Houston Astros Take Series from Los Angeles Angels Behind a Masterful Urquidy
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The temperature was hot, and José Urquidy continued to dot the zone in his recent stretch of impressive pitching. The Houston Astros starting pitcher worked sevens scoreless frames, allowing just four hits and a walk to his eight strikeouts.
The right-hander entered his Sunday start 7-2 with a 2.67 ERA in his previous 12 starts. Urquidy has solidified a rotation seat for postseason play, likely mixing in with Framber Valdez, Justin Verlander and Lance McCullers Jr.
Brandon Bielak followed Urquidy for the eighth and ninth innings in his first outing since he was recalled for Justin Verlander on Aug. 30. The righty allowed the Angels' only run on two hits and a walk to his two strikeouts.
Houston Astros Third Baseman David Hensley
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On the offensive, Houston clubbed nine runs on 11 hits with José Altuve being a triple short of the cycle. The runs started early in the second inning with a Kyle Tucker two-run home run.
David Hensley followed from the bottom of the order with a two-run double. The San Diego native went 2-for-4 on the afternoon with two runs scored. Altuve doubled home Hensley a batter later to give the Astros an early 5-0 lead.
Altuve tacked on the Astros' sixth and seventh with his 23rd home run of the season in the seventh inning, scoring Mauricio Dubón. And Yordan Álvarez — in his first game since Aug. 27 — drove home Hensley and Chas McCormick in the ninth with a 100.9 mph single.
The Astros return to action at 6:10 p.m. Monday against the Texas Rangers at Minute Maid Park. Hunter Brown is scheduled to make his Major League debut with Martín Maldonado — who was scratched from Sunday's contest with an illness — on the receiving end. The Rangers' probable starter is Martín Pérez.
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