was 11 of 20 on free throws.
The Warriors got a spot in the playoffs with a 121-116 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday night in the Play-In Tournament.
They got yet another playoff victory over the Rockets after eliminating them four times from 2015-19.
