Field Level Media
Aug 5, 2020
Jose Altuve and Carlos Correa hit their second home runs of the season, and the Houston Astros took advantage of Arizona Diamondbacks ace Madison Bumgarner's control problems in an 8-2 win Tuesday night in Phoenix.
George Springer drove in three runs, two with a double in Houston's five-run fifth inning, and Cristian Javier (1-0) earned his first major league win in his second career start with six strong innings of work.
The Astros picked up their third win in four games. They were without outfielder Michael Brantley, who is dealing with a quad injury and was held out of the lineup.
The Diamondbacks, in last place in the NL West and sporting the second-worst record in the National League, lost their fifth game in the past six and have pushed across just four runs in their last three games, all losses. Manager Torey Lovullo -- his team down 8-1 -- pulled five players in the starting lineup off the field after five innings, a move typically seen in a spring training game and not in the regular season.
Bumgarner (0-2) failed to last five innings in a start for the first time since July 6 of last year. He allowed eight runs (seven earned) on seven hits with two walks (one intentional) and two strikeouts. He also had three pitches hit two batters, including Abraham Toro twice.
Bumgarner didn't allow seven earned runs in a single start last season with the San Francisco Giants.
Eduardo Escobar drove in the Diamondbacks' first run with a single in the fourth inning off Javier, who allowed a run on four hits. He struck out two and walked one.
The Astros built a 2-0 lead on Altuve's solo shot in the first inning and Correa's leadoff homer in the second. An errant throw to second base from Bumgarner in the fifth helped give Houston a 4-1 lead and led to the five-run inning.
Daulton Varsho, one of Arizona's top prospects, made his first major league start. He was the organization's minor league player of the year in 2019. Recent call-up Andy Young got his first major league hit in his first career at-bat, a double in the seventh.
--Field Level Media