103rd win sets mark
BALTIMORE — A doubleheader sweep ensured the greatest regular season in Astros history.
Their 5-2 win over the Orioles in the second game of the twin bill was the 103rd of the season, breaking a record set by the 1998 Astros. The Astros head into Sunday’s regular-season finale at 103-58, the best regular-season record of any season in the franchise’s 57-year history.
“It’s a great accomplishment and we should be proud,” manager A.J. Hinch said. “It’s hard to do that and our guys were happy. We did want to be in the record books, and the most wins in franchise history is a big deal to this team.”
They hit five home runs across Saturday’s 18 innings. Myles
Straw struck his first major league home run to open game two. Brian McCann and Jake
Marisnick added long balls to pad the score. Marisnick’s tworun shot in the eighth provided the final score.
“It means a lot for everyone in this clubhouse when you talk about a franchise record,” Jose
Altuve said. “It’s crazy to believe that we did back-to-back 100-win (seasons) after a couple years ago we did back-to-back-toback 100 losses. It means a lot and it’s a special day for us.”
Baltimore never led in either game. It scored one run against Astros starter Dallas Keuchel in the nightcap. As planned, Keuchel threw three innings, scattering five hits while allowing a lone earned run. To win the first game, Carlos
Correa’s swings reverted to form.
Hampered for so much of this season by oblique and back injuries, Corea crushed two opposite-field, extra-base hits in a 4-3, game one win, including a go-ahead double in the eighth inning.
In the 36 games preceding this one, Correa mustered four extrabase hits. Saturday was his first game with multiple extra-base hits since May 4.
Starter Justin Verlander struck out 11 across six scoreless innings. He departed with a three-run lead that did not survive an inning.
Joe Smith, battling for one of the precious few spots remaining in the postseason bullpen, allowed the first three men to reach in the seventh.
The sidearming righty specialist permitted a double to Tim
Beckham and walked Renato Nunez — both righthanded hitters — before DJ Stewart smacked a game-tying home run from the left side of the plate.
In the sixth, George Springer and Correa had back-to-back home runs against Orioles starter Dylan Bundy. Bundy’s 41 home runs allowed are the most of any major leaguer. Springer’s was a mammoth two-run drive to the pull side; Correa lofted a 366-foot solo job just over the right field fence.
McCullers makes key relief stint
In the second regular-season relief appearance of Lance McCullers Jr.’s major league career, one manager A.J. Hinch termed “very key” in gauging the righthander’s usefulness in the postseason, he inherited the situation relievers dread.
“I did want him to inherit something,” Hinch said. “That wasn’t necessarily the perfect situation, but we did have a little bit of leverage.”
During the seventh inning of Saturday night’s game against the Orioles, Hinch summoned McCullers with the bases loaded and one out. The Astros hadt a two-run lead, though the outcome mattered little. Of more import was how McCullers’ three-pitch arsenal played.
McCullers required seven pitches to escape the conundrum. Six were curveballs. The other was a 95.9 mph fastball. He struck out Corban Joseph on a steady diet of curveballs, two of which were swung on and missed.
McCullers bounced one breaking ball catcher Brian McCann could not block. The Orioles scored a run because of it, trimming the Astros’ lead to one.
Cedric Mullins’ groundout — on another curveball — ended the inning.
Hinch did not rule out using McCullers for “a batter” in Sunday’s series finale.
“When I stand in front of you guys or I tell A.J. or (pitching coach Brent Strom) that I’m ready, I’m not lying or messing around,” McCullers said. “If I’m going to take that mound in big moments or big spots for this team, I’m not going to go out there with a chance to hurt us. As far as how I feel, I’m serious when I say I’m ready to go.”
Morton enjoys dual celebration
Charlie Morton and his wife, Cindy, had just arrived in the delivery room when the iPhone lit up.
Morton answered the FaceTime from George Springer.
Springer stood inside Rogers Centre’s visiting clubhouse where champagne awaited and a celebration would soon occur. The Astros wanted to include Morton, their veteran righthander. So, while Cindy conversed with doctors about the impending birth of their daughter, Charlie laughed while his teammates unleashed bedlam. Emilia Noelle Morton was born four hours later, her father proudly recalled Saturday. Charlie rejoined the Astros between games of Saturday’s doubleheader and will provide an abbreviated start during Sunday’s regularseason finale.
After spending 10 days in September on the disabled list with shoulder irritation, Morton exited his last start Sept. 23 with right shoulder soreness. Morton said Saturday he felt “tight.” His fastball velocity was nonexistent, down to 92 mph when it normally hovers around 95-96.
“We’ve had a couple images done on my arm and I’ve had several physicians look at it and (say) ‘Your arm looks really good for how old you are,’ ” Morton said. “I think there’s some muscle imbalance going on, some muscle tightness that’s causing some strange symptoms. It’s frustrating, just frustrating, because I didn’t feel great. It was harder to let the ball go.”
Morton has equaled his career high with 29 starts. His 164 innings are the second most he’s thrown in a regular season. The club always planned to give the 34-year-old extra rest as September neared, but his recent arm trouble accelerated the process.