Luis Valbuena and Evan Gattis each hit solo homers and Mike Fiers tossed 5 2/3 innings of shutout ball as the Astros took Sunday’s game and the series from the Reds with a 6-0 win at Minute Maid Park.
Valbuena led off the fifth inning with his ninth home run of the season and second RBI of the game. He added a run-scoring single to put Houston up 2-0 in the second inning, notching his first multi-RBI game since May 26. Gattis homered for the second consecutive game, and he also put Houston on the board with a two-out RBI double in the second.
“I think we just had a slow start [this season], and now we’re playing Astros baseball again,” said Gattis, who had been in a 1-for-37 slump before Saturday’s homer. “We’re a pretty dynamic team with a lot of ways to win. We have a lot of guys who can hit the ball out of the ballpark, we have good pitching, and we have a lot of guys who can run, steal bases and just get on base.”
Fiers allowed four hits while striking out five and walking one in his scoreless effort. His counterpart, Cincinnati’s Brandon Finnegan, didn’t fare as well, getting hit around for four runs on five hits and three walks in his five innings.
“I made some good pitches, but they spit on them,” Finnegan said. “Nothing you can do sometimes. My slider was moving a lot, but they weren’t biting like they have been the last couple days. It just wasn’t our day.”
The Astros are now 9-3 in their last 12 home games and 8-4 in Interleague games this season.
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