After securing the series yesterday amidst a 6-3 victory over Atlanta, the Astros look for their first sweep against an opponent since late July against the Diamondbacks. They came into today with left hander Framber Valdez(12-9, 3.46 ERA, 173 SO) going to the mound. On the other side was Braves lefty Joey Wentz(5-6, 5.56 ERA, 82 SO)
With Seattle beating the Angels again last night, the Astros can’t afford to let a very attainable sweep slip through the webbing of their gloves. From here on out this
is playoff baseball. Defeating the Braves today would be a great momentum builder as they head into a final showdown against the Texas Rangers at Daikin Park starting Monday.
First Pitch: 1:36 EDT (12:36 our time)
Top of the 1st Inning:
The Astros continued their RISP success against the Braves early on. A Yordan Alvarez double and Christian Walker RBI-single gave the Astros the lead 1-0.
Bottom of the 1st Inning:
Matt Olsen then tied the game for Atlanta when he hammered a ball off Framer deep to right field. 1-1 ball game.
Bottom of the 2nd Inning:
Sandy León scored Ha-Seong Kim on a grounder that was bobbled near second base by Mauricio Dubón. 2-1 Atlanta
Top of the 4th Inning:
Jake Meyers grounded a single to center field and then proceeded to steal second base. This set up the RBI conversion by Yainer Diaz, who singled to left field to tie the game 2-2.
Bottom of the 5th Inning:
Framber loaded the bases after walking the first three batters faced. Ozzie Albies then drove in two runs with a line drive single to center field to make it 4-2 Braves. Ha-Seong Kim also singled and made it 5-2. Framber was then pulled for Enyel De Los Santos.
Framber’s final line: 4 IP, 6 H, 4 BB, 2 K’s, 1 HR, 5 ER. This continues a string of disappointing outings that involve Valdez. Since July 28th, the Astros have lost seven of the last eight games started by Valdez. He individually owns a 1-5 record with a 5.95 ERA since August 1st.
Top of the 6th Inning:
Cam Smith then whacked a ball 446 feet to the left center field seats to make it 5-3.
Bottom of the 6th Inning:
Ozzie Albies doubled on a fly ball to left field to score Jurickson Profar and make it 6-3.
Bottom of the 7th Inning:
Sandy León homered off of Craig Kimbrel to score two and make it 8-3.
Top of the 9th Inning:
The game ended when Braves reliever Raisel Iglesias struck out Zach Cole and Victor Caratini, and then got Jeremy Peña to pop out. Final score: 8-3, Braves avoid the sweep.
Looking ahead:
In what is virtually their first playoff series of the 2025 season, the Astros begin their final homestand of the year against the Texas Rangers in a three game set. The Rangers have won their last six straight, which began against the Astros back in Arlington last Sunday. They also are only 2.0 games back of the Astros for first place in the division, as they just lost 5-2 to the Mets in extras.
Jack Leiter(9-8, 3.81 ERA, 130 SO) gets the start for the Rangers, whereas the Astros have yet to announce a starter. May Roberto Clemente day also be the day when the Astros finally begin to cement their claim to yet another Al West crown.
