Wednesday, 4 a.m.
Ah, the poor Houston Astros. In 10 innings of baseball Wednesday night, they managed only two hits.
On the other hand, it was enough.
The Astros completed their three-game series sweep of the inoffensive Tampa Bay Rays, winning 2-1 in 10 innings. The Rays, too, had only two hits, neither of which helped them score their only run.
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The Rays are now two games under .500 at 59-61. In their three losses to the Astros, they had just 11 hits and four runs.
Jeremy Pena’s fifth-inning home run was the Astros only hit until extra innings, when No. 8 hitter Mauricio Dubon singled off Garrett Cleavinger for the winning run.
The Astros have now won eight in a row.
The Rays had only a third-inning single by Taylor Walls and a sixth-inning single by Yandy Diaz. They scrambled for a run in the eight. Walls walked. He then broke for a steal, avoiding a double-play at second. He stole third, then scored on an infield grounder by Diaz.
Starter Zack Littell had one of his best starts. He went five innings and allowed one hit, the home run by Pena.
The Rays left five men on base and were 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position. For the series, the Rays were one-for-10 with runners in scoring position.
The Rays are off today. They return to Tropicana Field on Friday to play Arizona at 6:50 p.m.