Astros bounce back, hold off Tigers
Dominant Cole now unbeaten for 3 straight months
With all due respect to a flawed sitcom character, 2019 is not the summer of George. It belongs, thus far, to Gerrit Cole.
Returning from a two-week absence because of hamstring issues, the Astros righthander won his 11th straight game without a loss Thursday night, striking out 12 with two hits through seven shutout innings in a 6-3 win over the Detroit Tigers at Minute Maid Park.
Cole (15-5) has not lost since May 22, and over the last three months he has had five no-decisions along with the 11 wins, lifting him into legitimate contention alongside teammate Justin Verlander in the American League Cy Young Award race.
He needs one more win to tie Wade Miller in 2002 and Mark
From page C1 Star-caliber reliever who you’ve been relying on late in close games, it’s a blow,” Luhnow said.
Pressly was at the ballpark Thursday, but a team spokesman said the reliever was not available for comment.
Joe Biagini was recalled from Class AAA Round Rock to take his place in the bullpen.
Pressly entered Thursday
striking out 11.62 batters per nine innings and with a 2.50 ERA, numbers that perhaps undersell how valuable he’s been to the Astros’ bullpen. He is often asked to face the most menacing pocket of opposing orders in the eighth inning and has racked up 27 holds, tied for the major league lead, as well as three saves.
He began the season on a 21-inning scoreless streak. He has yielded half of his 14 earned runs since first injuring his right knee in late July.
Team physicians picked up a “small issue” on their most recent images of Pressly’s knee that was not present during his first stint on the injured list.
“I do think it’s a relatively small issue, but it does have to be addressed,” Luhnow said.
Pressly’s knee first became a problem on July 18 when the Angels’ Andrelton Simmons struck a ball that caromed off the pitcher’s right kneecap. Pressly waved off trainers and remained in the game.
Manager A.J. Hinch stayed away from Pressly in the ensuing six days but called upon him on July 26 against the Cardinals to protect a one-run lead in the eighth inning. Pressly clearly appeared to be hobbled before yielding a goahead grand slam to Paul Goldschmidt.
The Astros placed Pressly on the injured list on July 31 and conducted testing on the right knee. Luhnow said Thursday that those images showed no damage or abnormal issues.
Pressly threw six innings after he was activated, striking out 10 and walking three. All four of his earned runs in that span arrived on James McCann’s grand slam for the White Sox on Aug. 14. Luhnow said Pressly complained of persistent discomfort after his most recent outing against the Tigers on Tuesday, leading to further examinations.
While acknowledging the significance of Pressly’s absence leading into September, Hinch said he was glad to have answers to the
pitcher’s recent difficulties.
“We’ve been battling this or something similar to this for a few weeks, sometimes getting the good version of Pressly, sometimes getting the sore version of Pressly,” Hinch said.
“It’s a tough loss, but we’re lucky it’s this week and not next week or the week after, so we at least have a shot at getting him back healthy before the end of the season.”