Offense shows signs of life with 3 HRs
Bregman, Stassi, Marisnick go deep, support Fiers, who allows one run in seven innings
The best offense in baseball has been rather ordinary in August.
It looked more like itself in the eighth inning of the Astros’ 6-1 victorv over the Washington Nationals on Wednesday night at Minute Maid Park.
A three-run homer by Alex Bregman highlighted a four-run frame for the Astros (77-49), who scored more than three runs for the first time in six games. Mike Fiers pitched seven innings of one-run ball to help the American League leaders preserve their four-game lead over the Boston Red Sox.
Fiers outdueled Edwin Jackson, who limited the Astros to only two runs in six innings. They have scored 4.05 runs per game in August, a month in which they have won only eight of 21 games. Bregman, Max Stassi and Jake Marisnick each homered Wednesday.
“It was nice to put a six-spot up today,” Bregman said. “Hopefully, we build off that (Thursday) and keep putting together
some good at-bats.”
Francisco Liriano pitched the ninth inning. Ken Giles wasn’t available because he woke up with a stiff neck. The Astros’ closer said after the game he expects to be available to pitch Thursday.
“I just slept wrong,” Giles said. “Not a big deal.”
Quipped Astros manager A.J. Hinch: “I just want to get him a better pillow.”
Joe Musgrove was rewarded for his impressive recent string of performances out of the bullpen with an opportunity to pitch the eighth of a 2-1 game against a first-place opponent in Washington (75-49). He validated Hinch’s confidence with another scoreless inning in which he struck out two. No-hit counterparts
Wednesday’s pitching matchup was one between two of the 21 active pitchers who have thrown a no-hitter in the major leagues.
Jackson, a 33-year-old journeyman who has made seven starts for the Nationals this season, pitched his no-no for the Arizona Diamondbacks on June 25, 2010 against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field. He walked eight batters in his nine innings and was left in to complete the game despite a pitch count of 149.
Jackson’s manager for his no-hitter was none other than a 36-year-old Hinch, whose tenure with Arizona ended six days later. Fiers joined the nohitter club Aug. 21, 2015 against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Minute Maid Park, late in Hinch’s first season as the Astros’ manager.
Wednesday, in his best start in a month, Fiers leaned on his fastball and allowed only four hits, including three singles, and one walk. He struck out six and needed only 90 pitches to record 21 outs.
“Everything was working,” he said. “Those guys were swinging the bat early and often, so I couldn’t really make a mistake 0-0 just trying to throw a get-me-over strike. Even guys that usually take a lot of pitches were definitely swinging early and trying to get me early. But it worked in my favor (by) making good pitches and getting early outs.”
The only run Fiers allowed scored in the third inning. Andrew Stevenson, a teammate of Bregman’s while at LSU, doubled to right field on an elevated fastball, advanced to third on a single by Howie Kendrick and scored on a sacrifice fly by Wilmer Difo. Accidental triple
As Fiers settled in, the Astros gave him a lead. In the fourth, Jose Altuve tripled on a well-struck but catchable fly ball to deep right-center field that neither the right fielder, Stevenson, or the center fielder, Michael A. Taylor, took charge of. It dropped and accounted for the Astros’ first run when Altuve scored on a sacrifice fly by Josh Reddick.
Marisnick broke the tie in the fifth. In his first at-bat, he didn’t quite get all of a fastball that Taylor caught on the warning track. But when Jackson threw him a curveball in his second at-bat, Marisnick pulverized it. His career-high 15th home run, a no-doubter out to left-center field, put the Astros up 2-1.
Stassi provided the Astros an insurance run in the eighth with a 442foot solo blast onto the train tracks off lefthander Matt Grace. The homer was Stassi’s second since he was recalled from Class AAA Fresno on Aug. 14. Bregman piled on with a three-run shot off Shawn Kelley with two outs in the inning.
“I had no idea,” Stassi said when told the distance his homer traveled. “I know I got it pretty good, though.”