Houston has won five in a row
Astros get walk-off win over White Sox for fifth straight victory
Jun 18, 2021, 10:06 pm
Houston has won five in a row
Luis Garcia played his part in a pitcher's duel with Carlos Rodon on Friday night.
With an impressive offensive onslaught to overpower Chicago in game one of this series, the Astros entered this second of four games hoping to keep their momentum going. After an impressive pitcher's duel left the game tied late into the game, Houston would edge out the win with a big walk-off in the ninth.
Final Score: Astros 2, White Sox 1
Astros' Record: 41-28, second in the AL West
Winning Pitcher: Ryan Pressly (4-1)
Losing Pitcher: Garrett Crochet (2-3)
Both starting pitchers were very effective, save one inning, in their respective seven innings of work. For Luis Garcia, he had his struggles in the top of the first to start the game, allowing a one-out double and single to put runners on second and third, setting up an RBI single to give Chicago an early 1-0 lead.
He limited the damage to that one run, both in that inning and the rest of his night, as he would follow that with six straight scoreless frames. Once he found his groove in the fourth, he would retire 12 of 13 batters he faced over that span to get through seven one-run innings. His final line: 7.0 IP, 7 H, 1 ER, 2 BB, 8 K, 96 P.
For Houston, it took until one out into the fifth inning to get a hit and their first baserunner against Carlos Rodon. That sparked an opportunity to grab a lead, as they would go on to load the bases still with one out but would get just one run out of it with a two-out RBI walk by Martin Maldonado to tie the game up 1-1.
Ryne Stanek was first out of Houston's bullpen in the top of the eighth, erasing a one-out walk for a scoreless inning to keep things gridlocked. Still in a stalemate in the top of the ninth, the Astros opted to bring in closer Ryan Pressly to try and keep it tied to set up a potential walk-off. He was perfect, striking out Chicago 1-2-3 to send it to the home half.
In the bottom of the ninth, Yuli Gurriel got the winning run on base by hitting a one-out single. That brought Yordan Alvarez to the plate, who got the walk-off hit, roping a ball into the right-field corner deep enough for Gurriel to hustle from first to home to win it for Houston, 2-1.
WHAT DO WINNERS DO?! đŸ¤˜#VoteAlvarez đŸŒŸ https://t.co/W1Z6NotESk pic.twitter.com/pqfsQ6HpFgÂ
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 19, 2021
Up Next: Now having won five in a row, the Astros will try to lock up this series in game three of four on Saturday at 6:15 PM Central. Lance Lynn (7-2, 1.51 ERA) will try to get a win for the White Sox, while Framber Valdez (3-0, 1.42 ERA) will look to continue his 2021 success for Houston.
The Houston Astros will look to even their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians on Tuesday night at Daikin Park, with ace-in-the-making Hunter Brown taking the mound.
The Astros (55-36) dropped the series opener 7-5 on Monday, snapping a stretch that saw them win six of their last eight games. But they'll have their best arm on the hill in Brown, who enters with a 9-3 record, a sparkling 1.82 ERA, and a microscopic 0.90 WHIP. The right-hander has been the definition of dominant this season, striking out 126 batters and giving Houston a clear edge in any matchup he starts.
Cleveland (41-48) will counter with Joey Cantillo, who has impressed in limited action. The lefty owns a 3.41 ERA and will face a Houston lineup that has been red-hot, batting .298 over the last 10 games and piling up runs behind contributions from Victor Caratini, Cam Smith, and Jose Altuve.
Despite Monday’s setback, the Astros are still 32-15 at home and boast a 43-13 record when outhitting their opponent. Cleveland, meanwhile, has lost nine of its last 10 and is hitting just .187 over that span — though Jose Ramirez and Steven Kwan remain threats to change a game with one swing.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jake Meyers has 15 doubles, two triples, three home runs and 21 RBIs for the Astros. Meyers is dealing with a calf issue and was out of the lineup for Game 1 versus the Guardians.
Caratini is 10 for 38 with two doubles and four home runs over the past 10 games.
Tuesday marks the fifth meeting between the two clubs this season, with the series tied 2-2. With Brown on the mound and the offense continuing to click, Houston will try to reclaim control and keep pace atop the American League.
BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -211, Guardians +173; over/under is 7 runs.
Lineup breakdown
Here's an early look at Houston's lineup for Game 2. Spots 1-6 are the same as Game 1, except Cooper Hummel is playing left field, with Altuve in the DH spot. Mauricio Dubon is hitting seventh and playing second base, with Zack Short (SS) hitting eighth, followed by Taylor Trammell batting ninth and playing center field. Jake Meyers is out of the lineup again with a calf issue.
  Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot
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