The Houston Astros relied on their powerful offense to win 12 straight games.

On Tuesday night that offense went cold Brian Poole Jersey , and their streak ended with a 2-1 loss to the Tampa Bay Rays.

The Astros went 1 for 6 with runners in scoring position to come up one victory shy of setting the franchise record for longest winning streak in franchise history. After averaging more than seven runs in their last 12 games, Houston managed just five singles to end a stretch of 34 straight games with at least one extra-base hit.

C.J. Cron homered early and Wilson Ramos hit a tiebreaking RBI single in the eighth inning to lift the Rays to the victory.

Blake Snell (9-4) allowed just three hits and one run in seven innings, but had to pitch around a career-high seven walks for his fifth straight win. Sergio Romo pitched for the third straight game, taking over with one out in the ninth and allowing one hit for his third save a night after blowing the save in Houston’s 5-4 win.

”We didn’t hit enough and we were shut down by a pretty good pitcher,” manager A.J. Hinch said. ”We kept putting up pretty decent at-bats, but that big hit just eluded us again. We kept fighting until the end but just didn’t have enough offense.”

Matt Duffy doubled to start the eighth and advanced to third on a groundout by Jake Bauers. The Rays took a 2-1 lead when the single by Ramos sailed just over the head of a leaping Yuli Gurriel and into left field to allow Duffy to score.

Cron snapped a career-long 0 for 23 slump with a solo homer with one out in the second inning to give Tampa Bay a 1-0 lead. It was the first hit since June 12 for Cron, who struck out 18 times during his hitless streak.

The Rays have struggled to win close games this season and had lost seven of their last eight games decided by one run before Tuesday’s win.

”Things kind of went our way,” manager Kevin Cash said. ”It’s amazing how those pop up in all those games but it’s nice to pull one out where there wasn’t any mistakes. The walks are the only thing that you’d like to have back but you’ll take the performance.”

Justin Verlander yielded six hits and one run while fanning 10 in 6 2/3 innings.

”It was a pretty good day for me, but it was a pretty good day for the other guy, too,” Verlander said. ”Classic pitchers’ duel. I wish we could’ve come out on top, but … it happens.”

Hector Rondon (1-2) took the loss by allowing two hits and one run in one inning.

The Astros had plenty of opportunities to score, but came up short again and again. They loaded the bases with one out in the first inning, but Carlos Gomez caught a fly ball hit by Evan Gattis and his throw home was in time to leave George Springer out at home to end the inning.

Springer was on second base with one out in the third inning when Bregman singled to send him home and tie it at 1-1. Bregman tried to stretch the hit into a double Duke Riley Jersey , but Gomez made a perfect throw from right field to leave him out at second.

Snell struck out the side in the fourth, capped by a three-pitch strikeout of Marwin Gonzalez that led to his ejection. Gonzalez argued with home plate umpire Pat Hoberg before throwing his bat and helmet and being tossed. He kept barking at Hoberg after the ejection and continued yelling at him until third base coach Gary Pettis pulled him away and pushed him toward the dugout.

Snell walked Alex Bregman and Carlos Correa with no outs in the sixth. But Gurriel grounded into a double play and Snell retired Tony Kemp after intentionally walking Gattis to leave Houston empty-handed.

Adeiny Hechavarria doubled with two outs in the seventh inning to chase Verlander. Hector Rondon took over and retired Kevin Kiermaier to end the inning. Kiermaier went 0 for 5 in his return after sitting out since April 15 after tearing a ligament in his right thumb which required surgery.

The Astros had a runner on first base with two outs in the seventh when Springer hit a long fly ball to right-center that Kiermaier nabbed as he leapt on the warning track before crashing into the wall of the bullpen.

TRAINER’S ROOM

Astros: RHP Joe Smith (right elbow inflammation) felt good after playing catch on Tuesday but likely won’t return from the disabled list until Houston’s next homestand, which begins on July 5.

TOP OF THE HEAP

Houston second baseman Jose Altuve led all players in fan voting for the All-Star game with 1,572,101 votes in the second update on voting released on Tuesday. The 2017 AL MVP leads the majors in hits (102) and average (.342) and was the first player to reach 100 hits this season.

”I think it’s well-deserved for someone who represents our game in exceptional fashion,” Hinch said. ”The voters are getting it right. He’s every bit what’s right about baseball. I’m happy he’s getting the recognition he deserves … he’s as perfect of a player as there is.”

UP NEXT

Tampa Bay’s Nathan Eovaldi (8-4, 2.58 ERA) opposes Houston’s Charlie Morton (8-1, 2.94) in the series finale on Wednesday night. Eovaldi, who grew up in suburban Houston, is 1-0 with a 2.52 ERA in four career starts against the Astros. Morton struck out nine in six innings of a win over Kansas City in his last start.

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Not many people, if any, expected the Winnipeg Jets to have one of the NHL’s best teams this season.

Vegas Golden Knights assistant general manager Kelly McCrimmon was one of the few.

The former owner, general manager and coach of the Western Hockey League’s Brandon Wheat Kings said he watched Winnipeg play 20 times last season, giving him a peek at what was to come.

”It was pretty easy to see that it was going to happen Tanoh Kpassagnon Jersey ,” McCrimmon said. ”This year, certainly it has.”

The Jets earned 114 points during the regular season, trailing only Nashville.

Winnipeg advanced in the playoffs for the first time since moving from Atlanta in 2011. The Jets lost only once to Minnesota in the first round, and eliminated the top-seeded Predators on the road in Game 7 of the second round.

The Jets clearly looked like the better team in a 4-2 win Saturday night in Game 1 of the Western Conference finals against Vegas, the darling of the NHL in its expansion season.

Suddenly, Winnipeg might have the best chance of winning the Stanley Cup, especially if it wins Game 2 at home on Monday night.

The Jets have a pair of fantastic lines up front along with two solid ones and a strong group of defenseman led by Dustin Byfuglien , and 24-year-old Connor Hellebuyck has been one of the best goaltenders this postseason.

How has a franchise, which has largely been an afterthought in the league, gone from finishing fifth or worse in its division the previous three seasons to having one of the world’s best hockey teams?

”They put on a clinic in drafting and developing,” McCrimmon said. ”Along with that, great patience and leadership from Mark Chipman as an owner.

”What they did takes time.”

Unlike other NHL teams, which fire general managers and coaches if they don’t quickly have success, the Jets have allowed general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff to build a championship contender since hiring him in 2011 when they left Atlanta. He was just 20 games above .500 in his first five seasons as Winnipeg’s GM Derrick Thomas Jersey , and its only previous postseason appearance in 2015 lasted just four games against Anaheim.

Coach Paul Maurice, likewise, was afforded the opportunity to lead the team for fourth-plus season this year. He made the most of it by helping the Jets go 52-20-10 during the regular season.

But ultimately, it comes down to having talented, unselfish players, and the Jets have plenty.

When Winnipeg had high draft picks, as it often did as a struggling team, it didn’t miss.

Patrik Laine, a 20-year-old winger, was drafted second overall two years ago and is one of the league’s best young players. He had 70 points in the regular season and scored his fourth goal of the playoffs in Game 1.

Mark Scheifele, selected No. 7 overall in 2011, leads all postseason scorers with 12 goals and has averaged more than a point per game the past two seasons. On the back end, defenseman Jacob Trouba has been exceptional in the playoffs as the franchise hoped he would be eventually after taking him No. 9 overall in 2012.

The Jets have also hit on some late-round picks, including Hellebuyck Tom Brady Jersey , whom they took No. 130 overall six years ago.

”Hit home run after home run in the draft,” captain Blake Wheeler said . ”A lot of our marquee players are guys we drafted and have taken huge steps in the last year or two to be impact players.”

Winnipeg didn’t draft its best player, Wheeler, but the franchise acquired him from Boston in a trade while it was in Atlanta in 2011 and has built around him. That same year, the Thrashers took advantage of Chicago’s need to get rid of salaries by dealing for Byfuglien.

And like the front office and coaching staff, it seems the players were patient about the process of slowly building a winner when the team moved to Canada.

”We weren’t coming here expecting to blow the doors off right away,” Byfuglien said. ”We knew it was going to be a process of building and finding the right group of guys.”

But when it looked like the Jets had a shot to contend this season, they were willing to give up a first-round pick to St. Louis just before the trade deadline to add veteran center Paul Stastny to chase the Stanley Cup. And now, they might just be the team to beat.

”The story of Winnipeg and the Jets, for far too long, has been about being underdogs and underrated,” Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman said. ”But not anymore.”

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