- Joined
- May 8, 2002
- Posts
- 1,210,340
- Reaction score
- 59
You must be registered for see images attach
Houston Astros' Jose Altuve runs the bases after hiting a three-run home run during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, July 6, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/John McDonnell) (John McDonnell/Associated Press)
WASHINGTON - Baseball's highest-scoring offense plays at Nationals Park. So does a pitching staff giving up the third-most runs per game in the sport. Suppressing offense is the challenge for three games here this week, and Monday, a struggling Houston Astros starter could not.
The Nationals blasted Mike Burrows and stormed back from an early five-run deficit to hand the Astros a 12-11 loss in their series opener. A young and potent Washington lineup totaled 13 hits and three home runs in a slugfest. Houston also had three homers among its 12 hits but fell short in a comeback attempt.
Bats traded blows. The Astros built a 6-1 lead by the third inning. The Nationals erased it with a five-run bottom of the third, then surged ahead in a six-run fifth.
James Wood's grand slam off AJ Blubaugh in the fifth inning capped the onslaught. But the Nationals did most of their damage against Burrows, who allowed nine hits, two of them home runs by CJ Abrams and Curtis Mead, and was charged with 10 runs, albeit seven earned.
It was the 25th time in Astros history in which a pitcher was charged with at least 10 runs in a game. The first 24 all occurred in losses. Houston nearly bailed out Burrows against a bullpen that entered with the majors' fourth-worst ERA.
Jose Altuve and Yainer Diaz hit home runs against Nationals starter Miles Mikolas that helped the Astros build an early edge. Mikolas exited after six innings with a 12-7 lead. Right-hander Cole Henry nearly let it evaporate in the eighth.
A two-out RBI double by Braden Shewmake left two runners on base for Brice Matthews. The No. 9 hitter in Houston's order turned on a 2-2 sinker from Henry for a three-run home run, paring the deficit to one. Henry induced a ground out from Jose Altuve to preserve it into the ninth.
Cam Smith, Diaz, Shewmake and Matthews totaled eight hits from the 6-through-9 spots in the Houston lineup and drove in six of its runs. The heart of the lineup arrived in the ninth inning against right-hander Clayton Beeter.
Yordan Alvarez took a called third strike. Isaac Paredes grounded out. Christian Walker's liner to center field stayed up for Jacob Young. The Astros fell to 45-48.
NATIONALS 12, ASTROS 11
| Houston | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 37 | 11 | 12 | 10 | 3 | 6 | |
| Altuve 2b | 5 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .235 |
| Y.Alvarez dh | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | .318 |
| Paredes 3b | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .251 |
| Walker 1b | 5 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .240 |
| Wade lf | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | .190 |
| Smith rf | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | .225 |
| Diaz c | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | .242 |
| Shewmake ss | 4 | 2 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | .256 |
| Matthews cf | 4 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .197 |
| Washington | AB | R | H | BI | BB | SO | Avg. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals | 36 | 12 | 13 | 12 | 3 | 9 | |
| Wood dh | 2 | 3 | 1 | 4 | 3 | 0 | .268 |
| García 1b | 5 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3 | .281 |
| Mead 3b | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .240 |
| Abrams ss | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 1 | .274 |
| Crews rf | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .226 |
| Lile lf | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .253 |
| Young cf | 4 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | .225 |
| Millas c | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | .188 |
| Nuñez 2b | 4 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .243 |
| Houston | 132 | 001 | 040_11 | 12 | 2 |
| Washington | 105 | 060 | 00x_12 | 13 | 0 |
E_Burrows (1), Shewmake (2). LOB_Houston 2, Washington 4. 2B_Walker (17), Shewmake (4), Mead (12), García (16). HR_Altuve (9), off Mikolas; Diaz (5), off Mikolas; Matthews (7), off Henry; Abrams (19), off Burrows; Mead (15), off Burrows; Wood (24), off Blubaugh. RBIs_Walker (58), Altuve 3 (25), Diaz 2 (21), Shewmake (9), Matthews 3 (21), Mead 3 (42), García (65), Abrams 3 (64), Millas (11), Wood 4 (60). SB_Nuñez (33), Abrams (15), Wood (14). CS_Millas (1), Wood (2). SF_Millas.
Runners left in scoring position_Houston 1 (Wade); Washington 4 (Abrams, Lile, Crews, García). RISP_Houston 3 for 6; Washington 6 for 13.
Runners moved up_Shewmake, Wood. LIDP_Wade. GIDP_Shewmake.
DP_Washington 2 (García; Nuñez, Abrams, García).
| Houston | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Burrows, L, 4-9 | 4 | 1-3 | 9 | 10 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 83 | 5.99 |
| Blubaugh | 1 | 2-3 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 33 | 3.57 |
| Pearson | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 13 | 3.79 | |
| De Los Santos | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 19 | 4.65 |
| Washington | IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | NP | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mikolas, W, 3-7 | 6 | 9 | 7 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 99 | 5.78 | |
| Henry | 1 | 2-3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 44 | 7.90 |
| Beeter, S, 7-11 | 1 | 1-3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 12 | 3.00 |
Inherited runners-scored_Blubaugh 3-3.
ABS Challenge_Paredes (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Mikolas (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Millas (Strike-Overturned to Ball); Mikolas (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Burrows (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Burrows (Ball-Confirmed); Henry (Ball-Overturned to Strike); Henry (Ball-Confirmed); Abrams (Strike-Overturned to Ball).
Umpires_Home, Dan Merzel; First, Shane Livensparger; Second, Mark Ripperger; Third, Brock Ballou.
T_2:46. A_11,092 (41,376).
Burrows crumbles
Staked to a five-run lead in the third inning, Burrows did not record another out before it disappeared. He got just four more outs before exiting with the Astros trailing.
Five straight Nationals hitters reached to begin the bottom of the third. Nasim Nuñez singled. Burrows walked Wood on a full-count curveball. Luis García Jr. lined a first-pitch sinker into the left-field corner, his double driving in Nuñez. Mead pulled a changeup into left field for a single to score Wood.
In a two-strike count, Burrows spun a slider to Abrams that hovered. Abrams crushed it 392 feet over the right-field wall at 108.1 mph off the bat. It was the 20th home run allowed by Burrows in 18 outings this season and the 14th to a left-handed hitter. It forged a 6-6 tie from a game Houston had led handily.
Burrows allowed his 21st home run two innings later. Mead drove a sinker 404 feet to left-center field to lead off the fifth. Abrams singled. Burrows induced a potential double-play grounder from Dylan Crews. Shewmake, the shortstop just activated from the injured list, bobbled it to leave everybody safe.
A one-out single flared by Jacob Young loaded the bases and chased Burrows. He exited after 83 pitches with the bases loaded. All three runners he bequeathed scored to punctuate an awful outing.
Burrows allowed 10 runs, albeit seven earned due to Shewmake's error. Twelve of 25 batters who faced him reached safely. Nine struck hits. Of the 20 batted balls against Burrows, 11 had an exit velocity over 95 mph, the Statcast hard-hit threshold.
Burrows has a 5.99 ERA through 94 ⅔ innings this season. Just one qualified starter in the majors, Zac Gallen, had a higher one entering Monday.
Mikolas taken off the hook
Like Burrows, Mikolas has been prone to home runs this season. He entered the day with 18 allowed in 84 ⅓ innings, then gave up two more.
The Astros did two-out damage against Mikolas. In the second inning, Shewmake lined a two-out single. Matthews singled on a swinging bunt. Altuve drove a slider just over the left-field wall, his ninth homer of the season forging a 4-1 lead.
Diaz extended it to 6-1 in the third, turning on a sinker for a two-run homer after Smith had drawn a two-out walk. Mikolas has allowed six or more runs in four different outings this season. In this one, his offense took him off the hook.
Mikolas ate six innings for the Nationals and recorded a win despite giving up seven runs and nine hits. Smith and Diaz singled to open the sixth. Shewmake bounced into a double play that drove in a run but defused the rally. Mikolas turned a five-run lead over to his bullpen, which took things from there.
Paredes' ABS perfection
Entering Monday, Paredes was 9-for-9 in ABS challenges as a hitter, tied for the most successful tries without a loss in the majors. Paredes added two more in his first plate appearance and helped produce the Astros' first run as a result.
Paredes challenged two called strikes by umpire Dan Merzel in the first inning, including a full-count curveball which overturned an inning-ending strikeout into a walk. The next batter, Christian Walker, struck a double to center field and Paredes scored from first base.
As a team, the Astros led the majors in ABS overturns and success rate on challenges by their hitters entering Monday. Only Altuve has totaled more successful challenges than Paredes for Houston.
Subscribe
There’s more to Houston with the Chronicle. Subscribe today for just 25¢.This article originally published at Houston Astros can't hold big lead early, drop slugfest to Washington Nationals.
Continue reading...
