Houston 21, Arizona 5
When: 9:40 PM ET, Friday, October 2, 2015
Where: Chase Field, Phoenix, Arizona
Temperature:
91°
Umpires:
Home -
Lazaro Diaz, 1B -
Jeff Nelson, 2B -
Cory Blaser, 3B -
Chris Guccione
Attendance:
33218
By The Sports Xchange
PHOENIX -- The Houston Astros played without a designated hitter, but all they did was hit.
Houston had four homers and set a franchise scoring record while helping left-hander Dallas Keuchel to his American League-leading 20th victory in a 21-5 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Friday at Chase Field.
"We showed up at the right time," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said. "What a game. We haven't had a game like that in a long time."
Try forever.
The Astros got homers from right fielder George Springer, shortstop Carlos Correa, center fielder Colby Rasmus and third baseman Luis Valbuena while staying alive in the AL West race.
Houston had 28 homers from the DH spot this season, but in an NL park are without a DH in their final three games in Arizona.
"Nothing can happen to us if we can continue to win," Hinch said, "and we've taken that mindset for a while now. Proud of how we came out tonight. We got on them early."
The Astros (85-57) are two games behind AL West-leading Texas (87-73) with two games to play after the Rangers lost to the Los Angeles Angels on Friday.
Houston is one game ahead of the Angels (84-76) and two ahead of the Minnesota Twins (83-77) for the second AL wild card berth.
Correa had three hits and was a double short of the cycle. He scored four runs as the Astros scored in every inning but the fifth and the ninth.
Correa, who was not promoted from the minor leagues until early June, set a franchise rookie record with 22 home runs, once more than Lance Berkman had in 2000.
Keuchel, a top AL Cy Young contender, because the Astros' first 20-game winner since right-hander Roy Oswalt in 2005.
"Those are all great accomplishments," Hinch said. "Our main accomplishment hasn't been accomplished yet. In time, we will take joy in all of those things. Right now, we are just fixated in making the playoffs."
Keuchel gave up two runs and six hits in six innings, striking out hree and walking two. His 2.48 ERA is second in the league, and he leads the league with 232 innings and a 1.02 WHIP.
The Astros raised a toast to Keuchel after the game, Hinch said.
"What toast? Just toasted another Astros 'W,'" Keuchel said.
Rasmus had two hits and three RBIs and Valbuena had two doubles to go with his homer and two RBIs.
The Astros have won five out of six, and would clinch a playoff berth with a victory behind 18-game winner Collin McHugh and an Angels loss in Texas.
Rookie Peter O'Brien hit his first major league homer and third baseman Aaron Hill had three hits and two RBIs for Arizona (78-82), which committed four errors while having a four-game winning streak snapped.
"They really swung the bats well and we didn't pitch very well tonight," Arizona manager Chip Hale said. "That is just the way the game is. If you don't locate pitches against their hitters they are going to hurt you, and they did.
"They are just good hitters. We saw that over in Houston and we know that. They are playing really well right now and we just couldn't match the intensity today."
NOTES: Houston CF Carlos Gomez was held out of the starting lineup with an intercostal injury that he aggravated while making a throw in the Seattle game Wednesday, manager A.J. Hinch said. ... Arizona LF David Peralta (right wrist) was examined by hand specialist Dr. Don Sheridan on Friday and was to get what the D-backs called a "preventative" MRI. Peralta did not start Friday after being removed in the fourth inning Thursday when he was injured while diving for a line drive. ... Arizona OF Ender Inciarte (shin) missed his third straight game. ... Houston DH Evan Gattis, who has hit 24 of his 27 homers as a DH, did not start Friday. He has played 11 games in left field this season, and manager A.J. Hinch said he might look for a way to get Gattis on the field this week.
Top Game Performances
Team Stats Summary
| Team |
Hits |
HR |
TB |
Avg |
LOB |
K |
RBI |
BB |
SB |
Errors |
| Houston
|
19 |
4 |
37 |
.413 |
19 |
8 |
18 |
8 |
1 |
2 |
| Arizona
|
11 |
1 |
19 |
.297 |
18 |
7 |
5 |
3 |
0 |
4 |
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