Tampa Bay Rays at Houston Astros

· Major League Baseball

Tampa Bay Rays

57-54, 27-25 Away

Final
1 - 0

Houston Astros

57-54, 32-26 Home

Tyler Alexander and 4 other Rays pitchers toss 3-hitter in 1-0 win over Astros

Alexander (5-3) entered with two outs in the first inning after opener Hunter Bigge loaded the bases with two walks and a single. He fanned Jon Singleton on three pitches to escape that jam, then allowed two hits over the next four-plus innings to pick up his third straight win. He struck out five.

“We're throwing the ball really well right now,” Alexander said. “Starters are going deep, relievers are shutting it down. I like what I'm seeing with our arms and our bats, too. We're putting together good at-bats and scoring when we need to. It's fun to watch how we're playing baseball right now.”

The Rays, who were sellers at the trade deadline, have won seven of 10 and are five games out of an AL wild card spot. Houston and Tampa Bay are even in the standings at 57-54.

“Big win, there’s no doubt,” Rays manager Kevin Cash said. “They’re all big right now and that’s not going to end for a while.”

Across his last nine-plus innings, Alexander has given up one run on six hits, while walking one and striking out 12.

“Tyler set the tone for sure,” Cash said. “Our entire pitching group today did just a tremendous job. You shut that team down in this ballpark, that’s saying something.”

The Astros didn't get a hit after Yordan Alvarez singled off Alexander leading off the sixth, ending his day. Edwin Uceta came in and retired six straight batters, Manuel Rodriguez pitched the eighth and Pete Fairbanks closed it out for his 21st save in 23 opportunities.

“The back end of the bullpen did exactly what you'd expect,” Lowe said. “It's awesome to watch.”

Fairbanks has converted 11 straight save chances for Tampa Bay.

Spencer Arrighetti (4-10) struck out a career-high 12 batters in six innings, the most Ks by an Astros starter this season. As a team, the Astros have struck out at least 10 in 10 straight games, tied for the second-longest streak in major league history.

“Spencer was phenomenal. He couldn't do a better job,” Astros manager Joe Espada said. “Pounded the zone, he competed his (butt) off. That was a great performance."

Arrighetti allowed one run on five hits. Dylan Carlson led off the third with a double and came home on Lowe's one-out two-bagger.

Houston went 1 for 5 with runners in scoring position. The Astros have scored one run over the last 18 innings.

“I think we're going through a little funk,” Espada said. “I don't necessarily call it pressing. We'll start getting some big hits here pretty soon.”

TRAINER’S ROOM

Rays: 1B Yandy Diaz left the game after taking a line drive off his left hand in the sixth inning. Diaz grabbed his hand and was in considerable pain. X-rays were negative and he is considered day-to-day, Cash said.

Astros: RHP Justin Verlander (neck stiffness) threw a 37-pitch live batting practice session, topping out at 94 mph, on Sunday morning. Espada said the plan is for Verlander to start a rehab assignment next weekend.

Rays: LHP Jeffrey Springs (0-0, 4.91 ERA) opens a three-game series at St. Louis on Tuesday, facing Cardinals RHP Sonny Gray (10-6, 3.72).

Astros: RHP Hunter Brown (9-7, 4.11) will open a three-game series on Monday at Texas against Rangers LHP Andrew Heaney (4-11, 4.12 ERA).

How can I watch Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros?

TV Channel: Rays at Astros 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on Bally Sports Sun.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Matchup Prediction

Astros: 58.6%

Rays: 41.4%

*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Singleton struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Peña struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Y. Diaz grounded out to shortstop.
	9th Inning	Fairbanks relieved Rodríguez
	9th Inning	DeLuca lined into double play, to second, Siri doubled off second.
	9th Inning	Walls walked.

Statistics

TB		HOU
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
1	Hit By Pitch	0
4	Ground Balls	7
15	Strikeouts	12
1	Runs Batted In	0
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
6	Hits	3
0	Stolen Bases	1
4	Walks	3
0	Catcher Interference	0
1	Runs	0
1	Ground Into Double Play	0
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
30	At Bats	30
0	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
17	Runners Left On Base	13
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
3	Doubles	0
11	Fly Balls	11
1	Caught Stealing	0
147	Pitches	123
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	2
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	1
9	Total Bases	3
35	Plate Appearances	33
0.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
3	Extra Base Hits	0
2.4	Runs Created	-0.1
.200	Batting Average	.100
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.300	Slugging Percentage	.100
.200	Secondary Average	.133
.314	On Base Percentage	.182
.614	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.282
0.4	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.6
2.5	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	-0.1
16.0	Batter Rating	4.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	1.00
4.20	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	3.73
.100	Isolated Power	.000
0.27	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.25
.114	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.091
.000	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.033
2.0	Runs Produced	0.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	0.0
0.4	Patience Ratio	0.2
0.4	Balls In Play Average	0.2
67.3	MLB Rating	56.3
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0