ASTROS: DEFENSE RISES IN WIN OVER ANGELS.
McCullers effectively works through trouble, leans on solid defense in low-scoring affair
Sunday afternoons have not treated the Astros kindly. A day known for leisurely cups of coffee and newspaper perusals translated to languid performances for one of baseball’s best teams. When the Astros awoke ahead of their series finale against the Angels, they were 0-6 in six Sunday games during August and September. Houston was outscored 17-38 in those losses and had a 22-23 record in day games this season.
The Astros finally broke their Sunday slump with a defensive-minded 3-1 win over the Angels at Minute Maid Park, securing a season series victory while limiting Los Angeles to four hits behind an excellent outing from starting pitcher Lance McCullers Jr.
McCullers did his part to keep the Angels at bay for the better part of the afternoon, though the Astros refused to widen their 1-0 lead and left the bases loaded twice through the first four innings. Juan Lagares tied the game with a solo home run for the Angels in the fifth inning before Kyle Tucker reclaimed the lead for Houston with a two-run homer.
Yuli Gurriel went 4-for-4 with one RBI, his third fourhit game of the season. Tucker continued his hot streak at the plate and is batting 25-for-59 (.424) in 17 games since he returned from the injured list Aug. 24.
McCullers made do with little run support while picking up his 12th win of the season. He labored through the first couple innings before settling in and finished six innings of one-run ball on 102 pitches with two walks and seven strikeouts. High pitch counts have become the norm for McCullers, but the three hits he allowed Sunday were the fewest since he yielded two hits in seven innings July 16 at Chicago.
“He was awesome,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “He pitched ahead of the count most of the time, and he used his fastball probably more than he had early in the count to get strike one. He threw some outstanding breaking balls for strike three, and he threw some very good changeups, and he had a good tempo going.”
McCullers lowered his season ERA to 3.12 and has compiled at least seven strikeouts in 12 of his last 14 starts. In four starts against the Angels this season, he has a 2.14 ERA over 252⁄3 innings.
“(I was) just being aggressive, not trying to pick too much, especially early,” he said. “I just wanted to get in the zone. I wanted to give our team some length.”
Angels starter Jaime Barria gave up four hits and four walks over four innings but allowed only one run while striking out six Astros.
In the bottom of the first, Barria’s first 18 pitches included 10 balls as he allowed one run before loading the bases with one out. Jose Altuve singled on a first-pitch ground ball deflected by third baseman Jack Mayfield before Alex Bregman flied out and Yordan Alvarez drew a one-out walk. Gurriel singled in Altuve for the first run of the day. Barria walked Tucker to fill the bases, but the Astros failed to capitalize as Carlos Correa popped out and Aledmys Díaz struck out swinging at a 2-2 slider outside the zone.
McCullers also worked around traffic early as he allowed the Angels to put runners in scoring position in each of the first two innings. He allowed the first two batters of the game to reach base via a single and a walk. The runners advanced as Phil Gosselin grounded out on a ground ball to the pitcher, but McCullers escaped with a strikeout and a firstpitch groundout.
McCullers opened the second inning by hitting Brandon Marsh with a pitch. Marsh attempted to steal second base, and Martín Maldonado, who leads American League catchers in runners caught stealing, fired a throw to Altuve. Umpires initially called Marsh out, but the Angels challenged the tag play and got the call overturned. McCullers issued a walk to Mayfield to put two runners on for the second consecutive inning, but Houston’s ground-ball king got out of it by inducing a double play preceded by a strikeout.
The Astros continued to wear down Barria with drawn-out at-bats, and in the fourth inning, it seemed as though the righthander was tiring. After Correa and Díaz each pushed Barria to full counts and fouled off multiple pitches before striking out, Chas McCormick drew a full-count walk, and Maldonado ripped a 2-2 pitch through the left side
for a two-out single. Altuve walked to load the bases, but Bregman flied out on Barria’s 96th pitch to waste another golden opportunity.
With one out in the top of the fifth inning, Lagares crushed a slider for a 404foot solo home run to tie the game. Correa made an outstanding diving play on a line drive to rob David Fletcher of a base hit before McCullers got Shohei Ohtani to ground out.
Jose Quijada relieved Barria in the bottom of the inning and gave up a one-out single to Gurriel before Tucker sent a two-run shot into the home bullpen to put the Astros back on top 3-1.
Although Baker and McCullers had planned on the righthander going seven innings,
a couple of long atbats in the sixth foiled that idea. McCullers needed 22 pitches to retire the side in order, getting Gosselin to ground out on 10 pitches before striking out Jared Walsh and Luis Rengifo.
Despite his earlier-thanintended exit, McCullers lauded his teammates for backing him up with solid play on offense and defense.
“Tucker, just can’t say enough about him and what he’s been to our team this year, and then Maldy behind the plate was fantastic again,” McCullers said. “And then Carlos making probably one of the one of the best plays I’ve seen — and I’ve seen a lot of his great plays. So it’s a great team win to win the series.”
The Astros had another chance to expand their lead in the bottom of the seventh. Following a leadoff single by Bregman, Lagares slipped while tracking down Gurriel’s fly ball in right field, allowing the first baseman to reach on a single with one out. Bregman attempted to score from second base on the play but was thrown out at the plate as Gurriel advanced to second on the throw. Angels reliever Jimmy Herget intentionally walked Tucker and subsequently was pulled from the mound. His replacement, Andrew Wantz, got Correa to line out and strand two runners.
After McCullers exited,
Astros relievers Ryne Stanek, Kendall Graveman and Ryan Pressly worked an inning each to shut the door. Graveman surrendered a walk and a single to put two runners on in the eighth inning, but that was all the Angels got as the Astros defense held its opponent to a single run for the first time in 15 games.
Since the trade deadline, Baker and pitching coach Brent Strom have frequently employed Stanek, Graveman and Pressly in consecutive innings when the Astros have a lead. The manager said Sunday that he prefers that alignment whenever possible. Pressly agreed.
“I think that’s pretty much how you want to draw it up, but everybody in that bullpen can go get big outs, and they’re going to have to be able to do that in the postseason,” Pressly said. “Everybody wants the ball at any given moment. So to have the guys and Stanek and then Graveman and me, it’s an easy call for Strommie and Dusty. So it’s fun when everything clicks and is going in order.”