Peña Homers, García Shoves as Houston Astros Take Series from Tampa Bay Rays
On the final Sunday of the regular season, Jeremy Peña was all the Houston Astros needed at the plate. The rookie shortstop clubbed his 21st home run of the season, scoring José Altuve for a first-inning, two-run lead against the Tampa Bay Rays.
Peña collected three hits in four trips to the plate, complementing a two-hit afternoon from Altuve at the top of the order. The righty drove in a third run on a seventh-inning single to score Chas McCormick.
It was a quiet afternoon for both teams with the American League East foe slapping six hits en route to one run. That run came on a Christian Bethancourt RBI single in the second frame.
Other than issuing one run to the Rays, starting pitcher Luis García was efficient. The right-hander threw 52 of his 84 pitches for strikes, working six innings of one-run baseball on three hits and one walk.
Behind García, Ryne Stanek continued his run for the best ERA by an Astros reliever in franchise history. Stanek yielded one hit and issued a walk to a pair of strikeouts, improving his ERA to 1.17. Bryan Abreu struck out the side in the eighth inning, and Rafael Montero worked around two walks and a single for the save.
The Astros improved to 104-55 on the year, taking their final American League series of the regular season. The club opens a three-game set with the Philadelphia Phillies at 7:10 Monday at Minute Maid Park. Lance McCullers Jr. is scheduled to battle the hill with Aaron Nola.
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