Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros

· Major League Baseball

Cincinnati Reds

20-22, 11-12 Away

Final
0 - 6

Houston Astros

20-19, 13-8 Home

Ronel Blanco strikes out career-high 11 in 8 innings as Astros blank Reds 6-0

Yainer Diaz hit a three-run homer in the third to give Houston an early lead and Christian Walker added two hits and three RBI to help the Astros take the series 2-1.

It was the second-longest start of Blanco's career and longest since he tossed a no-hitter in his season debut last year in a 10-0 win over the Blue Jays on April 1.

Blanco (3-3) retired the first nine batters, with six strikeouts, before walking TJ Friedl to start the fourth. He sat down the next four batters before Spencer Steer got Cincinnati’s first hit on a double to the corner of left field with one out in the fifth.

But Blanco quickly got back on track and retired the next nine batters before Jose Trevino doubled with one out in the eighth. Will Benson grounded out before Blanco struck out Santiago Espinal to end his day and head to the dugout to a standing ovation.

It was a much-needed performance for a team that used six relievers in a 13-9 loss Saturday night after starter Lance McCullers Jr. allowed seven runs and was pulled after getting just one out.

The soaring home run by Diaz off rookie Chase Petty (0-2) came with one out in the third inning to make it 3-0 and extend his hitting streak to nine games.

The Astros led by four when they loaded the bases with no outs in the sixth. Walker singled on a line drive to center field to score two and make it 6-0.

Petty allowed six hits and four runs with six walks in three-plus innings in his second major league start.

The Astros were without Jose Altuve a day after he left in the third inning with tightness in his right hamstring.

Manager Joe Espada said Altuve was feeling better Sunday and he expects him to return to the lineup in a couple of days.

Key moment Blanco struck out the side in the first inning to set the tone for a dominate outing.

Key stat Blanco had struck out nine batters three times before his career-high strikeout performance Sunday.

Up next The Reds are off Monday and RHP Ryan Gusto (3-1, 2.93 ERA) will start for Houston in the opener of a three-game series against Kansas City on Monday night.

How can I watch Cincinnati Reds vs. Houston Astros?

TV Channel: Reds at Astros 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Hays flied out to right.
	9th Inning	McLain to second on fielder's indifference.
	9th Inning	De La Cruz struck out looking.
	9th Inning	McLain walked.
	9th Inning	Friedl flied out to left.
	9th Inning	Dubin relieved Blanco

Statistics

CIN		HOU
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	2
7	Ground Balls	11
12	Strikeouts	10
0	Runs Batted In	6
1	Sacrifice Hit	0
2	Hits	9
0	Stolen Bases	0
2	Walks	7
0	Catcher Interference	0
0	Runs	6
0	Ground Into Double Play	1
0	Sacrifice Flies	1
28	At Bats	32
0	Home Runs	1
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
8	Runners Left On Base	26
0	Triples	0
0	Game Winning RBIs	1
0	Intentional Walks	0
2	Doubles	1
10	Fly Balls	12
0	Caught Stealing	0
122	Pitches	177
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	0
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
0	Is Qualified In Steals	0
4	Total Bases	13
31	Plate Appearances	42
0.0	Projected Home Runs	162.0
2	Extra Base Hits	2
-0.4	Runs Created	6.3
.071	Batting Average	.281
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.143	Slugging Percentage	.406
.143	Secondary Average	.344
.133	On Base Percentage	.429
.276	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.835
0.7	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	0.9
-0.4	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	6.8
6.0	Batter Rating	38.0
0.0	At Bats Per Home Run	32.0
0.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.00
3.94	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	4.21
.071	Isolated Power	.125
0.17	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.70
.065	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.167
.071	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	.063
0.0	Runs Produced	12.0
0.0	Runs Ratio	1.0
0.2	Patience Ratio	0.6
0.1	Balls In Play Average	0.4
56.3	MLB Rating	87.3
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0