Missed chances doom Houston to defeat in opener
SAN DIEGO — Yuli Gurriel gave the requisite effort to reach first base, but the fate of Sunday’s first game was sealed. Gurriel touched the bag, then removed his helmet and slammed it into the dirt.
The Astros advanced here with an offensive explosion, but they exited Sunday with a distinct truth: Tampa Bay’s bullpen can muzzle the hottest of lineups.
Tampa has led 29 games after six innings and lost once. Sunday was the Rays’ 60th straight win when leading after eight innings.
Their bullpen is a collection of overpowering arms, one fresh off slaying the Yankees’ so-called “savages in the box.” The Astros’ resurgent bunch met a similar fate, losing Game 1 of the American League Championship Series 2-1 at Petco Park.
The Rays held down Houston’s lineup, limiting it to eight singles and a first-inning solo shot by Jose Altuve. Tampa won every clutch pitch, including the final one in the ninth with the tying run in scoring position.
Starter Blake Snell and four relievers teamed to strand 10 Astros baserunners. Houston went 2 for 8 with runners in scoring position.
The Astros loaded the bases with one out in the eighth, but Gurriel bounced
Diego Castillo’s first pitch for a 4-3 double play, producing another excruciating end to a threat.
Manager Kevin Cash entered Sunday’s game intending to stay away from Castillo, who threw 29 pitches Friday in Tampa’s 2-1 win over the Yankees in Game 5 of the American League Division Series.
But Tampa’s skipper smelled a Game 1 win and pounced. He deployed some of his lesser-known arms before Castillo. All succeeded — a feat that must stoke fear into manager Dusty Baker and the Astros.
John Curtiss got through a stressful sixth. Sidearmer Ryan Thompson, a former Astros farmhand, tossed a perfect seventh. Castillo closed the game after his one-pitch cameo in the
eighth.
After pinch hitter Josh Reddick got a one-out infield single and pinch runner Myles Straw scurried to second on Springer’s fielder’s choice, Altuve struck out, forcing the Astros to rue the chances they wasted in five frames against Snell.
Snell scarcely survived five innings Sunday, throwing 105 pitches. His command was imprecise and his emotions sometimes boiled over, but Houston could not capitalize.
The Astros applied pressure starting with their second batter of the game. Altuve annihilated Snell’s 10th pitch into the left field seats for a solo homer, putting Tampa’s ace in a quick hole. Traffic never stopped thereafter, but Snell never let it ruin his outing.
After Altuve’s home run, seven Astros reached against Snell. None scored.
Their chances were countless, but a blend of bad luck and bad execution befell them.
Springer hit a one-out single in the third. Snell caught him stealing second, erasing the momentum. Altuve immediately dumped a single
into short right field, making Springer’s gaffe feel much worse.
The Astros saw 29 pitches in the first and 28 in the fourth. Both frames ended with runners in scoring position.
In the fourth, Snell walked two and gave up two singles, but somehow escaped without a run.
Alex Bregman began with a single and Carlos Correa coaxed a walk. Kyle Tucker tattooed a line drive to shortstop Willy Adames, who stepped on second base to turn a hard-luck double play and prevent support for Framber Valdez.
Valdez spun six spectacular innings. Four walks inflated his pitch count, but his curveball was menacing. Tampa struck out eight times against him.
Valdez’s mistakes were few but fatal. The Rays pounce on the tiniest errors.
Arozarena ambushed a mislocated two-seamer in the fourth after catcher Martín Maldonado set his glove low and away. Valdez fired the fastball up and out. Arozarena redirected it 413 feet away over the center field wall, tying the game 1-1.
Valdez committed a cardinal sin to start the fifth. Adames worked a five-pitch walk — just the second leadoff man to reach while Valdez worked.
Two groundouts got Adames to third for nine-hole hitter Mike Zunino, who singled in the go-ahead run.