Houston Astros Continue to Add to Win Total After 2-1 Win Over Rays
The Houston Astros aren't resting starters or their regulars despite having already clinched the American League top seed. No, manager Dusty Baker is concerned about maintaining the integrity of the game.
And keeping his guys warm.
Perhaps the most impressive performance of the evening was Houston's starter Cristian Javier. The righty tossed 6.0 innings of no-run baseball while striking out seven.
In a 2-1 game, the victor would be the one with the most consistent pitching. The Astros came up clutch in that sense.
Houston's starter and their bullpen did not allow a run until the ninth inning when closer Ryan Pressly gave up one run to make the game interesting. However, he still recorded the save, his 32nd of the season, and all was alright.
Offensively, both of the Astros' runs came in the third inning. Jeremy Peña started the scoring with a single to left field that scored Jake Meyers for the first run of the game.
Following the single, Jose Altuve then scored off of a wild pitch from Rays starter Shane McClanahan to make it 2-0 in the third.
Those two runs would be it for Houston on the evening, but it was enough to pick up their 103rd win.
It would be remiss not to talk about the offense. For much of the stretch Houston's incredible pitching has kept them close by keeping opponents’ run totals low. But the offense has largely been feast or famine.
Regardless, the Astros will face Tampa Bay one more time on Sunday before welcoming the Philadelphia Phillies to town for the final series of the season.
Both the Rays and the Phillies are postseason contenders, the former still searching for their berth, and these two series provide a good late-season test for the Astros.
Corey Kluber (10-9, 4.36 ERA) will take the mound for the Rays while Luis García (14-8, 3.81 ERA) gets the call for Houston on Sunday.
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