The Houston Astros finally caught glimpses on Saturday night of the vintage Justin Verlander and Kyle Tucker they’ve missed all summer.
On Sunday afternoon, the Astros just need the Ronel Blanco they’ve grown accustomed to seeing all season.
Blanco will take the mound as the Astros look to complete a sweep of the Los Angeles Angels when the American League West rivals meet in the finale of a three-game series in Anaheim, Calif.
Blanco (10-6, 2.99 ERA) is slated to oppose fellow right-hander Caden Dana (1-1, 9.00).
The Astros maintained their division lead on Saturday night, when Verlander tossed five innings to earn the win and Tucker hit a pinch-hit homer in a 5-3 victory.
The Astros (80-68) are 4 1/2 games ahead of the Seattle Mariners, who edged the Texas Rangers 5-4 on Saturday night.
Verlander allowed two runs over five innings in recording his first win since May 24. The 41-year-old made three more starts before missing more than two months with a neck injury. He entered Friday 0-4 with a 9.68 ERA in four starts since returning to the Astros on Aug. 21.
Tucker’s round-tripper was his first since June 1, two days before he fouled a ball off his left shin. He was eventually diagnosed with a small fracture and didn’t return until Sept. 6.
He had just one extra-base hit in 25 plate appearances before going deep in the ninth inning against Angels reliever Guillermo Zuniga.
“That was probably the best swing I’ve taken since I’ve been back,” Tucker told Space City Home Network. “It was nice just to have that feeling back and be able to get into the game and contribute and help us out, get a win.”
The rebuilding Angels (60-88), who are trying to avoid finishing last in the AL West for the first time since 1999, have lost four straight and six of seven games.
They are hoping youngsters like Dana, 20, can absorb lessons from veterans such as Tyler Anderson — even in bad times. The left-hander’s late-season struggles continued Saturday, when he took the loss after giving up four runs over five innings.
Anderson was the Angels’ representative in the All-Star Game, but he’s gone 2-5 with a 4.97 ERA in 10 second-half starts. He has thrown 172 1/3 innings overall, just 6 1/3 innings shy of the career-high he set for the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2022 when he was a National League All-Star.
“It wasn’t the T.A. that we’ve been seeing, and it happens when you get to this point in the season,” Angels manager Ron Washington said. “But with his mentality, you learn how to get through it. And that’s one thing we want our young kids to learn, how to get through it.”
Blanco hasn’t pitched since Sept. 7, when he tossed two scoreless innings of relief in the Astros’ 11-5 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The 31-year-old, who has thrown 150 1/3 innings this season after throwing a combined 58 1/3 innings in his first two seasons, last started Sept. 1, when he earned the win by allowing three hits over five scoreless innings as the Astros beat the Kansas City Royals, 7-2. He has given up two runs or fewer in 19 of his 26 starts.
Blanco is 1-0 with a 3.68 ERA in three career games (one start) against the Angels.
Dana took the loss in his second big league start Sept. 8, when he gave up five runs in one-plus inning of work the Angels fell to the Rangers 7-4. He has never opposed the Astros.
–Field Level Media
