Santiago Espinal’s well-placed bloop single brought in two runs during the fifth inning, helping the Cincinnati Reds defeat Justin Verlander and the Houston Astros 5-3 on Monday.
Ty France had four hits, leading Cincinnati to end Houston’s five-game winning streak. Amed Rosario added two hits and drove in a run.
Yainer Diaz contributed two hits and three RBIs for the Astros in the first game of a three-game interleague series. Verlander (3-5) gave up five runs and eight hits over 4 2/3 innings.
Houston had a chance to come back in the ninth inning but didn’t score. With Jason Heyward on base after a leadoff single, Jose Altuve struck out looking against Emilio Pagán. Justin Wilson then earned his second save by retiring Yordan Alvarez on a line drive to center field.
Carson Spiers (5-5), the third of five Cincinnati pitchers, pitched 2 1/3 innings to earn the win. He allowed one run and three hits.
With Cincinnati’s top three starters injured, manager David Bell has taken a creative approach.
“The bullpen through all of this, it’s just unbelievable what they’re doing,” Bell said. “We understand what’s happening, and it means a lot.”
Verlander walked the bases loaded in the first inning. TJ Friedl hit a sacrifice fly, and France singled in Elly De La Cruz, giving Cincinnati a 2-0 lead.
“I was all over the place in that first inning,” Verlander said. “The mechanics, not good. The location needed to be better. I made some decent pitches that weren’t called, but it’s hard to get pitches when you’re all over the place.”
Diaz tied the game with a two-run single in the third inning against Julian Aguiar.
Cincinnati took the lead for good with a two-out rally in the fifth inning. With runners on second and third, Espinal’s blooper fell in shallow right field. Espinal stole second base and then scored on Rosario’s single off Kaleb Ort.
