When Yordan Alvarez and Kyle Tucker hit home runs in the same game, good things usually happen for the Houston Astros and they did on Saturday night. Alvarez slammed a two-run dinger and Tucker smoked a pinch-hit home run to right field, leading the Astros past the Los Angeles Angels 5-3.
Alvarez now has 34 home runs this season. He also slammed a home run in the Astros’ Friday night win in Anaheim, Calif. For Tucker, it’s his first home run since rejoining the active roster. These signs, along with a five-inning outing from Justin Verlander, all point toward good things happening down the stretch.
Yordan Alvarez Stays Hot For Houston Astros
With Saturday night’s victory, the Houston Astros are now 80-68 on the season. They remain in first place in the American League West Division. The Astros didn’t get any help from the Texas Rangers, who lost to the second-place Seattle Mariners on a ninth-inning walk-off hit from Randy Arozarena.
But let’s talk about Yordan Alvarez, huh? The trusty slugger looks like he’s rounding into some postseason form. Alvarez took an inside pitch and scorched it over the right-field wall, giving him 34 homers this season. It put Houston up 3-2 at the time and scored Jose Altuve, who singled ahead of Alvarez’s blast. Tucker’s ninth-inning home run now gives him 20 this season. His numbers, of course, would have been higher except for missing three months due to a shin fracture/contusion.
“To have a guy like that on the bench, you’d rather have him on the field, but when you have him on the bench, you can’t wait to throw him out there,” Astros manager Joe Espada said.
This baseball will not be coming back 😳
Yordan Alvarez’s 34th homer of the season was a laser pic.twitter.com/SHXKkSS06K
— MLB (@MLB) September 15, 2024
Verlander (4-6) needed to have a solid outing after his last start. Even though he just went five innings, Verlander was able to hold the Angels’ offense to just two earned runs and four hits, MLB.com reported. He also had nine strikeouts against Los Angeles hitters. It was Verlander’s first win since May.
“It’s start to start at this point, trying to play catchup,” Verlander, a three-time Cy Young Award winner, said after the game. “Unfortunately, before I got hurt, I got on a little bit of a good run there, kind of found my mechanics and then the neck injury, and I kind of lost it. Obviously, I lost a lot of time. I’m trying as quickly as I can to get back to that version where I’m tougher to hit than I am right now.”
The Astros bullpen took over in the sixth inning with Hector Neris, Kaleb Ort, Taylor Scott, and Ryan Pressly taking turns on the mound. Pressly pitched 1 2/3 innings to pick up his fourth save this season, The Associated Press reported. Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader had worked in previous days, so they were not available for Espada to use.
Defense Stood Tall For Astros
Any talk about the Astros’ win on Saturday night must include some kudos for the team’s defense. Center fielder Jake Meyers made an outstanding diving catch on Verlander’s 19th pitch in the first inning. Right fielder Ben Gamel made a running catch as he slammed into the lower right-field wall. Gamel later came out of the game, though.
Meyers also played a role in a key eighth-inning sequence. Pressly gave up a single that Meyers dove for in center but couldn’t make the catch. Nolan Schanuel, who earlier had an RBI hit for the Angels, was thrown out at home by Meyers. Schanuel was trying to score from second base on an RBI single from Logan O’Hoppe that made it 4-3 Astros. Schanuel was tagged out by Astros catcher Victor Caratini. It was a bang-bang play at home, which led Angels manager Ron Washington to challenge the out call.
Upon further review, though, the home-plate umpire upheld his call at home. Angels starter Tyler Anderson (10-13) took the loss for the home team.
Altuve got the Houston Astros on the board in the first inning. Altuve bunted for a single, stole second base, then scored from third base on a wild pitch. Caratini’s RBI single after Alvarez’s homer made it 4-2 Astros. Tucker’s homer wrapped up the Astros’ scoring on Saturday night.
The Astros go for the three-game sweep on Sunday in Anaheim. Ronel Blanco (10-6, 2.99 ERA) rejoins the Astros’ six-man pitching rotation they are using at this time. Blanco goes up against the Angels’ Caden Dana (1-1, 9.00 ERA). Dana only lasted an inning in his second major-league start last Sunday against the Rangers.
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