The Astros lost to the Tampa Bay Rays in the series opener 3-1 Friday night at Daikin Park. The Rays extended their win streak to nine games, but the story of the night was Spencer Arrighetti finally looking more like himself.
Arrighetti pitched six solid innings, allowing just one run on two hits. After a brutal stretch in June that saw him give up three homers in back-to-back starts, this was exactly the kind of outing the Astros needed to see from him. He was sharp and clean despite taking a loss. A step in the right direction after a really rough stretch.
The problem was Nick Martinez was even better. The Rays starter limited the Astros to just one run, and the offense could not do enough to back Arrighetti up.
The one bright spot offensively was Yordan Alvarez, who hit his AL-leading 27th homer of the season, a 427-foot shot off Martinez in the sixth to tie the game at 1-1, per ESPN. But the Rays answered back in the seventh when Junior Caminero hit a solo homer off Steven Okert to take the lead for good. Nick Fortes added an insurance run and that was all Tampa Bay needed.
The loss snaps a nice stretch for the Astros now with consecutive losses, but the bigger takeaway is Arrighetti looked like himself again. If he can build off this start, the second half looks a lot more promising for Houston.
