Just three days after departing a game against the Miami Marlins with left groin tightness, Tampa Bay Rays All-Star Yandy Diaz returned to the starting lineup and made an immediate impact.
Diaz delivered a sacrifice fly in the ninth inning that drove home Jose Siri with the winning run in the visiting Rays’ 4-3 victory over the Houston Astros in the opener of a three-game series on Friday.
The Rays are happy to have Diaz back and will look for more from him on Saturday night when they face the Astros again.
Diaz slid into the designated hitter role on Friday, but Rays manager Kevin Cash said Diaz could be back at first base on Saturday. With the .315-hitting Diaz a key to their playoff run, the Rays will need him to be careful.
“It’s probably something that Yandy will have to manage throughout the rest of the season, and just hopefully he’s not overextending himself on stretches, rounding the base, or slipping off the base to aggravate it,” Cash said.
Rookie right-hander Taj Bradley (5-6, 5.30 ERA) is scheduled to start for the Rays on Saturday. He did not factor into the decision of his most recent start against the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday after allowing three runs on five hits and one walk with six strikeouts over five innings in a 5-3 loss. Bradley is winless over his past five starts, going 0-3 with an 8.46 ERA.
Bradley earned the victory in his lone career appearance against the Astros on April 24, allowing three runs on four hits with six strikeouts over five innings in an 8-3 home win.
Rookie right-hander Hunter Brown (6-7, 4.19 ERA) has the starting assignment for the Astros. He logged a quality start but did not get a decision against the Oakland Athletics on Sunday after allowing two runs on six hits while recording four strikeouts over six innings in the Astros’ 3-2 victory. Even with that solid outing, Brown is 0-4 with a 6.30 ERA over his last six starts.
Brown is 1-0 with a 0.00 ERA over three career appearances (one start) against the Rays. He tossed seven scoreless innings at Tampa Bay on April 26, allowing two hits and two walks while notching eight strikeouts in a 1-0 victory.
For the Astros, Jose Altuve (oblique) his back following a 17-game stint on the injured list. In his second start since his return on Friday, the second baseman was 2-for-4 with a run.
Altuve crushed a triple to left-center field off Rays starter Shane McClanahan on the first pitch of the first inning and subsequently scored the first run for the Astros. He later added a single to right with two outs in the fourth, lining a 97.6 mph fastball the opposite way.
After missing the first 43 games of the season with a right thumb fracture sustained in the World Baseball Classic, Altuve appeared to be finding his groove at the plate before being lost to injury again. The Astros will need Altuve at his best down the stretch.
“Yeah, that was great,” Astros manager Dusty Baker said. “That first pitch, that’s vintage Altuve, and then the base hit to right on a tough pitch up and away, that’s Altuve, too. When he starts doing that, the sky is the limit on what he can do.”
–Field Level Media
