The Houston Astros are short-handed thanks to the injury bug, and that nearly haunted them on the road Monday night. Playing in their first game since George Springer went down with a sprained thumb, the Astros were shut out heading in to the ninth inning. That was until Marwin Gonzalez stepped up with a two-out, three-run blast in the ninth to give the defending World Series Champions a 3-1 win over the San Francisco Giants. Gonzalez's game-winner also gave Roberto Osuna his first win with Houston in his team debut.
Osuna came on for the eighth inning and needed just five pitches to earn a 1-2-3 inning. It was his first appearance since being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays. He was activated from the restricted list on Sunday after serving an 80-game suspension for the domestic violence case that is still going on. That incident, which involves his now ex-girlfriend, dates back to May 5th, and he is scheduled to appear in court next on September 5th.
Giants closer Will Smith suffered the blown save and his second loss after giving up the three-spot in the ninth, as the Giants dropped back to .500, despite being nine games over .500 at home. It was Smith's second blown save in nine chances, as he walked Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel to set up Gonzalez's game-winner.
Hector Rondon came on for the ninth to record his 12th save in 15 tries, as the game lasted just two hours, 26 minutes at AT&T Park. It was a pitching duel between the starters, as Derek Rodriguez allowed three hits over seven shutout innings and struck out seven without a walk for the Giants. He has been hot as of late, allowing less than three runs in 10 of his 11 major league starts. Charlie Morton retaliated by striking out eight over seven innings. He gave up three hits, including Brandon Crawford's solo home run.
The short, two-game series will wrap up with a matinee matchup on Tuesday.
Osuna came on for the eighth inning and needed just five pitches to earn a 1-2-3 inning. It was his first appearance since being acquired from the Toronto Blue Jays. He was activated from the restricted list on Sunday after serving an 80-game suspension for the domestic violence case that is still going on. That incident, which involves his now ex-girlfriend, dates back to May 5th, and he is scheduled to appear in court next on September 5th.
Giants closer Will Smith suffered the blown save and his second loss after giving up the three-spot in the ninth, as the Giants dropped back to .500, despite being nine games over .500 at home. It was Smith's second blown save in nine chances, as he walked Alex Bregman and Yuli Gurriel to set up Gonzalez's game-winner.
Hector Rondon came on for the ninth to record his 12th save in 15 tries, as the game lasted just two hours, 26 minutes at AT&T Park. It was a pitching duel between the starters, as Derek Rodriguez allowed three hits over seven shutout innings and struck out seven without a walk for the Giants. He has been hot as of late, allowing less than three runs in 10 of his 11 major league starts. Charlie Morton retaliated by striking out eight over seven innings. He gave up three hits, including Brandon Crawford's solo home run.
The short, two-game series will wrap up with a matinee matchup on Tuesday.
