The Houston Astros just cannot find a victory on their home field, and not even their ace, Justin Verlander, can bring it to them. Their struggles at Minute Maid Park continued on Tuesday night, as the Colorado Rockies came to town and handed them a 5-1 loss. Nolan Arenado and Trevor Story both went deep for the Rockies, who are just a game out of first place in the NL West Division, behind the Arizona Diamondbacks.
German Marquez continued to keep the Astros' offense quiet, as he struck out seven over seven innings of one-run baseball. Arenado's home run was his 30th of the season and came in his first career appearance as a designated hitter. He had made 825 career appearances, all at third base, before being the DH, as he took a pitch from Verlander the opposite way. He is now the fourth player in franchise history to hit at least 30 home runs in four consecutive seasons.
The Rockies have now won four in a row and improved to 12-5 against the American League this season. Those 12 victories are the most interleague wins in a season for the Rockies. They had dropped three in a row overall before this latest streak, as they are five games over .500 away from Coors Field.
Marquez's outing gave him his 10th win of the season, and it came with him outdueling the recently struggling Verlander. The former Detroit Tigers right-hander failed to reach 200 career wins for a second straight start, despite retiring 13 of 14 batters at one point on Tuesday. He struck out 11 over six innings with two runs and six hits against him in his eighth loss of the year.
The Astros have now dropped a season-high five in a row overall, and now hold just a one-game lead on the Oakland Athletics, who beat the Seattle Mariners later in the night. This interleague series will continue on with the second game on Wednesday night.
German Marquez continued to keep the Astros' offense quiet, as he struck out seven over seven innings of one-run baseball. Arenado's home run was his 30th of the season and came in his first career appearance as a designated hitter. He had made 825 career appearances, all at third base, before being the DH, as he took a pitch from Verlander the opposite way. He is now the fourth player in franchise history to hit at least 30 home runs in four consecutive seasons.
The Rockies have now won four in a row and improved to 12-5 against the American League this season. Those 12 victories are the most interleague wins in a season for the Rockies. They had dropped three in a row overall before this latest streak, as they are five games over .500 away from Coors Field.
Marquez's outing gave him his 10th win of the season, and it came with him outdueling the recently struggling Verlander. The former Detroit Tigers right-hander failed to reach 200 career wins for a second straight start, despite retiring 13 of 14 batters at one point on Tuesday. He struck out 11 over six innings with two runs and six hits against him in his eighth loss of the year.
The Astros have now dropped a season-high five in a row overall, and now hold just a one-game lead on the Oakland Athletics, who beat the Seattle Mariners later in the night. This interleague series will continue on with the second game on Wednesday night.
