San Diego – shocking defensive game by Jose Alto, a brilliant match by Reyes and the constant absence of clutch strikes from Astros that have put Houston into a deep hole.
Altuve made a stray throw-up that led to the first half of three rounds, and Rays handcuffed Houston for the second day in a row to clinch a 4–2 victory in the MLS League Series 2 win at Petco Park. Tampa now leads the Astros 2-0 in a Best of Seven series.
For the second day in a row, Houston overtook Rice. 11 starters have been stranded. At nine, George Springer and Alex Bregman punched bases loaded against Rice near Nick Anderson. Springer puts in a double play before Bergman flies deep into midfield, ending the game.
With two naysayers and a runner at first, Altuve threw a low-key offense by Ji-Man Choi in the first. Yuli Guriel could have won the baseball, but he failed. So did his attempt to catch her while the burly Choi pressed down on the first baseline.
Next, Manuel Margot took Astros player Lance McCullers Jr. deeply into a dead center field, causing chaos in the half that should have ended earlier. McCullers was pretty impressive otherwise, achieving 11 in seven dominant rounds. Nine-digging hitter Mike Zonino took him deep in seventh, hanging the only gained sprint on his streak.
Altuve made another throwaway in the fourth foul, prompting the club to reconfigure the shift position. Carlos Correa substituted Tuff in the short right field – a three-game throw-in foul.
Against Rays, three runs that look like 30. Starter Charlie Morton and four painkillers collaborate to tame Astros’ attack. They only produced two more hits – double the ground base by Martín Maldonado and the seventh singles house run by Correa.
Morton managed five innings without goals. Astros put on seven key players while on the job. Five have reached the center of scoring. All of them are stranded. Tampa has scored at least three strikes with great defensive plays, the kind of skill that eluded the Astros throughout the match.
