With five relievers combining to cover the final 14 outs of a 7-6, walk-off victory over the visiting Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday, the Houston Astros secured a series victory and set the table for a potential three-game sweep in a matchup of division leaders.
The odds are good that the Houston bullpen will play a crucial role in Sunday’s series finale. Six relievers have combined to allow two runs on six hits and three walks with 12 strikeouts over 7 1/3 innings in the series. Right-handers Tayler Scott and Bryan Abreu have worked both victories, leaving Astros manager Joe Espada with flexibility to use others should the need arise on Sunday.
“Our bullpen has been terrific,” Espada said. “They have been so good. We could not be in this position without those guys.”
Rookie right-hander Spencer Arrighetti (4-8, 5.65 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Astros on Sunday. He is winless over his past four starts, going 0-2 with a 5.57 ERA, including an appearance against the Oakland Athletics on Monday when he allowed four runs on seven hits and one walk with three strikeouts over six innings in a 4-0 loss.
Arrighetti has just one win over his past nine starts: a scoreless outing against the Colorado Rockies on June 26 when he allowed three hits and recorded a career-high 10 strikeouts over seven innings in a 7-1 game.
Arrighetti will make his first career start against the Dodgers.
Rookie right-hander River Ryan (0-0, 0.00) will make his second career start as the Dodgers attempt to avert the sweep. He made his major league debut against the San Francisco Giants on Monday and allowed one unearned run on four hits and three walks with two strikeouts over 5 1/3 innings but did not factor into the decision of a 3-2 victory.
Ryan did not record a decision and posted a 2.22 ERA over 24 1/3 innings over eight starts across three levels in the minors before his promotion.
The Dodgers placed All-Star first baseman Freddie Freeman on the family emergency list on Saturday after he returned to Los Angeles prior to the series opener to tend to a family manner.
The Dodgers rode Shohei Ohtani (2-for-3, two walks, two runs, two RBIs plus his 32nd home run) and Cavan Biggio (2-for-3 with an RBI double and a homer) to a 5-0 lead that evaporated in the latter innings Saturday. But without Freeman and the injured Mookie Betts and Max Muncy, the Dodgers don’t pack the lineup punch that yielded a nine-game lead in the NL West as recently as June 20.
With the loss on Saturday, the Dodgers’ lead over the San Diego Padres in the National League West shrunk to 5 1/2 games.
“It’s not the lineup that we projected when we started the season,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. “But that’s the thing about baseball, though. It’s a lot more fun when you can write Betts, Freeman, Ohtani, (Will) Smith, Muncy and all of those guys. But it’s also fun to see other guys get opportunities. It’s up to them to take advantage of it.”
–Field Level Media