Tucker, Jones headline pummeling of Rockies at Coors; 'Stros win seventh straight

Things are not good for the Astros right now in terms of injuries -- Michael Brantley has been out for a week with right quad discomfort, and won't be able to return until this weekend. Yordan Álvarez will miss the rest of the season with a recurring knee issue. Even Alex Bregman, who has little injury history to speak of, was forced out of today's game with a hamstring issue.

It was up to the younger guys to deliver with a good chunk of stars sideline, and did they ever contribute, helping the team to collect 20 hits en route to a 13-6 win over the Rockies in Colorado.

Kyle Tucker put on a show for the Astros, shouldering the load for a team in need of big hits. His first hit of the night was a triple in the top of the fifth inning. His second was another triple that drove in two runs. He'd stroke a single in the seventh inning, and he'd cap off his wonderful night with a two-run home run in the ninth inning.

Tucker's effort was helped by a sudden surge from Taylor Jones, who, in only his second career major league appearance, put in an effective night at the plate. He notched his first and second hits of his young career, both of which went for RBI singles.

But, as it tends to be when your squad collects 20 hits on the night, it was a total team effort on offense tonight. In addition to Tucker's blast, Martín Maldonado, Carlos Correa, and George Springer all got in on the long ball action. Abraham Toro and Yuli Gurriel also managed to stroke a few run-scoring hits.

Framber Valdez, who has somewhat quietly been putting together a fantastic season, put in another solid performance in a park notorious for being hard for pitchers to play in. He ran into a little trouble in the second inning, but managed to mitigate the damage and only give up a single run after loaded the bases with one out.

It helped that he had one Carlos Correa behind him, who turned a spectacular double play to end the inning.

Valdez would battle through a few more issues and mishaps, giving up three runs with only one of them being earned. His final line was 7.2 IP with seven hits, one earned run, one walk, and five strikeouts. With his start in the books, Valdez currently sits fifth in the American League in ERA, and seventh in all of baseball.

The Astros would quell a late-inning rally from the Rockies, and take the game going away. With the win, they improve to 14-10, and have won seven straight games. They'll go for the four-game sweep with Cristian Javier on the mound tomorrow at 2 PM CT.