Houston Astros vs. San Diego Padres Pick & Prediction SEPTEMBER 18th 2024
Preview and Prediction
Josh Hader's comeback to San Diego on Tuesday included a blown save that excited the packed stadium, followed by a victory for him and the Houston Astros in 10 innings over the Padres.
Hader and his current team will attempt to secure a series win against his former club in the decisive game of a three-game series filled with playoff implications on Wednesday.
Hader's first year with Houston (82-69) has seen him successfully convert 31 saves in 34 opportunities - the third blown save came on a wild pitch on his first delivery to Jackson Merrill in the eighth inning on Tuesday night - and maintain a 3.26 ERA with 97 strikeouts in 66 1/3 innings.
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However, he is also aware that some San Diego fans turned against him last season when he refused to pitch more than one inning. He also pitched for more than two consecutive days only once, following the rules set by him and his agent regarding his usage.
Those rules were no longer in effect when the Astros offered him a five-year, $95 million contract.
"The Astros have invested in me," Hader stated.
Tuesday night's win marked the sixth time this year that Hader has pitched for at least four outs in a game. This time, it helped Houston extend their lead in the American League West to five games over Seattle with only 11 games remaining.
The Astros will try to get one step closer to another division title with the help of left-hander Framber Valdez (14-6, 2.91 ERA). He last pitched on Thursday in a 6-3 victory over the Oakland Athletics, receiving a no-decision despite giving up just five hits and one run in 6 1/3 innings. He has a record of 0-1 with a 4.50 ERA in two previous appearances against the Padres.
San Diego (86-66) will send right-hander Dylan Cease (13-11, 3.58) and his 215 strikeouts - second only to Atlanta's Chris Sale, who has 219 - to the mound. In his most recent outing, he pitched a 5-0 win against the Giants in San Francisco, throwing six scoreless innings and striking out 10 while allowing only four hits and two walks.
Cease has a record of 0-3 with a 4.18 ERA in six career starts against Houston, averaging just over five innings per start. His lack of control (14 walks in 32 1/3 innings) and tendency to give up home runs (five) have been his downfall.
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Tuesday night's outcome was a bit of a mixed bag for the Padres. While they maintained a 2 1/2-game lead over Arizona for the first wild-card spot in the National League, they were unable to gain ground on the Los Angeles Dodgers, who lost to Miami, in the NL West. They remained 3 1/2 games behind.
San Diego did, however, break a record at their 20-year-old ballpark on Tuesday night. Manny Machado hit a two-run homer in the sixth inning, marking the team's 102nd home run of the year, a new single-season record.
Even though Petco Park has undergone some changes to make it more hitter-friendly, it still tends to play large early and late in the season due to the damp marine air.
"At night here, it's a joke," said rookie Jackson Merrill, who hit his 24th home run on Monday night. "We just stick to our approach and hit line drives."
Houston Astros vs. San Diego Padres Recap SEP 18TH 2024
Kyle Tucker's RBI single in the top of the 10th inning Tuesday night lifted the visiting Houston Astros to a 4-3 win over the San Diego Padres.
The hit scored Grae Kessinger, the automatic runner placed at second to start the inning. Yordan Alvarez's groundout moved Kessinger to third before Tucker got singled off Adrian Morejon (2-2). That made a winner of Josh Hader (8-7), who blew a save chance yet retired all four batters he faced.
Hector Neris worked out of a bases-loaded, two-out jam in the bottom of the 10th, retiring Manny Machado on a fielder's-choice grounder for his first save with Houston and 18th this year.
The Astros (82-69) took a 3-2 lead in the top of the eighth when Tucker scored as Jason Adam tossed a wild pitch on ball four to Alex Bregman. However, the Padres tied it in their half of the eighth when Hader entered with two outs and a runner on third, and his first delivery was a wild pitch that scored Fernando Tatis Jr.
While the Astros upped their American League West lead to five games over the Seattle Mariners, who were 11-2 losers to the New York Yankees on Tuesday, San Diego (86-66) missed on a chance to expand its lead for the top wild-card spot in the National League. The Padres are 2 1/2 games ahead of both the Arizona Diamondbacks and the New York Mets in the wild-card chase, and they remain 3 1/2 games behind the Los Angeles Dodgers in the NL West.
The pitching matchup promised a low-scoring game, based on the starters' form since June 1. The Astros' Hunter Brown had a 2.32 ERA since then, and San Diego's Michael King had a 2.35 in that span. Both pitchers delivered a good outing.
Houston broke through against King with two runs in the fourth. Singles by Tucker and Bregman led to Jon Singleton's bloop double down the left field line that scored Tucker. Jeremy Pena's groundout cashed in Bregman.
King stiffened after that, while Brown made the 2-0 edge stick until a mistake pitch to Machado in the sixth. With Tatis at second after a single and a steal, Brown hung a 3-2 knuckle curve. Machado drilled it an estimated 405 feet to the seats in left-center for his 27th homer, tying the score.
Brown departed after six innings, having yielded five hits and two runs with a walk and three strikeouts. King lasted seven innings, permitting five hits and two runs while walking one and whiffing seven.