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Associated Press
an hour ago
- General
- Associated Press
Houston Astros host the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday
Tampa Bay Rays (29-28, second in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (31-26, first in the AL West) Houston; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Zack Littell (4-5, 3.97 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 42 strikeouts); Astros: Colton Gordon (0-0, 5.52 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 14 strikeouts) BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -154, Rays +129; over/under is 7 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros face the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Houston has a 31-26 record overall and a 21-11 record at home. The Astros have a 25-11 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents. Tampa Bay has a 29-28 record overall and an 11-9 record on the road. The Rays have gone 11-3 in games when they hit two or more home runs. The teams square off Saturday for the sixth time this season. The Rays are up 3-2 in the season series. TOP PERFORMERS: Isaac Paredes leads the Astros with 19 extra base hits (seven doubles, a triple and 11 home runs). Jose Altuve is 15 for 39 with five home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games. Junior Caminero has 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 32 RBIs for the Rays. Brandon Lowe is 14 for 36 with three doubles, four home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 6-4, .290 batting average, 4.08 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs Rays: 8-2, .265 batting average, 1.82 ERA, outscored opponents by 39 runs INJURIES: Astros: Ronel Blanco: 15-Day IL (elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yordan Alvarez: 10-Day IL (hand), Spencer Arrighetti: 15-Day IL (thumb), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (calf), Pedro Leon: 10-Day IL (knee) Rays: Jonny Deluca: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Travis Jankowski: 10-Day IL (groin), Ha-Seong Kim: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Bigge: 15-Day IL (lat), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Richie Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- General
- Yahoo
Houston Astros host the Tampa Bay Rays Saturday
Tampa Bay Rays (29-28, second in the AL East) vs. Houston Astros (31-26, first in the AL West) Houston; Saturday, 4:10 p.m. EDT PITCHING PROBABLES: Rays: Zack Littell (4-5, 3.97 ERA, 1.08 WHIP, 42 strikeouts); Astros: Colton Gordon (0-0, 5.52 ERA, 1.43 WHIP, 14 strikeouts) Advertisement BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -154, Rays +129; over/under is 7 1/2 runs BOTTOM LINE: The Houston Astros face the Tampa Bay Rays on Saturday. Houston has a 31-26 record overall and a 21-11 record at home. The Astros have a 25-11 record in games when they have more hits than their opponents. Tampa Bay has a 29-28 record overall and an 11-9 record on the road. The Rays have gone 11-3 in games when they hit two or more home runs. The teams square off Saturday for the sixth time this season. The Rays are up 3-2 in the season series. TOP PERFORMERS: Isaac Paredes leads the Astros with 19 extra base hits (seven doubles, a triple and 11 home runs). Jose Altuve is 15 for 39 with five home runs and eight RBIs over the past 10 games. Advertisement Junior Caminero has 11 doubles, 11 home runs and 32 RBIs for the Rays. Brandon Lowe is 14 for 36 with three doubles, four home runs and six RBIs over the past 10 games. LAST 10 GAMES: Astros: 6-4, .290 batting average, 4.08 ERA, outscored opponents by six runs Rays: 8-2, .265 batting average, 1.82 ERA, outscored opponents by 39 runs INJURIES: Astros: Ronel Blanco: 15-Day IL (elbow), Hayden Wesneski: 60-Day IL (elbow), Yordan Alvarez: 10-Day IL (hand), Spencer Arrighetti: 15-Day IL (thumb), Luis Garcia: 60-Day IL (elbow), Cristian Javier: 60-Day IL (elbow), J.P. France: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Taylor Trammell: 10-Day IL (calf), Pedro Leon: 10-Day IL (knee) Advertisement Rays: Jonny Deluca: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Travis Jankowski: 10-Day IL (groin), Ha-Seong Kim: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Hunter Bigge: 15-Day IL (lat), Shane McClanahan: 60-Day IL (tricep), Richie Palacios: 10-Day IL (knee), Alex Faedo: 60-Day IL (shoulder), Nathan Lavender: 60-Day IL (elbow) ___ The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Colton Gordon grew up a huge Rays fan. Monday, he pitches against them
Colton Zimring Gordon was a fervid Rays fan growing up between his parents' homes in the St. Petersburg and Bradenton areas. He went to his first game at 7 months old and averaged 25-30 a year for a while. Advertisement 'We've always been Rays fans,' his father, Steve, said Sunday. 'He was the kid always chasing foul balls all game. After games, he'd beg me to take him to the parking lot so he could get autographs. He attended three of their summer camps and was in one of their TV spots.' All that allegiance will be pushed aside Monday night. Gordon, who made his major-league debut Wednesday with the Astros, will get his second start against the Rays. Some 50-70 relatives, friends and former coaches are expected to be in the stands at Steinbrenner Field to watch the left-hander take the mound. 'This is really, really exciting,' Steve Gordon said. 'It's just crazy.' Advertisement Colton dreamed of playing in the majors since the third grade, and Steve said he made it his goal to provide every opportunity to help make it happen. That included St. Petersburg's Fossil Park Little League program, travel ball with the Tampa Terror and Florida Burn (under the coaching of former Rays reliever Mark Guthrie), and Lakewood Ranch High. Colton committed to Florida and redshirted his first year. Seeking a greater opportunity for the next season than the Gators offered, he switched to Hillsborough Community College, playing on the community field adjacent to where the Astros and Rays will meet Monday. He ended up at UCF, where he worked through Tommy John surgery and recovery, and made himself into a pro prospect. With his family hoping the Rays would draft him in 2021, Gordon went in the eighth round to the Astros. He worked his way through their system, with the added benefit of pitching for Team Israel in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. Advertisement Gordon was 4-0 with a 2.55 ERA in eight starts for Triple-A Sugar Land this season before he was summoned by the Astros. He worked into the fifth inning of his debut Wednesday against the Royals, allowing three runs. Now, he's returning home as the major-leaguer he'd wanted to be since age 10. 'It's so exciting,' Steve Gordon said, 'to see your son reach his goal.' • • • Sign up for our Sports Today newsletter to get daily updates on the Bucs, Rays, Lightning and college football across Florida. Every weekday, tune into our Sports Day Tampa Bay podcast to hear reporter Rick Stroud break down the biggest stories in Tampa Bay sports. Never miss out on the latest with your favorite Tampa Bay sports teams. Follow our coverage on X and Facebook.
New York Times
3 hours ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Astros' Framber Valdez ‘the best I've seen him' in 83-pitch complete game masterpiece
HOUSTON — Framber Valdez can epitomize efficiency. Soft contact supersedes strikeouts for a sinkerballer on the precipice of a payday. This platform year is a showcase for one the sport's pre-eminent southpaws, a seven-month sojourn toward a nine-figure salary. Vintage Valdez is worth every penny a team is willing to pay. History suggests the Houston Astros won't be serious bidders but will settle for savoring the final season from a homegrown success story. Such is routine across their golden era. Advertisement Extending it into another October rests, in part, on Valdez's broad shoulders. Injuries have ravaged Houston's starting rotation to an almost unrecognizable state. Valdez and Hunter Brown are its two constants, calming forces amid so much chaos. Brown's ascension into acehood has captivated the city. Valdez already resided there, a fact this magical Friday helped to accentuate. Games in late May only carry so much cachet, but what unfolded across two hours and two minutes at Daikin Park will resonate for however long Houston survives this season. Valdez authored one of his finest starts as an Astro in what is probably his final season with the team. His batterymate, Yainer Diaz, delivered a walk-off home run to reward him with a win he wholeheartedly deserved. 'I think it's one of my best outings in my career so far,' Valdez said through an interpreter. Valdez fired the game's first pitch at 7:12 p.m. Tampa Bay Rays leadoff man Jose Caballero clubbed the second into the Crawford Boxes for a solo home run. 'He got really pissed off,' manager Joe Espada said. 'His stuff just got better. He said 'They're not going to touch me anymore.'' And so they didn't. Valdez delivered perhaps the most dominant start of his major-league career, toying with Tampa's aggressive lineup across nine incredible innings of a 2-1 win. He struck out nine, surrendered two singles after Caballero's solo shot and operated at a pace and pitch count rarely seen in the modern era. Went the distance.#BuiltForThis x @budweiserusa — Houston Astros (@astros) May 31, 2025 Valdez needed 83 pitches to finish the ninth complete game of his career. No major leaguer had thrown fewer in a nine-inning complete game since Kyle Hendricks required 81 to shut out the St. Louis Cardinals on May 3, 2019. No Astro had thrown a complete game on fewer than 85 pitches since Darryl Kile no-hit the New York Mets on Sept. 8, 1993. Advertisement Valdez has a no-hitter of his own. Last season in Arlington, he came within one out of another. Both he and Espada intimated Friday's start was better, even if four Rays reached base. Valdez harnessed impeccable command of his two-seam fastball. Twenty-four of the 31 he threw were either swung upon or called a strike. Fourteen of the 19 balls Tampa put in play against him were groundouts. Shortstop Jeremy Peña fielded nine of them, including the 6-4-3 double play ball that erased Jonathan Aranda's infield single in the fifth. 'We were very aggressive in attacking the zone,' Diaz said through an interpreter. 'The other team, they get scared when we are right on them with the pitches. I think that's what worked today, is that we were aggressive and attacking the zone pretty effectively today.' Only seven teams entered Friday with a higher swing rate than the Rays. Only seven others — including the Astros — swing at more first pitches than Tampa. Five of Valdez's outs arrived on the first pitch of a plate appearance, and he did not reach a three-ball count until the ninth inning. 'It influenced a lot,' Valdez said of the Rays' aggressiveness. 'We know that's a team that attacks a lot on the first pitch. That's why we're professionals here. We study and have plans of attack.' Tampa's inability to hit left-handed pitching has been a hallmark of its season. Only eight lineups entered Friday with a lower OPS against southpaws than Tampa's. Two of the team's best hitters, Brandon Lowe and Josh Lowe, are left-handed. They sat Friday opposite Valdez. Even starting them may not have mattered. Valdez dominated whomever Tampa sent to the plate. He needed fewer than 10 pitches to finish six of his nine innings. The Rays saw just seven pitches in the sixth, one Caballero completed by watching an 0-2 curveball land inside his strike zone. Advertisement The Rays swung 14 times against Valdez's curveball. Seven were whiffs. Six of Valdez's nine strikeouts concluded upon it. Valdez produced a punchout in every inning but the ninth. Nine-hole hitter Taylor Walls singled, and Caballero worked a four-pitch walk, forcing Espada to activate his bullpen, even if he had no intention of using it. 'That's (Valdez's) game, and he was going to stay out there, and he was going to decide the fate of his own game,' Espada said. Only if cleanup man Junior Caminero came to the plate would Espada reconsider. Valdez and Diaz never allowed him to step on deck. Diaz caught Walls trying to steal third base — just the seventh time in 76 attempts an Astros catcher has thrown out a base stealer. 'That was a huge out for us because it gave my pitcher confidence to concentrate on the hitter and not on the base runners,' Diaz said. Concentration is perhaps Valdez's biggest hurdle. Bad calls, cheap hits or misplays behind him often cause him to lose focus or fall apart. Plays like the one Diaz made motivate him. He fell behind Yandy Díaz 2-0 before Yainer Diaz threw out Walls. After he did, Valdez delivered two pitches. Yandy Díaz grounded the second to Peña, who finished the 27th out of a terrific night. 'This is the best I've seen him,' Espada said.
Reuters
6 hours ago
- General
- Reuters
Yainer Diaz slams walk-off homer as Astros edge Rays
May 31 - Yainer Diaz socked an opposite-field, walk-off home run with two outs in the ninth inning to lift the Houston Astros to a 2-1 victory over the visiting Tampa Bay Rays on Friday. Diaz clubbed his seventh home run off Rays' left-handed reliever Garrett Cleavinger (0-1), who struck out the first two batters of the ninth. Diaz drilled a first-pitch slider to right for the victory. Trailing 1-0 entering the bottom of the eighth inning, the Astros rallied to draw even. Jake Meyers opened the frame with a double to left-center field off Rays' reliever Kevin Kelly and scored when Zach Dezenzo followed with an infield single. The grounder was fielded by second baseman Curtis Mead, who attempted a challenging jump throw that eluded first baseman Jonathan Aranda and allowed Meyers to round third base and score the tying run. The Rays grabbed a 1-0 lead on the second pitch of the game when Jose Caballero smacked his second home run of the season 383 feet to left field off Astros left-hander Framber Valdez (5-4). That was the extent of the damage surrendered by Valdez, who retired 12 consecutive batters following the Caballero homer. Aranda opened the fifth with a single, but Valdez erased him by getting Mead to hit into a double play. Valdez then retired the Rays in order in the sixth, seventh and eighth innings. Valdez allowed a one-out single to Taylor Walls in the ninth, who advanced to second base on a wild pitch. After a walk to Caballero, Diaz cut down Walls as he attempted to steal third base. Valdez completed the ninth by getting Yandy Diaz to ground out to short. He allowed one run on three hits, with one walk and nine strikeouts. He threw only 83 pitches. Rays right-hander Ryan Pepiot was brilliant in producing his fifth consecutive quality start. Pepiot faced the minimum through four innings, thanks in large part to a base-running gaffe by Meyers in the bottom of the third. Meyers dumped a single into shallow left field to open that frame, and with one out, broke for second base on a pitch to Mauricio Dubon, who sent a line drive to Caballero in right field. Meyers hesitated a beat as Caballero made the catch and was doubled off first base to end the threat. Pepiot cruised from there, retiring the Astros in order in the fourth and sixth and working around a two-out walk to Cam Smith in the fifth. He set down Isaac Paredes and Jose Altuve to open the seventh but departed when Christian Walker slapped a single to center field. Pepiot allowed two hits and one walk while recording four strikeouts over 6 2/3 scoreless innings. He tossed 93 pitches, 61 for strikes, in his second consecutive scoreless appearance. --Field Level Media
