It’s 5-11 in the last 16 games…
The Astros did two things that could’ve eventually led to the win on Friday but they ultimately lost 3-2 against the Dodgers. First, starter JP France performed really well. Second, Mauricio Dubón and Kyle Tucker hit back-to-back home runs. But the thing is that was just it for them as they only got three hits and were dominated by rookie Emmet Sheehan.
The Astros didn’t put any runners in scoring position (homers don’t count) and José Abreu didn’t play for the second consecutive game. The Dodgers couldn’t enjoy their hitting either but Mookie Betts hit a lead-off shot and Michael Busch registered a two-run double in the fourth inning to make it 3-2.
Despite taking the loss, France pitched six innings and allowed eight hits and three earned runs with two walks and four strikeouts. In June, he’s gone 26 1/3 innings and registered a 3.08 ERA over four starts. The reason for his bad luck is the fact that the Astros have scored 10 runs through those four games.
After Sheehan’s work was done, Michael Grove and Brusdar Graterol got it done for the Dodgers by pitching the final third of the game without allowing a hit.
This was the Astros’ sixth loss over their last eight games, a span in which they’ve scored three or fewer runs five times (all losses). With this one, they fell 6.5 games behind first place in the AL West.
On Saturday (6:15 pm CT), both teams will collide again. This time, it’s gonna be Ronel Blanco to start for the Astros while Bobby Miller will do so for the Dodgers.