Houston Astros manager A.J. Hinch might want to consider giving Jose Altuve more days off.
A night after he was out of the starting lineup for the first time all season
Uchenna Nwosu Jersey Chargers , the 2017 American League MVP homered twice, including the last of three straight by the Astros in the sixth inning, to lift Houston to a 5-1 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday night.
Altuve, who pinch-hit in the ninth inning on Tuesday night, said getting a little break gave him a chance to regroup.
”It felt good. It’s always good to sit down and think about how you feel,” he said. ”And I came back strong today.”
The game was tied in the bottom of the sixth when George Springer’s 15th homer this season made it 2-1. Two pitches later Alex Bregman sent an 87 mph slider from Rays’ starter Nathan Eovaldi (1-3) into the seats in left field for his 11th home run.
But the Astros weren’t done yet, as Altuve put one on the train tracks atop left field for the second time on Wednesday night to push the lead to 4-1. It was the first time the Astros had hit three home runs in a row since May 2, 2008 when Miguel Tejada, Lance Berkman and Carlos Lee did it against the Milwaukee Brewers.
Altuve got a little amped up after seeing the balls by Springer and Bregman leave the yard, and once he got in a hitter’s count he was looking for a ball to drive.
”There was a lot going on in that inning and I got a little excited
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It was a welcome display of power for a team which managed just five singles in a 2-1 loss to the Rays on Tuesday night that snapped Houston’s 12-game winning streak. Wednesday night’s win made the Astros the first team to reach 50 victories this season.
”It was a pretty electrifying crowd after three home runs one after another after another,” manager A.J. Hinch said. ”Obviously, it was a huge inning for us. What energy that got put back into the building and also our team. Pretty impressive.”
Houston starter Charlie Morton (9-1) allowed just two hits and one unearned run in six innings for the win.
Eovaldi, who grew up in suburban Houston, entered the game 1-0 with a 2.52 ERA in four career starts against the Astros. But he allowed seven hits and four runs in six innings for his third straight loss.
”It’s just a matter of time before that offense gets you,” manager Kevin Cash said. ”He was efficient, they made some adjustments, but it was a lot of power and by that third time through, it kind of caught up. It’s just a very talented offense.”
Jake Bauers doubled with two outs in the first inning before Morton walked Wilson Ramos and plunked Joey Wendle to load the bases. But he escaped the jam when left fielder Tony Kemp made a diving catch on a ball hit by Willy Adames to end the inning.
”That’s probably the highlight of the game defensively for us just because a lot of things can happen there,” Hinch said. ”We’re playing a little bit deep
Dolphins Elite Jerseys , it looked like he got a little bit of a late start and then comes in with an acrobatic catch.”
Mallex Smith singled with one out in the fourth and scored when Carlos Gomez grounded out and first baseman Yuli Gurriel badly overthrew first base for an error to make it 1-0.
Altuve tied it up with his first home run of the night with one out in the fourth. It was the first multi-homer game in the regular season since July 24, 2016 for Altuve, who hit a career-best three in Game 1 of the ALDS against Boston last season.
The Astros added a run on an RBI single by Kemp with one out in the seventh.
TRAINER’S ROOM
Astros: Hinch said RHP Joe Smith (right elbow inflammation) was feeling a lot better on Wednesday and is likely to throw off the mound either this weekend or early next week.
Rays: Manager Kevin Cash said INF Daniel Robertson (left hamstring strain) is doing well and should come off the disabled list on Friday.
KIERMAIER’S STRUGGLES
Tampa Bay’s Kevin Kiermaier went 0 for 4 with two strikeouts after going 0 for 5 on Wednesday night in his first game back after missing more than two months following thumb surgery. His slump is a continuation of the struggles he had before the injury and he’s hitting just .135 in 14 games this season.
”Unfortunately, K.K. just got off to a rough start and takes a month or two months off,” Cash said. ”The numbers are going to be ugly for a little while, but I’m very confident he’ll get going.”
UP NEXT
Rays: Tampa Bay is off on Thursday before beginning a three-game series with the New York Yankees on Friday. They have yet to announce their pitching rotation for that series.
Astros: Houston also has a day off on Thursday before hosting Kansas City in the opener of a three-game series on Friday. Left-hander Dallas Keuchel (4-8, 4.15 ERA), who got his first win since May 13 in his last start, will oppose Royals‘ lefty Danny Duffy.
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Time is running out for the St. Louis Blues to make the playoffs.
Only two games remain in the regular season for St. Louis (43-31-6), which is on the outside looking in when it comes to the Western Conference playoff race. The Blues have a chance to move past the Colorado Avalanche for the second wild-card berth
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In other words, the pressure will be squarely on the Blues’ shoulders Friday night when they visit the Chicago Blackhawks at the United Center.
St. Louis trails Colorado by one point for the second wild-card spot with a game in hand after the Avalanche lost at San Jose 4-2 on Thursday. The clubs meet Saturday in Denver with a victory by the Blues over the Avalanche putting them in the playoffs. There could be other scenarios for St. Louis to reach the postseason pending Friday’s result in Chicago.
The Blackhawks (33-37-10) already have been eliminated from playoff contention for the first time in a decade. But it is safe to assume that a pride-filled Chicago roster — not to mention a raucous crowd — is energized at the possibility of crushing the postseason hopes of its longtime division rival.
“It’d be nice to see them miss the playoffs,” Blackhawks right winger Patrick Kane said to the Chicago Sun-Times this week. “So it’d be nice to have a hand in that.”
The animosity was apparent Wednesday night as Chicago stormed back from a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 victory over St. Louis. Defenseman Duncan Keith scored in the final seconds to complete the comeback and weaken the Blues’ playoff chances.
St. Louis goaltender Jake Allen took the blame for the loss. Other Blues players said nerves might have played a role.
“If you’re going to play nervous, then you better play smart,” St. Louis coach Mike Yeo said to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
The team vowed to perform better on the back end of its home-and-home series with Chicago.
“It (stinks), but at the end of the day, we have to stay positive,” Blues center Brayden Schenn said. “Two-game winning streak here to get into the postseason.”
Allen is expected to get another chance in net Friday for St. Louis. The 27-year-old is 27-24-3 with a 2.74 goals-against average and .906 save percentage in 58 games (55 starts) on the season. He is winless in his last four contests.
In 14 career games against Chicago, Allen is 8-5-1 with a 2.53 GAA and .915 save percentage.
The Blackhawks most likely will counter in net with Jean-Francois Berube, who made 31 saves during Wednesday’s victory. Berube is 3-5-1 with a 3.84 GAA and .893 save percentage on the season. He has made three career appearances against the Blues (1-0-1
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The game could mark the final appearance at the United Center for Blackhawks forward Patrick Sharp, whose contract expires at the end of the season. The 36-year-old has avoided specifics when asked about his future plans. He won three Stanley Cup championships with Chicago in 2010, 2013 and 2015, and has scored 249 goals in 747 games with the franchise.
Although Sharp’s future is up in the air, coach Joel Quenneville and general manager Stan Bowman definitely will be back. Team president John McDonough announced Thursday that he planned to retain both despite missing the playoffs.
“We might have to reinvent ourselves a little bit,” McDonough said to The Athletic. “We might have to be a little bit creative. We might have to dial it up a little bit more. But I’m confident this is a group that’s going to do it. I’m certainly disappointed where we are right now.”
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