Astros bats silent in Baltimore, fall 2-0
Every time Justin Verlander is on the mound for the Astros, fans expect a spectacular display of pitching from the 39-year-old pitcher who keeps getting better with age. However, it was not his night in Baltimore as he gave up two runs in the second inning, and the Astros offense could not do anything offensively tonight to help Verlander out.
Justin Verlander came into tonight’s game with a 10-5 career record against Baltimore, and from the very beginning, it looked like that record was going to become 11-5 as he was vintage Verlander from the start. Besides giving up a single to Cedric Mullins, Verlander pitched to Adley Rutschman, and it turned out to be a picture-perfect double play ball by Jeremy Peña and Trey Mancini to give the Astros two quick outs. Verlander promptly ended the inning by flying out Gunnar Henderson. However, Verlander did run into some trouble in the second inning when he gave up back-to-back singles from Ryan Mountcastle and Terrin Vavra, and now the Orioles had a man on first and second with only one out. Verlander got Kyle Stowers out via the ground ball but still had Rougned Odor waiting on deck. Odor took advantage of the situation and singled home both Mountcastle and Vavra to make it 2-0 Orioles.
The pitcher’s duel between Verlander and Bradish continued from the 3rd through the 6th inning as both pitchers kept the bats quiet. The Astros tried to make something happen in the seventh inning, but their bats seemed frozen.
Justin Verlander’s record against Baltimore dropped to 10-6 after tonight’s effort; he went six innings, two runs, no walks, and four strikeouts on 93 pitches. He was replaced by Ryne Stanek in the bottom of the seventh. No matter what the Astros tried at the plate, nothing worked tonight.
Kyle Bradish had the upper hand tonight as he throttled a potent Astros offense leading the Orioles to a 2-0 victory.
News and Notes:
- Per Danielle Lerner of the Houston Chronicle, Jose Altuve said his x-rays on his left elbow were negative after he got hit by a pitch in yesterday’s game in Tampa.
- Per Chandler Rome of the Houston Chronicle, Astros pitching prospect Forrest Whitley was scratched from his start with the Sugarland Space Cowboys Thursday after experiencing right elbow discomfort.
- Through 150 games, the Astros have the best record in franchise history at 99-51 in 2022.
The next game will be tomorrow night against Baltimore at 7:05 PM. The pitching matchup will be Jose Urquidy (13-7, 3.96 ERA) vs. Dean Kremer (7-5, 3.33 ERA)
