Houston is a win away from advancing to ALCS

Springer, Valdez lift Astros to ALDS Game 2 win, lead series 2-0

Astros George Springer and Carlos Correa celebrating
Photo by Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images

George Springer celebrates one of two home runs in ALDS Game 2

After doubling up the A's 10-5 in Game 1 to start the series 1-0, the Astros returned to Dodger Stadium on Tuesday afternoon to try and take a commanding 2-0 lead by staying undefeated in the postseason. Here are the highlights from ALDS Game 2:

Final Score: Astros 5, A's 2.

Series: HOU leads 2-0.

Winning Pitcher: Framber Valdez.

Losing Pitcher: Sean Manaea.

The balls keep flying out of Dodger Stadium

The baseball continued to fly out of Dodger Stadium surprisingly well in ALDS Game 2, as found out by George Springer, who followed a ball off the bat of Khris Davis over the center-field wall in the bottom of the second to give Oakland a 1-0 lead. Luckily for the Astros, they were able to take advantage themselves, as Springer would launch one of his own, a two-run dinger with two outs in the top of the third to give Houston their first lead of the day at 2-1.

Michael Brantley led the top of the fourth off with a double, moved to third on a one-out Kyle Tucker single, then scored on an RBI-groundout by Carlos Correa. That made it a two-run game at 3-2, though Chad Pinder would cut it back to one run with a solo homer in the bottom of the inning.

Springer homers again while Valdez impresses again

In the top of the fifth, Martin Maldonado would knock Sean Manaea out of the game with a one-out solo homer to make it a two-run game again at 4-2. Oakland would bring in Yusmeiro Petit, who Springer would meet with his second home run of the game on the at-bat's first pitch, pushing the lead to 5-2.

Meanwhile, Framber Valdez was again proving himself to be the best starter the Astros have going right now. Besides the two solo home runs, he limited the A's to just three other hits while walking only one batter over seven impressive innings. His final line: 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 1 BB, 4 SO, 2 HR, 103 P.

Houston's in the driver's seat

That left six outs for Houston's bullpen to cover and hold on to the three-run lead. After two perfect innings in Game 1, Enoli Paredes would make it back-to-back days on the mound in relief and retire Oakland 1-2-3 in the bottom of the eighth.

In the bottom of the ninth, still 5-2, Ryan Pressly came in for the chance at another save against the top of Oakland's lineup. After a shaky start to the inning, Pressly would erase a leadoff single, finishing off the win which put the Astros ahead 2-0 in the best-of-five ALDS.

Up Next: ALDS Game 3 will start a bit earlier on Wednesday, with first pitch scheduled for 2:35 PM Central. The Astros will play as the home team, while the A's will switch to batting first as visitors. Neither team has announced their starters for Games 3 or beyond.

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The Astros lead the AL West by four games. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros (81-69, first in the AL West) will face the San Diego Padres (86-65, second in the NL West) on Tuesday night in San Diego. After the Padres took the series opener, both teams will look to continue their push toward the postseason.

Pitching Matchup:

  • Astros: Hunter Brown (11-8, 3.59 ERA, 1.29 WHIP, 168 strikeouts)
  • Padres: Michael King (12-9, 3.06 ERA, 1.21 WHIP, 191 strikeouts)

Brown will aim to keep the Astros in control of the AL West, while King seeks to build on his strong season as the Padres fight for a playoff spot.

Team Outlook: San Diego holds a 41-35 record at home and has thrived when hitting for power, going 38-13 when hitting two or more home runs. They’ll rely on key players like Manny Machado and Fernando Tatis Jr., who has been on a hot streak with four homers in his last 10 games.

Houston, meanwhile, remains dangerous on the road with a 39-37 record. They have been efficient offensively, going 62-9 in games where they score five or more runs. Jose Altuve continues to be a key contributor with 29 doubles and a .302 batting average, while Yainer Diaz has been swinging a hot bat recently.

Recent Form:

  • Padres: 6-4 in their last 10 games, hitting .279 with a 2.70 team ERA and a run differential of +16.
  • Astros: 6-4 in their last 10 games, hitting .291 with a 3.91 ERA, outscoring opponents by 13 runs.

With both teams in good form, Tuesday's game promises to be another competitive matchup.

Betting Line: Padres -115, Astros -104, over/under 7.5 runs.

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*ChatGPT aided with this article.

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