Quick Stats:
· Framber Valdez(HOU): 7.0 IP, 1 Run, 1 Walk, 4 Strikeouts (Win)
· Eduardo Rodriguez(ARI): 6.1 IP, 0 Runs, 3 Walks, 3 Strikeouts (No Decision)
· Brice Mathews(HOU): 1-4, HR, 2 RBIs
· Mauricio Dubon(HOU): 2-3
· Jose Altuve(HOU): 2-4
· Randal Grichuk(ARI): 3-3
· Jake Woodford(ARI): 1.2 IP, 3 Runs, 1 Walk, 1 Strikeout (Loss)
HOU: 10 Hits, 3 Runs, 5 Walks, 6 Strikeouts
ARI: 10 Hits, 1 Run, 1 Walk, 6 Strikeouts
The Game Story:
1st Inning: Cam Smith opens the game by striking out swinging. Jose Altuve pops out to second for the second out—Christian Walker singles to shallow left. Yainer Diaz flies out to center to end the top half of the inning. Ketel Marte flies out to right. Corbin Carroll doubles on a ground ball to center. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. grounds out to short for the second out. Eugenio Suarez grounds out to the pitcher to end the inning.
2nd Inning: Chas McCormick grounds out to third. Brice Matthews flies out to center for the second out. Mauricio Dubon hit a bunt and advanced to second on an error by the third baseman with two outs. Cooper Hummel flies out to right-center field to end the top half of the inning. Josh Naylor strikes out swinging. Randal Grichuk doubles down the line to left. Geraldo Perdomo hits the ball to short, and the runner is thrown out at third for the second out as Perdomo reaches first on a fielder’s choice. Blaze Alexander grounds out softly to the pitcher to end the inning.
3rd Inning: Zack Short strikes out looking. Cam Smith grounds out to third for the second out. Jose Altuve grounds out to third to end the top half of the inning. Jose Herrera grounds out to third. Ketel Marte grounds out to second base for the second out. Corbin Carroll lines out to left to end the inning.
4th Inning: Christian Walker singles to right. Yainer Diaz singles to left, and there are runners on first and second with no outs. Chas McCormick pops out to the second baseman. Brice Matthews grounds out to second base for the second out. Mauricio Dubon draws a walk. Cooper Hummel pops out to second to end the top half of the inning. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. draws a walk. Eugenio Suarez strikes out swinging. Josh Naylor hits into a double play to end the inning.
5th Inning: Zack Short strikes out swinging. Cam Smith draws a walk. Jose Altuve gets a bunt single to put runners on first and second with one out. Christian Walker flies out to right for the second out, and Cam Smith advances to third. Yainer Diaz grounds into a force out at second to end the top half of the inning. Randal Grichuk doubles to center. Geraldo Perdomo gets a bunt single to put runners on first and third, and nobody out. Blaze Alexander grounds out to second, and the run scores as Arizona leads 1-0 with a runner on second and one out. Jose Herrera lines out to left for the second out. Ketel Marte flies out to right to end the inning.
6th Inning: Chas McCormick flies out to left. Brice Matthews draws a walk—Mauricio Dubon then grounds into a double play to end the top half of the inning. Corbin Carroll grounds out to the pitcher. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hits an infield single. Eugenio Suarez strikes out swinging for the second out—Josh Naylor grounds out first to end the inning.
7th Inning: Cooper Hummel grounds out to short. Zack Short gets an infield single. Diamondbacks bring in Kevin Ginkel to relieve Rodriguez. Cam Smith strikes out swinging for the second out. Jose Altuve draws a walk. Christian Walker flies out to left to end the top half of the inning—Randal Grichuk singles to left. Alek Thomas pinch runs for Grichuk—Geraldo Perdomo singles to left to put runners on first and second with no outs. Blaze Alexander lays down a bunt for the first out, and the runners advance to second and third. Jose Herrera grounds to third, and the runners are tagged out at home for the second out, with runners on first and third. Ketel Marte strikes out swinging to end the inning.
8th Inning: Diamondbacks bring in Jake Woodford to relieve Ginkel. Yanier Diaz grounds out to short. Taylor Trammell pinch-hits for Chas McCormick. Trammell draws a walk. Brice Matthews hits a two-run home run to left, and the Astros take the lead 2-1. Mauricio Dubon singles to right. Cooper Hummel hits a squibbler in front of home plate and reaches first on a fielder’s choice as the runner is thrown out at second for the second out. Zack Short comes up to bat. Hummell steals second, then moves to third on a wild throw to second. Zack Short pops out to second to end the top half of the inning. Taylor Trammell stays in the game in center field. Bryan Abreu comes in to relieve Framber Valdez. Corbin Carroll flies out to right. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. grounds out to short for the second out. Eugenio Suarez strikes out swinging to end the inning.
9th Inning: Cam Smith grounds out to third. Jose Altuve gets an infield hit. Christian Walker strikes out swinging for the second out. Yanier Diaz singles to left, putting runners on first and third with two outs. The Diamondbacks bring in Kyle Backhus to relieve Woodford. Astros pinch-hit Victor Caratini for Trammell. The pitch hits Caratini to load the bases with two outs. Shay Whitcomb pinch runs for Caratini. Brice Mathews comes up to bat. Altuve scores on a wild pitch to extend the Astros’ lead 3-1. Mathews strikes out swinging to end the top half of the inning. Shay Whitcomb stays in the game at third. Mauricio Dubon goes to center. Astros bring in Bryan King to relieve Abreu. Josh Naylor singles to center. James McCann pinch-hits for Alek Thomas. McCann singles to second to put runners on first and second and no outs. Jake McCarthy pinch runs for McCann—Geraldo Perdomo singles on a line drive to center to load the bases with no outs. Blaze Alexander strikes out swinging. Jose Herrera grounds into a double play to end the game.
Final Score: Houston Astros-3, Arizona Diamondbacks-1
Astros Player of the Game
Brice Matthews gets the nod here for his two-run home run that put the Astros up 2-1 and helped set the stage for the win.
My Thoughts: We can start calling this the Brice Matthews show in Arizona, as for the second night in a row, he proved to be the Diamondbacks’ kryptonite. Speaking of Matthews, he now has 7 of the 8 Astros RBIs during this series. Framber Valdez pitched well and kept his team in the game, even when down a run, and found ways to get himself out of jams. Bryan King picks up his first save after loading the bases with no outs. The offense remained quiet until Mathews’ blast, but they were drawing walks and putting runners on base. With the win, the Astros improved to 59-42 and remain in first place in the AL West by five games.
Next Up: The Astros and Diamondbacks will finish the three-game series on Wednesday. Starting pitcher for the Astros, as of this writing, is TBD, and the Diamondbacks will send out right-hander Brandon Pfaadt. First pitch is scheduled for 2:40 PM CST.