After splitting their first two games with the Cleveland Guardians, the Houston Astros closed out their home weekend series on Sunday. The Stros didn’t light up the scoreboard, but still walked away with a 2-1 win to secure the series. The win improved the team’s record to 37-42.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Kai-Wei Teng was Houston’s starting pitcher and nearly allowed a run in the opening frame. Travis Bazzana and Brayan Rocchio hit singles, getting on base with one out. Both advanced and got into scoring position on a wild pitch, but were left stranded when Teng closed out the inning with a pair of strikeouts against Gabriel Arias and Daniel Schneemann.
Yordan Alvarez gave the Astros the early lead with a solo home run at the bottom of the first. The ball was launched 407 feet over the right-center field wall on a 2-2 count with Guardians starting pitcher Slade Cecconi on the mound.
Teng stood strong the next three innings, allowing just one hit to Kyle Manzardo, who singled into center field in the third inning. Teng also punched out two more in that time frame to help Houston keep its lead.
At the bottom of the fourth, Alvarez led off the inning by drawing a walk and advancing to second off a Christian Walker single. Isaac Paredes then hit an RBI single up the middle to give the Astros a 2-0 lead. They had a chance to score another run, but Walker was tagged out at home on Joey Loperfido’s fielder’s choice hit.
Cleveland got on the board in the fifth to cut it to a one-run difference. With one out, Petey Halpin hit a center-field triple and scored when Bazzana hit a sacrifice grounder to Raynel Delgado, who was playing second base for the Stros.
Houston made a pitching change going into the seventh inning, replacing Teng with Steven Okert. Teng allowed just four hits, one run, and struck out four more in six innings of work. In his first inning on the mound, Okert walked Stuart Fairchild, who was pinch-hitting for Steven Kwan. Fairchild stole second base, yet it didn’t matter as Okert struck out Rhys Hoskins and Halpin to send the game to the seventh-inning stretch.
Over the next few innings, the teams went back and forth with pitching changes. The Astros brought in Bryan King in the eighth, and then Josh Hader was the team’s closer. For the Guardians, they had Colin Holderman in the seventh and Hunter Gaddis in the eighth. The only hit recorded among all of the relief pitchers was Paredes hitting a single up the middle against Gaddis.
Hader faced just three batters, striking out two and forcing the other to foul out near first base. That secured a 2-1 win for the Astros, their 37th of the season.
BIG NUMBER: 25
Sunday’s game featured Yordan Alvarez’s 25th home run of the season back in the first inning. The 25 moon balls put Houston’s slugger firming in second place for the most home runs this season. The only player with more is Philly’s designated hitter, Kyle Schwarber.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Yordan Alvarez
Alvarez not only had the first-inning home run, but also scored both of the team’s runs after drawing his first of two walks on the day. The 28-year-old’s contributions helped Houston win 2-1, improving the team’s record to 37-42.
UP NEXT: The Houston Astros will travel to Canada to begin a mid-week series against the Toronto Blue Jays. Game one is Monday, June 22nd, and the first pitch from the Rogers Centre is scheduled for 6:07 PM. The action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette and 104.1 Lake Charles.