The Astros host the Rockies twice to close their season-series against Colorado.
The Astros host the Rockies twice starting tonight at 7:10 PM CT.
The two clubs met earlier this season, with Houston taking both games from the Rockies in Alfredo Harp Helú Stadium, in Mexico City, MX on April 27 and April 28. In the finale, the Astros took an 8-2 victory. The offense backed up a solid Framber Valdez (1-0, 2.60) start. He allowed two runs on five hits, walking zero and striking out six. Kyle Tucker (7), Jose Altuve (7) and Jeremy Peña (3) went deep in the win.
The first couple of innings, command wasn’t there, but he settled in. He threw some really good changeups and he gave us five innings. That’s exactly what we wanted out of him. — Joe Espada, on Valdez
The Astros own a 104-85 record when playing the Rockies, a .550 winning percentage that ranks as their fifth-best record against anyone.
GameTimes and Starting Pitchers
Tuesday, 7:10 PM CT: Austin Gomber (1-4, 4.36) vs. Hunter Brown (4-5, 4.72)
Wednesday, 1:10 PM CT: Ryan Feltner (1-6, 6.02) vs. Spencer Arrighetti (3-6, 6.36)
The Astros just completed a three-game sweep of the Baltimore Orioles, finishing up with an 8-1 victory on Sunday afternoon. Jose Altuve (12) went deep, collecting a pair of hits, while Alex Bregman went four-for-four, Yainer Diaz went three-for-three, and Jeremy Peña was three-for-five. Framber Valdez (6-5, 3.68) got the win by lasting seven innings and giving up only one run on six hits and two walks. He struck out seven and got 69-of-104 pitches over the plate. Bryan King and Luis Contreras both made their major league debut for Houston with a scoreless inning each.
I’m very proud of the effort and the preparation of the guys, and we’ve got to keep that rolling. — Bregman
The Rockies just took one-of-three at Coors Field versus the Washington Nationals. In their only win, on Saturday, Ryan McMahon drove in the walk-off game-winning run with a bases-loaded pitch-clock violation, called on Nats closer Kyle Finnegan.
He’s just slow, that’s who he is. He’s a closer. It burned him today, but typically it hasn’t burned him. — Nats manager Dave Martinez
Standings
Houston Astros: 38-40, .487, second in the AL West, six games behind the Seattle Mariners. Tied with the Tampa Bay Rays for eighth in the American League. Tied for 15th in MLB with the Rays and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Last 10: LWLWLWWWWW. On pace for 79-83, FanGraphs projected at 84-78 and a 43.3 percent chance at the postseason.
Colorado Rockies: 27-51, .346, fifth in the NL West, 20.5 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers. Last in the National League, 29th in MLB. Last 10: LWLLLWLLWL. On pace for 56-106, FanGraphs projected at 60-102, 0.0 percent chance at the postseason.
Heroes and Zeroes (Houston’s five highest and lowest WPA versus Baltimore)
Jake Meyers (28.2)
Ronel Blanco (25.1)
Yainer Díaz (21.1)
Jose Altuve (18.6)
Framber Valdez (18.1)
Shawn Dubin (-1.1)
Cesar Salazar (-1.5)
Jake Bloss (-1.5)
Rafael Montero (-2.9)
Trey Cabbage (-6.0)