After the way their nine-game road trip went, it’s safe to say that the Houston Astros were excited to be back inside the friendly confines of Minute Maid Park on Monday night. It wasn’t without theatrics though after a ninth-inning rally by the San Francisco Giants got them within two runs. However, they weren’t able to complete the comeback, falling to Houston 6-4.
How It Happened:
The Astros didn’t waste much time getting on the board with Carlos Correa hitting one out to right field in the bottom of the second to get Yuli Gurriel across home plate. Houston followed that up in the bottom of the third with a big four-run inning that was highlighted by a two-run ground-rule double.
Martin Maldonado looked to put the game out of reach in the sixth inning when he drilled one out to the Crawford Boxes to make it a 6-0 lead. However, Austin Slater got the Giants on the board in the top of the eighth.
Things got even more interesting in the ninth with a three-run inning of their own with an RBI double from Donovan Solano and a two-run single from Brandon Crawford made it a 6-4 ballgame. Things got nerve-wracking with runners at the corner after Slater hit a bloop single to right field. Evan Longoria came on to pinch-hit against Ryan Pressly, but the veteran lined out to center to finish the ballgame.
Player of the Game: Lance McCullers
McCullers had one of the best performances in his career, throwing six innings of no-hit baseball. The only hit he allowed in the win was a double from Donovan Solano. It was an outstanding performance from a pitcher that was out for all of last season due to Tommy John.
Next Up: Tuesday vs Giants; First Pitch at 8:10 pm