At one point this season, the Houston Astros had a 12-24 record after losing four straight games to the Seattle Mariners and the New York Yankees. Since then, they’ve won seven of their last eight games, including five consecutive victories spanning their series against the Detroit Tigers and the Oakland Athletics.
The Astros earned their fifth-straight win by sweeping the Athletics in their four-game series 8-1. Cristian Javier had a masterful performance from the mound, giving up two hits while striking out eight batters in six innings to earn his third victory this season.
5 in a row for the @Astros! pic.twitter.com/SGlYAyZEsh
— MLB (@MLB) May 17, 2024
Meanwhile, Houston’s six runs in the bottom of the third inning was enough to seal the victory. Yainier Diaz’s double opened up the scoring for the Astros, driving Kyle Tucker, Jeremy Peña, and Jon Singleton across home plate for a 3-0 count. A sharp line double by Jake Meyers brought Diaz home, stretching their lead to 4-0.
Meanwhile, Joey Loperfido’s first career home run gave Houston six runs for the inning. They added two more runs off a sacrifice fly from Peña that scored Tucker and Alex Bregman scoring off a balk.
Bregman and Meyers had two hits each for the Astros, while Diaz had three of their seven RBIs. More importantly, the win improved their record to 19-25, putting them 3.5 games away from second-place Texas Rangers and five away from first-place Seattle Mariners in the American League West.
The Astros can push for more victories as they start a six-game home stand, split into two series against the Milwaukee Brewers and the Los Angeles Angels.
-Lance Fernandez