Houston 2, Cleveland 0
When: 7:10 PM ET, Monday, April 6, 2015
Where: Minute Maid Park, Houston, Texas
Temperature:
79°
Umpires:
Home -
Ted Barrett, 1B -
Angel Hernandez, 2B -
Scott Barry, 3B -
Chris Conroy
Attendance:
43753
By SportsDirect Inc.
HOUSTON -- Left-hander Dallas Keuchel worked seven shutout innings and a revamped bullpen preserved his effort in the Houston Astros' 2-0 win over the Cleveland Indians on Monday night at Minute Maid Park.
Keuchel (1-0) allowed three hits and three walks while recording four strikeouts, including a critical punch out of Indians right fielder Brandon Moss after first baseman Carlos Santana and catcher Yan Gomes stroked consecutive singles to open the seventh inning. After he fanned Moss, Keuchel coaxed a pair of grounders back to the mound to strand Santana and Gomes, close the inning, and preserve his one-run lead.
Astros left-hander Tony Sipp worked a perfect eighth inning, posting strikeouts of shortstop Jose Ramirez and center fielder Michael Bourn. Right-hander Luke Gregerson, named the closer late in spring training, earned his first save with the Astros by retiring the Indians in order in the ninth.
Houston doubled its lead in the eighth, chasing Indians right-hander Corey Kluber (0-1) when left fielder Colby Rasmus followed a one-out walk from shortstop Jed Lowrie with a sharp single to right field. Astros center fielder Jake Marisnick greeted Cleveland right-hander Scott Atchinson with a fly ball to right-center that scored Lowrie from third.
Kluber, the reigning American League Cy Young Award winner, allowed two runs on three hits and two walks with seven strikeouts.
Keuchel and Kluber proved their worth as newly minted staff aces.
Keuchel retired the first seven batters he faced, including striking out the Cleveland side in the top of the second inning. He utilized his slider to retire Santana, Gomes and Moss swinging.
Indians third baseman Lonnie Chisenhall reached with a one-out single to left field in the third inning, but Keuchel responded with four consecutive groundball outs.
Like Keuchel, Kluber retired the first seven batters he faced, with Rasmus reaching via a walk with one out in the third. And, like Keuchel, Kluber answered with a dominant stretch of pitching, including three consecutive strikeouts bridging the third and fourth innings.
Two outs into the sixth, Kluber had seven strikeouts and had yet to allow a hit. Astros second baseman Jose Altuve ended the drama with a soft liner to center field and, following a steal of second base, right fielder George Springer followed with an RBI single to left.
NOTES: On Sunday, Indians RHP Corey Kluber agreed to a five-year contract extension through the 2019 season with club options for both 2020 and 2021. The deal, with a reported base of $38.5 million and worth up to $77 million, is the richest for a pre-arbitration pitcher in history and has the potential to cover as many as three years of free agency. ... Astros LHP Dallas Keuchel was the sixth consecutive different Opening Day starter for Houston and the fifth southpaw in franchise history to earn the honor, joining Bobby Shantz (1962), Mike Cuellar (1967), Dave Roberts (1973-74) and Wandy Rodriguez (2012). ... Indians OF Nick Swisher was with the team for Opening Day despite being placed on the 15-day disabled on April 2 (knee surgeries). Swisher is slated to return to Cleveland on Tuesday to continue his rehab.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Cleveland
|
3 |
0 |
3 |
.103 |
11 |
7 |
0 |
3 |
0 |
0 |
| Houston
|
3 |
0 |
3 |
.120 |
3 |
7 |
2 |
2 |
1 |
0 |
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