Astros have won seven straight
Valdez deals as Astros bash Rockies to continue winning streak
Aug 19, 2020, 10:50 pm
Photo by Mike Stobe/Getty Images
Astros Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa
With a sweep of the Houston-portion of this four-game series, the Astros brought a six-game winning streak to the thin air of Colorado, trying to extend it to seven. Although they received news that Yordan Alvarez would miss the rest of the season, there was some positive news with George Springer back in the lineup. Here is how Wednesday's game unfolded:
Final Score: Astros 13, Rockies 6.
Record: 14-10, second in the AL West.
Winning pitcher: Framber Valdez (2-2, 1.72 ERA).
Losing pitcher: Ryan Castellani (0-1, 3.77 ERA).
Astros power their way into a lead, Bregman exits with injury
After a quick first inning, Framber Valdez got into an early jam in the bottom of the second. He would commit an error on a come-backer with one out, then allowed back-to-back singles, one scoring the first run of the evening to put Colorado ahead 1-0. He went on to load the bases by hitting the next batter, then got an incredible play on defense by Carlos Correa to get him out of the jam, a diving snag to start an inning-ending double play.
Martin Maldonado would get the run back in the top of the third, hitting a one-out solo home run. In the top of the fourth, Alex Bregman led it off with a double but would sustain a leg injury between home and first base, immediately exiting the game after getting to second.
Houston would get another long ball in the top of the fifth, as Carlos Correa demolished one to left field to lead off the inning, giving the Astros their first lead, 2-1. Kyle Tucker followed with a triple, then came in on Taylor Jones' first hit and RBI, a single to make it 3-1.
Crushing in Colorado. #ForTheH pic.twitter.com/p2byU5Ltd4
— Houston Astros (@astros) August 20, 2020
Houston can't stop scoring
In the top of the sixth, Tucker would hit his second triple in as many at-bats, driving in two more runs to extend Houston's lead to 5-1. Jones would follow and get the same result he had in last plate appearance as well, an RBI-single to make it 6-1.
They wouldn't stop there, continuing to punish Colorado's pitchers in the top of the seventh. They added four more runs on six hits, including an RBI-single by Abraham Toro, an RBI-double by Yuli Gurriel, and two more RBI for Correa on a two-run single, making it a nine-run game at 10-1. George Springer would join the party in the top of the eighth, finally connecting on a solo dinger after long flyouts earlier in the night, pushing Houston's lead to ten runs at 11-1.
Valdez with another impressive night on the mound
Meanwhile, Valdez was able to rebound from the run he allowed in the second, allowing just two hits over the next five innings, putting him well in line for the win. With the large lead and his pitch count still manageable, he would return for the bottom of the eighth but would allow a couple of meaningless unearned runs while getting two outs. Nevertheless, an impressive outing. His final line: 7.2 IP, 7 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 5 K, 0 HR.
Make it seven straight
Joe Biagini made his second appearance of the year, following Valdez to get the final out of the eighth. Kyle Tucker would finish his night strong in the top of the ninth, notching his fourth hit of the night and twentieth for Houston, a two-run home run to make it 13-3. Biagini went back out for the bottom of the ninth, but could not record an out, allowing an RBI-single and loading the bases before Dusty Baker would move on to Cy Sneed. Sneed would get the last three outs, but not before Colorado would grab two more runs on a two-out, two-RBI single, making it 13-6. The win made it seven straight for the Astros.
Up Next: The fourth and final game of this set between the Astros and Rockies will be another afternoon game, with first pitch scheduled for Thursday at 2:10 PM Central. Cristian Javier (2-1, 2.91 ERA) will look to build on the success of the six-inning shutout start his last time out for Houston, while German Marquez (2-3, 2.25 ERA) will be on the mound for Colorado.
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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.