The Houston Astros made their way to Queens to take on the Mets as they continue their time in the Big Apple.
Hunter Brown struck out a season-high 10 over 6⅔ innings, and the Astros beat the New York Mets 3-1 Friday night at Citi Field.
The Astros were coming off a series win against the Yankees, and the Mets are currently last in their division. Normally, that would make for a safe assumption that the Astros would easily take the opener, but you never know with this team.
At this point, it is almost more likely that they would lose to the worst team in the league and beat the best, and they kind of have.
That being said, the Astros defied the bizarre odds and actually took the series opener in Queens Friday night.
Here is a look at what happened:
Hunter Brown took the mound for Houston against Christian Scott. Both pitchers are among their teams' most reliable arms lately.
Christian Scott made his 20th start of the year and escaped the first inning scoreless, leaving runners on base.
Hunter Brown started his night by striking out Ewing and then, following, he struck out Lindor.
He had four strikeouts in the first five batters he faced. A killer start for the ace.
Brown didn't allow a hit through the first three innings, but Francisco Lindor led off the fourth with a single, then scored from first on Carson Benge's one-out double, giving the Mets their first and only lead of the game, 1-0.
Christian Scott didn't have his first strikeout until the fifth, but it was still a scoreless game for him. That was up until…
Scott retired Peña to open the sixth, then walked three straight batters to load the bases, the last one to Altuve. Nate Lavender came on in relief, and that's when things fell apart for the Mets.
Varsho came through with a two-RBI single, somehow turning on a low pitch to give the Astros the lead 2-1. Diaz followed with an RBI single of his own to make it a three-run game.
Brown became the first Astros starter since Aug. 10 to complete six innings, a stretch that says a lot about how thin this rotation has been all year.
Brown finished with 6⅔ innings and 10 strikeouts, the third double-digit strikeout game of his career. The Astros ace walked off the field to a huge ovation after facing his final batter.
Bryan Abreu came in and retired all four batters he faced. Josh Hader closed it out in the ninth, striking out two for his 20th save of the season. Brown, Abreu, and Hader combined to hold the Mets to just three hits and one run.
The Astros are now 3-1 so far on their New York trip. They take on the Mets for the second game of the series Saturday afternoon.
