Lance McCullers Jr. Stops Rays As Houston Wins 11th Straight Road Game; D.J. LeMahieu's Homer Leads Rockies Past Giants, 9-8

Players of the Day for Thursday, June 28, 2018

American League

Road warriors?

McCullers: 7 scoreless

Try road masters. The Houston Astros tied a franchise record with their 11th straight win away from home, ending Tampa Bay's five-game win streak in the opener of a three-game series at Tropicana Park.

Houston's 1-0 win was delivered by way of the arm of Lance McCullers Jr., who kept the Rays in check on four hits over seven scoreless innings, fanning seven.

McCullers improved to 9-3, backed by Jake Marisnick's fifth-inning solo home run. Chris Devenski allowed a pair of hits in the eighth, but was bailed out when Matt Duffy lined into a double play, squelching the Rays' scoring bid. Hector Rondon worked the ninth for his fifth save.

McCullers notched his third straight win, lowering his ERA to 3.55. He's already thrown 101 1/3 innings this season, striking out 106.

Houston will be looking to set a new franchise mark when they face the Rays in game two of the series, Friday at 7:10 pm EDT.

LeMahieu: 3-5, HR, 5RBI

National League

With Arizona currently the leader in the NL West, the division still seems to be up for grabs as the Dodgers, Giants and Rockies all have solid squads and a chance to go on a run at any time.

Colorado took a step in the right direction in a wild one at San Francisco in which the lead changed hands four times, the final change coming in the top of the ninth, when D.J. LaMahieu uncorked a two-run blast to left center, giving the Rockies a 9-8 victory.

LeMahieu's homer was his eighth of the season, though it was far from his only highlight. In the fourth he singled in a run to put the Rockies up 5-2 and he singled in two more in the seventh, cracking a 5-5 tie.

The eight-year pro was 3-for-5 with five RBI, helping Colorado snap a four-game losing streak. In 2016 LeMahieu led the National League in hitting with a .348 average. He's batting just .280 this season, and is a .300 lifetime hitter.

With the win, the Rockies avoided the sweep and head to LA for a three-game series with the Dodgers, starting Friday at 7:10 pm PDT.