In a struggle that wasn’t decided until the last pitch, the Astros survived multiple Phillies challenges to take Game One of the series in Philadelphia.
Hayden Wesneski continued his pitching excellence. Meanwhile, the Astros offense scored just enough despite a 2-18 performance from the 1-4 hitters, including 0-10 from Jose Altuve and Yordan Alvarez.
Most of the offense came in an explosive second inning, scoring more in that one inning than they did in regulation time in any of the games they just played against Arizona.
The big hit was a Christian Walker three-run homer, scoring Daulton Varsho and Yainer Diaz. Since July 29th, Diaz is hitting .333 with five homers and a wRC+ of 155.
The fourth run scored when Cam Smith scored from first on a Jeremy Pena double. Smith ran through the stop sign thrown by his third-base coach.
Smith was feeling cocky today. In his next at-bat in the fourth inning, he smashed a solo-dinger 418 feet off starter Andrew Painter, who came into the game with a 5.71 ERA.
Meanwhile, Astros starter Hayden Wesneski suffocated the Phillies offense through the first five innings. However, in the sixth inning, the Phillies finally broke through against the right-hander. A double, an RBI single, and a Trea Turner home run got the Phillies within two at 5-3 Astros.
Wesneski came back strong to finish the sixth and finished the game with a quality start, allowing three runs in six innings, with five hits, three Ks, and no walks. He threw a remarkable 61 strikes out of 82 total pitches. Seventeen of his 22 first pitches were strikes.
The Astros got one run back in the seventh thanks to a Varsho homer, his 11th.
But the Phillies weren’t done. Wesneski’s replacement, AJ Blubaugh, discovered the tenacity of the 81-win Phillies offense. Alec Bohm welcomed Blubaugh with a double, and after a hit-by-pitch, Bohm scored on a Brandon Marsh double that put the score at 6-4 with runners on second and third and no outs.
It looked like the Phillies had Blubaugh (and the Astros) on the ropes. And then a miracle happened. J.T. Realmuto smashed a liner into the five-hole. But like a ghost, Jeremy Pena appeared from nowhere, grabbed the liner, and doubled off the runner at second, who was streaking to third. Bennet Sousa came in to finish the inning and stranded the runner at third with a strikeout.
Bryan Abreu held the Phils in the eighth after allowing runners to reach first and second. His strikeout for the third out came in at 98 MPH, the fastest he has thrown all year.
A rested and ready, indefatigable Josh Hader came in to save the game in the ninth. He made his chance for his 24th consecutive save interesting, to say the least. A leadoff single and an Edmundo Sosa double got the Phillies to within a run. But three flyouts gave the Astros the win in the first game of this three-game series
It’s Hunter Brown tomorrow as the Astros await the outcome of the Rangers-Mariners game to see if their lead will extend to three games in the AL West.
Yordan Alvarez has fallen from the lead in home runs and RBI in his quest for the Triple Crown. Since August 3rd, he has been fairly pedestrian, hitting .255, with three homers and a 117 wRC+. Not bad, but the kind of numbers that, if sustained for a whole month, will put you out of Triple Crown contention. Luckily, tonight, the normally weak backside of the Astros lineup provided just enough punch to win a tough game.
The Arizona Diamondback reunion show tonight with Varsho and Walker running it. Great to see.
Wrong game Baba