McHugh saves Astros bullpen in win over Diamondbacks

[May 31, 2016]  The Sports Xchange
 
 PHOENIX -- Call him Collin McHuge.
 
 A day after Houston used seven relievers, right-hander Collin McHugh picked up the staff by throwing his first career complete game in an 8-3 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on Monday.

McHugh (5-4) gave up three runs on five hits. He retired 21 of 22 batters after a Paul Goldschmidt homer and a two-out walk in the first inning before Brandon Drury's two-out single in the eighth.

"I thought he was in complete control of the game, really from the onset," Houston manager A.J. Hinch said.

"I thought it was good he got out of the gate hot. He settled in and got early-count outs. We needed him to go as long as he could today, given our bullpen. Not only did he give us length, he gave us quality."

McHugh struck out eight and walked one while recording his 31st victory since Aug. 1, 2014, tied with Dodgers left-hander Clayton Kershaw for the second-most in the majors in that stretch. The Cubs' Jake Arrieta has 35.

McHugh used only 108 pitches, and he threw first-pitch strikes to 14 of the first 17 batters he faced as the Astros scored eight runs and had 11 of their 13 hits in the first four innings.

"Obviously it's what every starter wants every time out," said McHugh, whose previous longest start was 8 2/3 innings against Oakland on April 27, 2014.

"A little more rare these days," McHugh said. "To be able to do it, especially on a day like this when our bullpen has been our crutch for the last week or so ... to be able to give them a blow means a lot."

The Astros used 10 relievers the last two days, including seven in an 8-6, 13-inning victory over the Los Angeles Angels on Sunday.

"They were aggressive early, which played in our favor because we got some quick outs," McHugh said. "Overall it was a pretty good day."

Catcher Jason Castro had two hits and three RBIs. His run-scoring single in a four-run second inning and two-run triple in the third helped ruin Arizona left-hander Edwin Escobar's first major league start.

George Springer had three hits, drove in a run and scored twice and Carlos Correa had two hits and two RBIs for Houston (23-29), which has won three in a row and six of seven.

Jose Altuve had two hits, scored twice and drove in a run. His fourth-inning triple was the 2,000th triple in Astros history.

Tyler White added three hits.

Goldschmidt hit his 10th homer in the first inning and Jake Lamb had his eighth homer with one out in the ninth inning.

Jean Segura tripled in Drury in the eighth inning as the Diamondbacks (23-30) lost for the fifth time in seven games. Arizona is 9-19 at home and only Atlanta (5-21) has fewer wins.

Escobar, recalled from Triple-A Reno to start Monday, gave up 10 hits and eight runs (seven earned) in 3 1/3 innings. He struck out two, walked one and hit two.

"There have been too many games, here at home especially, where we are trying to figure out how to get through the game with our pitching," Arizona manager Chip Hale said.

"We don't like those games. We are tired of them."

NOTES: Houston CF Carlos Gomez (rib cage) will be activated from the disabled list and play Tuesday, Astros manager A.J. Hinch said. Gomez was hitting .182 with no homers and five RBIs in 34 games before being placed on the disabled list retroactive to May 16. He was 5-for-20 with a homer in five rehab games at Class AA Corpus Christi. ... Houston 3B Colin Moran will be optioned Tuesday to make room for Gomez on the roster, the Astros said. ... Arizona LHP Edwin Escobar made two relief appearances for Boston in 2014 before making his first major league start Monday. Escobar pitched an inning for the World team in the 2014 Futures Game while in the San Francisco organization. ... The teams will play the second game of a four-game series in Arizona on Tuesday before finishing with two games in Houston on Wednesday and Thursday. ... LF Rickie Weeks is a DH option in Houston, Arizona manager Chip Hale said.

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