The 2021 American League Cy Young winner, Robbie Ray, has met his weakness in late July. After yielding six runs to the Houston Astros on Sunday, Ray allowed four more Friday in a shaky return from the All-Star break against the club the Seattle Mariners are trying to chase.
Aledmys Díaz got the party started in the second frame with a deep fly into the Crawford Boxes at 107.9 mph. The Astros' bats tacked on three more runs in the third, knocking Ray out after only eight outs.
Yordan Álvarez singled home José Altuve before Alex Bregman doubled home both Yuli Gurriel and Álvarez a batter later. Houston loaded the bases before Ray's exit, but Martín Maldonado stranded all three runners facing reliever Penn Murfee.
In the fourth, Gurriel and Álvarez reached in front of Bregman for a second consecutive inning. The third baseman drove home Gurriel on a single to give Houston a five-run lead before the halfway mark. For a second straight night, Bregman collected three RBI.
Becoming the fastest player in franchise history to 30 home runs in a season, Álvarez added his own insurance in the sixth inning, giving the Astros a six-run lead. Bregman then scored on a Jeremy Peña sacrifice fly, before Mauricio Dubón cleared the bases with a two-run shot to left for the Astros' eighth and ninth runs
Jake Meyers drove in the 10th run on a groundout to score J.J. Matijevic in the seventh. And Díaz continued to pour it on in the eighth, launching his second home run of the game on a solo shot to left-center field.
Justin Verlander tossed 7 2/3 innings en route to his major league leading 14th win. The 39-year-old improved his ERA to 1.81, second-best in the American League behind the Tampa Bay Rays' Shane McClanahan. His 0.87 WHIP and .191 opponent average both rank second in the American League, too.
Verlander punched out five batters, yielding one run on five hits and one walk. The righty has allowed one earned run or less in eight of his last nine starts.
The Astros look for the series win at 6:10 p.m. Saturday with Framber Valdez battling righty Chris Flexen. Houston secured its 11th win against Seattle with only two regular season contests left on the docket.
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