The Houston Astros spent Friday night doing something that has proved strangely difficult this season: beating a team with a losing record.
Houston opened its three-game series against the New York Mets with a 3-1 win at Citi Field, getting 6⅔ strong innings from Hunter Brown and all three of its runs during a sixth-inning rally. The Astros improved to 68-67 and guaranteed themselves at least one more day above .500.
Brown allowed one run on five hits and one walk while striking out 10. Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader took it from there, combining for 2⅓ perfect innings as Houston’s pitchers struck out 14 Mets and walked only one.
Brown Gives the Astros Exactly What They Needed
Brown established himself immediately, striking out four of the first five Mets he faced and retiring the first six in order.
New York finally got to him in the fourth. Francisco Lindor singled to right and scored when Carson Benge doubled to center, giving the Mets a 1-0 lead. Brown prevented further damage by retiring Luis Robert Jr. and Jared Young to strand Benge at third.
The Mets threatened again in the fifth when Marcus Semien singled and Luis Torrens followed with another single to put runners at the corners with one out. Brown escaped by getting A.J. Ewing to ground into a double play.
From there, he was nearly untouchable. Brown retired the side in order in the sixth, striking out Lindor and Benge, then returned for the seventh. He left after Semien’s two-out single with Houston still leading 3-1.
Brown threw 102 pitches, 65 for strikes, and finished with five hits, one earned run, one walk, and 10 strikeouts. His ERA dropped to 3.33. He turns 28 on Saturday.
Three Walks Finally Open the Door
For five innings, the Astros did almost nothing against Christian Scott. Houston had only one hit through five and didn’t advance a runner beyond second base. That changed abruptly in the sixth.
After Jeremy Peña struck out, Scott walked Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes, then walked Jose Altuve to load the bases. Mets manager Carlos Mendoza went to the bullpen for Nate Lavender, but Daulton Varsho greeted him with a two-run single to right that scored Alvarez and Paredes and gave Houston a 2-1 lead.
Christian Walker struck out, but Yainer Diaz followed with a ground-ball single to right, scoring Altuve for a 3-1 advantage.
That was it. The Astros finished with only four hits and didn’t score in any other inning, but they went 2-for-7 with runners in scoring position and turned Scott’s sudden loss of command into all the offense they needed.
Abreu and Hader Slam the Door
Abreu inherited Semien at first with two outs in the seventh and immediately made things interesting with a wild pitch that moved him to second. He then struck out Brett Baty to end the inning. There would be no more drama.
Abreu retired the Mets in order in the eighth, and Hader followed with a perfect ninth. He struck out Bo Bichette, got Benge on a groundout, and froze Robert for the final out.
Abreu retired all four batters he faced and struck out two. Hader struck out two more while earning his 20th save. The Mets finished 0-for-4 with runners in scoring position and stranded four.
More importantly for Houston, a team that entered Friday 24-14 against opponents at or above .500 but 43-53 against everyone else finally took care of one of the teams it is supposed to beat. And after spending much of the season making absolutely no sense, the Astros are now 68-67.
Houston also gained ground on both of its closest pursuers. Texas lost 6-1 to Milwaukee, while Seattle fell 8-1 to Toronto, giving the Astros a two-game lead over the Rangers and a four-game lead over the Mariners.
Houston and New York continue the series Saturday at 3:10 p.m. CT at Citi Field. Left-hander Bennett Sousa will start for the Astros against Mets right-hander Nolan McLean (9-8, 3.21 ERA). The game will air on Space City Home Network.
Heading to Daikin Park soon? Check our complete Astros promotions schedule before your next game.
