After having a rough go at it with the Pittsburgh Pirates during the week. the Houston Astros remained home for a weekend series vs the Tampa Bay Rays. Newly acquired left-handed pitcher Yusei Kikuchi got the start for Houston on Friday and got roughed up early but the veteran dialed in after and helped the Astros get the 3-2 win over the Rays to improve to 57-52 on the season
HOW IT HAPPENED:
Yusei Kikuchi’s Astros debut didn’t go as planned at the beginning of the game. Rays leadoff hitter Yandy Diaz doubled into left field then Dylan Carlson went yard over the left-center field wall. However, the early hits didn’t affect Kikuchi as he struck out the next two Tampa batters and forced a flyout by Jonny DeLuca.
Houston got their first hits in the second inning as Yainer Diaz and Jeremy Pena singled into left field but Jon Singleton, Jake Meyers, and Victor Cartini struck out as the Rays remained up by two runs.
Kikuchi dialed in at the top of the third, not allowing a hit, then striking out Carlson and Brandon Lowe. That began a strikeout streak over the next couple of innings. More of the same happened in the fourth as Christopher Morel, Curtis Mead, and DeLuca were all retired to keep the Astros within range of coming back.
Houston tied the game at the bottom of the fourth. Diaz walked to open the frame, then Pena doubled to left to put runners on second and third. Singleton put the first run on the board for the Stros with an RBI single into center field. After the hit, Meyers tied the game at two with a sacrifice fly to the right-field wall.
Kikuchi continued his dominance in the fifth by retiring three more Rays batters and extended the strikeout streak to eight. The eight consecutive K’s tied the Astros’ record that was initially set by Joseph Deshaies back in the 1986 season. The 33-year-old lefty concluded his debut in the sixth, striking out Carlson and forcing Lowe into a fielder’s choice for the first two outs. A couple of walks put runners on first and second and Astros manager Joe Espada made the switch to Tayler Scott to get the final out of the inning and keep the game tied.
Rays starting pitcher Shane Baz concluded his performance at the bottom of the sixth after forcing Pena into a groundout. Baz’s final stats were five K’s, six hits, and two runs allowed in 5.1 innings on the mound. Tampa made the switch to Garrett Cleavinger and only lasted .1 of an inning after allowing a couple of Astros batters on base. Kevin Kelly came in to get the last out of the inning with a flyout by Mauricio Dubon.
After a three-up-three-down seventh inning for the Rays, the Astros took their first lead of the game. Jose Altuve and Alex Bregman grounded out but Yordan Alvarez hit a single, then Diaz hit an RBI double as Alvarez scored on an error by the Rays second baseman.
Josh Hader closed the game for Houston and secured the 3-2 win as Jose Siri hit an infield fly, Jose Caballero got caught stealing after walking, and Kameron Misner flew out into left. The Astros’ record improved to 57-52 with the Friday night win.
BIG NUMBER: 8
It was a memorable night for newly acquired starting pitcher Yusei Kikuchi as he tied the Astros record for most consecutive strikeouts in his debut with eight.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: Yusei Kikuchi
It was a rough start for Yusei Kikuchi in his Astros debut but locked in afterward as struck out eight straight Tampa batters to tie the Houston record. Kikuchi recorded 11 total K’s on the night as the Astros beat Rays 3-2.
UP NEXT: Game two between the Astros and Rays will be on Saturday, August 3rd. The first pitch at Minute Maid Park is scheduled for 6:15 p.m. Astro Launch will begin at 5:45 p.m. The action can be heard on ESPN 103.7 Lafayette 104.1 Lake Charles Southwest Louisiana’s sports station.