ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – Kyle Tucker hit a two-run homer, Lance McCullers Jr. pitched seven effective innngs and the AL West champion Houston Astros completed a three-game sweep by beating the Tampa Bay Rays 5-2 on Wednesday night.
Houston second baseman Jose Altuve was hit on the left elbow by Corey Kluber‘s pitch in the fifth and left one inning later with elbow discomfort. He was replaced by Mauricio Dubon.
Astros manager Dusty Baker said Altuve will probably miss the opener of a four-game series Thursday night at Baltimore to try and get ready for Friday.
“He’s going to be sore,” Baker said. “It got him below the pad, right on the elbow. Anybody who’s ever hit in their elbow knows how much that can hurt.”
Both Tucker and McCullers went to high school in nearby Tampa, Florida.
“I like to play guys in front of their home folks … they tend to do better,” Baker said. “It means something to play in front of the family.”
The announced attendance for the series was 28,675, including 9,293 on Wednesday. The Rays have the major’s third lowest attendance this season overall despite entering the day in position to be the AL’s second wild card.
The Astros, 10-1 over their last 11 games, blanked Tampa Bay in the first two games of the series, winning 4-0 Monday and 5-0 on Tuesday.
“Great sweep here,” McCullers said. “A great couple days of baseball.”
It the was Astros’ first sweep at Tropicana Field.
After Martin Maldonado hit a solo homer in the top of the ninth, Ryan Pressly worked the bottom half to get his 30th save in 34 chances. Maldonado’s mother was at the game.
Kluber allowed one run and six hits over seven innings for the Rays, who are battling with Toronto and Seattle for the top AL wild card spot.
Kluber had given up 10 runs and 19 hits over 6 2/3 innings in his previous two starts.
After Aledmys Diaz got his second RBI of the game on a single that barely got through a draw-in infield, Tucker drilled his 29th homer into the right-center field stands off Brooks Raley (1-2). He has 102 RBIs this year.
McCullers (4-1) gave up two runs, six hits, two walks and had eight strikeouts. The righty is 4-1 with a 2.38 ERA in seven starts since returning from a right forearm injury.
Isaac Paredes gave the Rays their first lead in the series, at 2-1, when he opened the seventh with his 20th homer.
Tampa Bay stopped its 25-inning scoreless stretch on David Peralta‘s fielder’s choice grounder in the sixth. His hard-hit…