Two Hits Suffice as Astros Triumph 4-1 against Rockies

 

Chas McCormick hit a home run, and Jake Meyers had two hits as the Houston Astros defeated the Colorado Rockies 4-1 in Denver on Wednesday.

Brandon Bielak (5-5) pitched effectively for 5 2/3 innings and combined with four Houston relievers to limit Colorado to just two hits.

C.J. Cron also homered for Colorado, concluding their homestand with a 3-2 record against the New York Yankees and Astros.

Houston's dominance over the Rockies continued, improving their record to 22-6 against them since 2013, and finishing 3-1 against them in the current season. Bielak earned two of those wins.

The Astros took the lead in the third inning when Meyers started with a double, advanced to third on Martin Maldonado's flyout to center, and scored on Mauricio Dubon's single up the middle, putting Houston ahead 1-0. Kyle Tucker's deep fly ball to center ended the inning.

In the sixth inning, the Astros extended their lead against Rockies starter Austin Gomber. Tucker led off with a double off the right-field wall, and Alex Bregman's flyout to right moved Tucker to third. Jose Abreu's single through a pulled-in infield made it 2-0, and he later advanced to second on a wild pitch. McCormick then homered to left, increasing the lead. It marked his 12th home run of the season.

Gomber (8-8) gave up four runs on eight hits and struck out five in six innings.

Bielak's excellent performance was enough for the Astros, as he pitched effectively against the Rockies for the second time. Earlier, on July 4, Bielak tossed seven scoreless innings against the Rockies, leading to a victory, and he maintained a blank slate into the sixth inning on Wednesday.

Bielak's only hiccup was issuing three walks, two of which occurred in the sixth inning, which was the only time Colorado had a runner advance past first base against him. The threat was quelled when reliever Phil Maton struck out Cron to end the inning.

Cron's ninth-inning home run brought an end to the shutout.