Astros Win Crucial Three-Game Tilt Against The Mets
Photo courtesy of Karen Warren | Houston Chronicle
The Houston Astros secured a crucial series win over the New York Mets by earning a rollercoaster 10-8 victory on Wednesday afternoon. The slumping Astros entered this interleague series on a four-game losing streak following a loss to the Washington Nationals and a surprising sweep by the scorching-hot Cincinnati Reds. A series win was necessary for the Astros as they continue to try and keep pace with the Texas Rangers, who currently sit five games above Houston for first place in the division. With the Los Angeles Angels pressuring the Astros for second place in the division, a series win was crucial to keep things under control. Things definitely did not go to plan following the conclusion of the series opener.
The Astros looked dead in the water following a disastrous series opener on June 19. Facing off against a Mets squad that had dropped 11 of their previous 14 games, the odds seemed to be in Houston's favor to end their losing streak. The Met offense exploded on starter Hunter Brown, who lasted 5.2 innings and left the team in a 6-0 hole after exiting. In the third inning alone, Brown gave up a home run to New York's designated hitter Daniel Vogelbach, an RBI single by outfielder Starling Marte, and a towering three-run homer by shortstop Francisco Lindor. The rest of the game saw the MLB debut of pitcher Shawn Dubin, who was called up to the active roster from Triple-A before the series opener. The Mets piled five runs off the rookie in the ninth inning, silencing any hope for a comeback. The catalyst of the first game was Mets pitcher Max Scherzer, who quieted the Houston offense with an excellent outing.
Photo courtesy of Bill Kostroun | Associated Press
Scherzer, who had not been his former dominant self in 2023, turned in his best outing of the season. He went 8.0 innings with eight strikeouts and only allowed one earned run on a Yainer Diaz home run. It was Scherzer's longest outing of the season and a bounce-back from his poor previous start against the New York Yankees, where he gave up six earned runs in only 3.1 innings of work. The Houston offense had no answer for Scherzer, mustering only four hits off the starter and only working two walks for the entire game.
The second game was a different story, featuring a pitcher's duel between Cy Young candidate Framber Valdez and the aging veteran Justin Verlander. In Verlander's return to his former club, the Astro offense woke up and tagged him for eight hits in his 7.0 innings of work. The offense for Houston started in the third inning, as rookie Corey Julks led off the frame with a double ripped down the right-field line. He would later score after Jose Altuve hit a sacrifice fly. Houston padded their lead the next at-bat, as Alex Bregman took his former teammate deep over the left-field wall to put the Astros up 3-0 in the third. Later in the seventh inning, Jose Altuve hit an RBI single to score Julks, giving him his second RBI and the Astros a 4-0 lead. The Astros had a chance to add more insurance runs with the bases loaded in the eighth inning but could not after Jake Meyers grounded out to second base.
Despite the emergence of the Houston offense, the catalyst of the game was Framber Valdez. Valdez took a no-hitter into the sixth inning, striking out eight batters before Mark Canha hit a single in the sixth inning to end Valdez' no-hitter bid. Besides Canha’s single and a walk by Lindor, the Mets couldn't generate any other baserunners off Valdez. His shutout would later end in the eighth inning after a sacrifice fly by Mark Canha and an RBI single by Eduardo Escobar that would make the score 4-2 at the end of the frame. Valdez would exit the game with a dominant 8.0 innings of work, four hits, two earned runs, and nine strikeouts.
Photo courtesy of Troy Taormina | USA Today Sports
Closer Ryan Pressly entered the game in the ninth, and walked Pete Alonso with two outs, bringing up the tying run to the plate in Tommy Pham. Pressly make quick work of Pham, striking him out swinging on seven pitches and tying up the series at one game apiece.
The rubber match of the series was a street fight on offense. Both starters Tylor Megill for the Mets and Cristian Javier lasted only 2.1 innings and each gave up four earned runs. The Astros opened up the scoring early in the first inning after Mauricio Dubón scored on a wild pitch and took a 2-0 lead after Alex Bregman hit an RBI single to score Kyle Tucker.
In the second inning, Javier loaded the bases for the second consecutive inning and was unable to get out of the jam, as Starling Marte’s double and a Lindor sacrifice fly scored three runs to give the Mets the lead. Javier was taken out in the third inning after completely lacking control of his pitches, as he walked five batters in his 2.1 innings of work. Both teams traded blows in the third inning with a Daniel Vogelbach RBI double for New York, and a Corey Julks two-RBI single and Chas McCormick two-run homer. Houston carried a 6-4 lead into the fourth inning until Vogelbach hit a two-RBI single off of Phil Maton that would eventually tie the game.
Vogelbach, who had been under lots of scrutiny by Mets fans for his poor performances played an excellent game, going 3-5 with 3 RBIs on the day.
Photo courtesy of Charles Wenzelberg | New York Post
The Astros began to pull away in the fourth inning with Bregman’s second RBI single of the day, and Yainer Diaz’s second homer of the series that brought the score to 9-6. The Mets would eventually inch closer after Pete Alonso hit his 23rd home-run, a two-run shot of Rafael Montero that brought the score to 9-8 in the sixth inning, and gave the National League leader in home runs a healthy lead above Jorge Soler.
Houston would gain more insurance following a Maldonado sacrifice bunt that scored Corey Julks to make the score to 10-8 in the seventh inning. The Mets would not have another baserunner in the final two innings after Bryan Abreu and Ryan Pressly retired the Mets in order to earn the series win following the 10-8 victory.
Houston’s bullpen depth was tested in the rubber match, and they responded very well. After Javier’s exit in the third, the bullpen only gave up four earned runs in 6.2 innings of work, striking out 13 batters in that span. Montero, Hector Neris, and Bryan Abreu each recorded a hold, and Ryan Pressly got his 14th save on the year. While Javier had a poor start, fans should be optimistic about the quality of the Houston bullpen, and they certainly seem to be battle-tested and ready for October baseball.
Houston will begin their next road trip to the west coast with a series against the Los Angeles Dodgers, then the St. Louis Cardinals and the Texas Rangers before their next homestand against the Colorado Rockies. The team will try to build off the momentum from this series victory and gain ground on Texas for first place in the division before the All-Star break.
