The Houston Astros' recent struggles had them on the brink of dropping out of first place in the AL West on Sunday afternoon, but it was their ace, and finally their bats, who came to the rescue in the series finale. Justin Verlander earned his 200th career win in his third try, as the Astros took back a one-game lead in the division with a 9-4 victory over the Oakland Athletics. Verlander pitched in to the sixth inning and struck out six to earn his 12th win of the season, despite having four runs against him.
The right-hander got plenty of support from his offense, as the Astros hit five home runs as a team to break out of a recent slump. Yuli Gurriel, Evan Gattis, Alex Bregman, Marwin Gonzalez, and Martin Maldonaldo all went deep on the day, helping Houston avoid the sweep after dropping the first two games of the series. Maldonaldo fell a single shy of the cycle on this day, while Gattis' 24th home run in the fourth put his team ahead for good.
Verlander continued his career success against the Athletics, as he has not given up more than four runs in any of his 20 starts against them. He did give up home runs to Khris Davis and Matt Chapman, despite coming in to play leading the majors with an ERA of 1.74 on the road. He allowed seven hits and walked one on the day and has now allowed 25 home runs on the season. Although, he also became the 114th pitcher in MLB history to reach 200 wins.
Four Astros relievers came on to throw 3.2 shutout innings and allowed just one hit on the night to seal the victory. It was just Houston's second win in their past nine games, as they slowed down the red-hot A's who had won 13 of 16 overall. Sean Manaea suffered his ninth loss of the season after giving up six runs in four-plus innings on the afternoon.
The Athletics will stay home on Monday night to host another Texas team in the last-place Rangers. The Astros will continue their tough road trip against another tough division rival in the Seattle Mariners on Monday.
The right-hander got plenty of support from his offense, as the Astros hit five home runs as a team to break out of a recent slump. Yuli Gurriel, Evan Gattis, Alex Bregman, Marwin Gonzalez, and Martin Maldonaldo all went deep on the day, helping Houston avoid the sweep after dropping the first two games of the series. Maldonaldo fell a single shy of the cycle on this day, while Gattis' 24th home run in the fourth put his team ahead for good.
Verlander continued his career success against the Athletics, as he has not given up more than four runs in any of his 20 starts against them. He did give up home runs to Khris Davis and Matt Chapman, despite coming in to play leading the majors with an ERA of 1.74 on the road. He allowed seven hits and walked one on the day and has now allowed 25 home runs on the season. Although, he also became the 114th pitcher in MLB history to reach 200 wins.
Four Astros relievers came on to throw 3.2 shutout innings and allowed just one hit on the night to seal the victory. It was just Houston's second win in their past nine games, as they slowed down the red-hot A's who had won 13 of 16 overall. Sean Manaea suffered his ninth loss of the season after giving up six runs in four-plus innings on the afternoon.
The Athletics will stay home on Monday night to host another Texas team in the last-place Rangers. The Astros will continue their tough road trip against another tough division rival in the Seattle Mariners on Monday.
