HOUSTON — The Astros tried something different Monday night. It didn’t work. Alex Freeland drove in seven runs, Kyle Tucker homered in his return to Daikin Park, and the Los Angeles Dodgers made short work of Houston’s opener experiment, rolling to an 8-3 win in the first game of a three-game series.
The Astros had hoped that using Steven Okert as an opener would buy them something early. It did not. Okert retired Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman to start the game, then allowed back-to-back singles and a Tucker RBI single to give Los Angeles a 1-0 lead. A walk loaded the bases before Ryan Weiss came on to strand the threat, but the damage had already been set in motion.
Houston answered in the bottom of the first. Jose Altuve singled home Yordan Alvarez, and a wild pitch by Yoshinobu Yamamoto scored Isaac Paredes to give the Astros a 2-1 lead. It was the high point of their night.
Weiss could not hold it. Freeland hit a solo home run in the second to tie the game, and Will Smith followed with an RBI double to put the Dodgers back in front, 3-2. The third inning was worse. Tucker led off with his fourth home run of the season, and the Dodgers piled on from there—a force out scored another run, and Freeman’s single to center, deflected by right fielder Cam Smith for an error, scored two more to make it 7-2. Weiss allowed seven runs, six earned, on eight hits across 4.1 innings, falling to 0-3 on the season.
Yamamoto was sharp throughout, working six innings and allowing three runs on five hits while striking out eight. He walked one and did not allow a home run. The Astros managed only Zach Cole’s solo shot in the fifth, the first home run of his major league career, as a consolation.
Kai-Wei Teng and Bryan Abreu combined for three scoreless innings of relief, providing some stability after the early carnage, but the game was long out of reach by then.
Houston falls to 14-22. The Astros and Dodgers meet again Tuesday night at Daikin Park. Shohei Ohtani will start for the Dodgers, with Peter Lambert starting for the Astros.
Heading to Daikin Park soon? Check the Astros promotions schedule before your next game.
