Houston loses in lopsided fashion
Padres unload on Astros early to hand Houston back-to-back losses
Aug 22, 2020, 10:51 pm
Photo by Ron Schwane/Getty Images
Astros George Springer
With their eight-game winning streak snapped the night before, the Astros returned to Petco Park on Saturday night looking for a win to even the series and set up a chance to win the series on Sunday. Here is how the middle game against the Padres unfolded:
Final Score: Padres 13, Astros 2.
Record: 15-12, second in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Zach Davies (4-2, 3.03 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Brandon Bielak (3-1, 4.37 ERA).
Padres knock Bielak out early and blow it open
Jose Altuve stayed hot at the plate in the top of the first, hitting a one-out double to start the hitting for the night. He would advance to third after back-to-back walks after him, then scored on a sacrifice fly by Yuli Gurriel to put the Astros out front 1-0. The Padres responded with a hotter start, getting two solo home runs off of Brandon Bielak in the bottom of the inning to get a 2-1 lead. The Padres got after him again in the bottom of the second inning, getting a leadoff solo home run, then later a three-run home run to extend their lead to 6-1.
After the three-run shot, Bielak would throw a changeup that ran inside and hit Fernando Tatis Jr. on the backside, resulting in warnings to both teams. Both managers would take their time getting explanations, and meanwhile, Dusty Baker would make the call to end Bielak's night early and move to Humberto Castellanos. Bielak's short, final line: 1.1 IP, 5 H, 7 R, 7 ER, 1 BB, 2 K, 4 HR. Castellanos would not fare any better once he came into the game, allowing a grand slam, San Diego's fifth in six games, to blow the game open at 11-1.
Niño and Wil and Manny and Hoz and Crone.
Carve another face into Mount Crushmore.#FriarFaithful pic.twitter.com/bjadv1Ij2n
— Slam Diego Padres (@Padres) August 23, 2020
San Diego secures the series win over Houston
Taylor Jones would notch his first major-league home run in the top of the fifth, a solo shot, making it 11-2. Castellanos was able to make it to one out in the fourth before the Astros would move on to their next reliever, Joe Biagini. Biagini was able to get into the seventh inning before the Padres would score again, getting a two-run home run by Trent Grisham, his third of the night, to make it an eleven-run game again at 13-2.
Cy Sneed was Houston's fourth pitcher of the night, coming on for the eighth and striking out the three batters he faced. Houston would obviously not make the miraculous comeback in the top of the ninth, making the 13-2 score final, and securing the series for San Diego.
Up Next: The series finale between the Astros and Padres will get underway at 3:10 PM Central on Sunday. Zack Greinke (1-0, 1.84 ERA) will hope to improve to 2-0 and continue his success in 2020 for Houston, while San Diego's starter is TBD.
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Oswald Peraza hit a two-run single in the ninth inning to help the Los Angeles Angels snap a three-game losing skid by beating the Houston Astros 4-1 on Saturday night.
Peraza entered the game as a defensive replacement in the seventh inning and hit a bases-loaded fly ball to deep right field that eluded the outstretched glove of Cam Smith. It was the fourth straight hit off Astros closer Bryan Abreu (3-4), who had not allowed a run in his previous 12 appearances.
The Angels third run of the ninth inning scored when Mike Trout walked with the bases loaded.
Kyle Hendricks allowed one run while scattering seven hits over six innings. He held the Astros to 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the one hit coming on Jesús Sánchez’s third-inning infield single that scored Jeremy Peña.
Reid Detmers worked around a leadoff walk to keep the Astros scoreless in the seventh, and José Fermin (3-2) retired the side in order in the eighth before Kenley Jansen worked a scoreless ninth to earn his 24th save.
Houston’s Spencer Arrighetti struck out a season-high eight batters over 6 1/3 innings. The only hit he allowed was Zach Neto’s third-inning solo home run.
Yordan Alvarez had two hits for the Astros, who remained three games ahead of Seattle for first place in the AL West.
Key moment
Peraza’s two-run single to deep right field that broke a 1-1 tie in the ninth.
Key Stat
Opponents were 5 for 44 against Abreu in August before he allowed four straight hits in the ninth.
Up next
Astros RHP Hunter Brown (10-6, 2.37 ERA) faces RHP José Soriano (9-9, 3.85) when the series continues Sunday.