Tuesday night’s ballgame for the Houston Astros (48-26) saw some of the power come back to the lineup, but it wasn’t nearly enough as the Cincinnati Reds (33-38) were able to take the series with a 4-3 win.
How It Happened:
Jesse Winker started off the ballgame for the Reds the right way with a leadoff solo shot out to left field to put them on the board. Joey Votto followed that up with a ground-rule double. Later in the inning, Derek Dietrich blew it wide open with his 18th home run of the season, making it a 3-0 ballgame before the first inning even came to an end.
The Astros did get on the board though with Yordan Alvarez hitting an RBI double to right field, but Kyle Farmer responded in the bottom of the seventh with a solo shot of his own out to left field, making it a 4-1 ballgame.
After a leadoff walk in the top of the eighth, Alex Bregman drilled one out to left-center field for his 20th home run of the season to make it a one-run deficit. The Astros tried to keep it going, but Rasiel Iglesias came on in relief of Amir Garrett and struck out the next two batters to stomp out the rally for a second straight evening at the Great American Ballpark.
Big Number: 1
While the number one doesn’t seem like that crucial of a number at first glance, the importance of it comes once you add the number eight to it. The Astros offense was able to get ducks on the pond, but much like on Monday night, they just couldn’t cash in going 1-for-8 with runners in scoring position. That’s not how you win ballgames
Player of the Game: Derek Dietrich
The Reds second baseman may have only had one hit, but he certainly made it count with the two-run blast that quickly put the Astros behind the eight-ball in the first inning.
Next Up: Wednesday vs Reds; First Pitch at 11:35 am
-Clint Domingue