Astros beat Diamondbacks 3-1, take 3-game division lead
Cristian Javier struck out 8 and Josh Hader logged his 250th save as the Astros beat Arizona 3-1, stretching their AL West lead to 3 games over Texas.
Hader's 250th save closes out Arizona
Cristian Javier struck out 8 over 5 innings, allowing 1 earned run on 1 hit with 3 walks, as the Astros beat the Diamondbacks 3-1 on Friday night at Daikin Park. Yainer Diaz went 2-for-3 with a home run and an RBI, and Josh Hader closed it out with a perfect ninth — 1 inning, no hits, no runs, no walks, 3 strikeouts — for his 250th career save. Houston and Arizona play again tonight and Sunday to close out the series.
Diamondbacks3-1It was a sharp turn for Javier, who per Brian McTaggart carried a 5.79 ERA over 23 1/3 innings in August across 4 starts and 1 relief appearance — a stretch in which the Astros went 0-5. Friday's line was his best of that run by a wide margin, and per McTaggart the Astros have now won 3 in a row and 7 of their last 9.
Astros hold the tiebreaker over Texas
The Astros have opened a 3-game lead over the Rangers in the AL West and hold the season tiebreaker, per Brian McTaggart. Texas sits at 70-72, 3.0 games back with an elimination number of 18; Seattle is next at 66-76, 7.0 back with an elimination number of 14. Oakland (56-86, 17.0 back) and the Angels (53-88, 19.5 back) are effectively finished, with elimination numbers of 4 and 2, respectively.
Houston is 4-1 in its last 5 games, riding the current run despite thinner bullpen depth than it had a week ago — the Astros placed left-hander Steven Okert on the 15-day injured list Friday with a right hamstring strain, per Chandler Rome of The Athletic, and recalled left-hander Bryan King from Triple-A Sugar Land to cover, per Brian McTaggart.
Upcoming
Ethan Pecko (1-0, 6.23 ERA) starts for Houston as the Astros host the Diamondbacks tonight, with Arizona countering Brandon Pfaadt (7-2, 3.49 ERA) in the middle game of the set before Sunday's finale. Pecko allowed 2 earned runs on 3 hits over 5 innings with 4 strikeouts in a win at the Mets in his last start; Pfaadt was tagged for 2 earned runs on 5 hits over 6 innings in a loss to the Phillies, striking out just 1.
Houston is favored at home, and the total sits in middling territory rather than pointing toward a shootout — a reasonable read given Pfaadt's stronger season numbers against Pecko's 6.23 ERA, even with Pecko working off a solid outing against the Mets. For the number to hold, the Astros need a lineup that has scored 6, 1, 2, 6 and 3 runs over its last 5 games to keep finding just enough against a pitcher who has otherwise outperformed his opponent this season.