Diamondbacks fail to secure wild-card spot in loss to Astros

With a chance to punch their postseason ticket, the Arizona Diamondbacks had another quiet offensive night, resulting in a 2-1 loss to the Houston Astros.

Now, with the Marlins and Reds winning, the Diamondbacks hold a slim.5 game lead for the 2nd wild card spot.

Zac Gallen held the game to 0-0 up until the 6th inning, then Jose Abreu smashed a 430-foot double off the yellow line in centerfield to give the Astros a 2-0 lead.

On the mound for the Astros was Jose Urquidy, who made his first start since August 25th. Urquidy held the Diamondbacks to just two hits and zero runs through six innings.

It was not until the bottom of the eighth when the Diamondbacks threatened to score. With runners on 2nd and 3rd, the Astros’ Jeremy Pena made an excellent play up the middle that most likely saved the game for Houston.

Then, in the 9th, with two outs, Gabriel Moreno came inches away from tying the game. After Jose Altuve made an error at 2nd base, Moreno hit a towering blast that just missed the bleachers.

Instead, Moreno had to settle for a double, which ultimately led to the Diamondbacks falling just short.

Altogether, the D-backs offense produced just four hits. This is quite a concern considering they recorded a slim two yesterday against the White Sox.

Tommy Pham, Christian Walker, Alek Thomas, and Lourdes Gurriel Jr. combined for a 0-19 night at the plate.

As a result of this loss, the Diamondbacks will be forced to roll Merrill Kelly out to the mound tomorrow, which is definitely a situation they would have liked to avoid.

The D-backs hope to finally pop the champaign tomorrow with  first pitch at 5:15.