To me, this is one of the toughest losses so far. A starter who’s been struggling seemed to turn things around (in a big way!), the offense does j u s t enough against a pitcher that’s killed them in the past and then the bullpen fails them.
ON the MOUND
Taijuan looking more like Taijuan tonight – he needed that (though he didn’t deserve the ultimate result)
He threw a LOT of pitches (101) for 5.1 innings and walked too many but, he also struck out a LOT of ‘stros . . .
FIVE.ONE innings ~ FOUR hits ~ ONE earned run ~ FOUR walks ~ EIGHT strikeouts
} Dom struck out the first hitter he faced in the 6th (taking over for Tai with TWO on ONE out) then Brad blocked a grounder with his body, loading the bases but saving a run – a fly ball to AJ in CF ended the inning
} Carson needed just THIRTEEN pitches to retire the ‘stros in order in the 7th – and things were looking promising!
and then came “eff and eff” . . .
} Charlie and Danny did NOT have it tonight, to say the least. The Astros had only FIVE hits thru SEVEN innings. In the 8th they went: error, single, single (Charlie gives way to Danny) walk, single, double, pop-up, walk, GDIP – what was a 3-1 lead turned into a 6-3 deficit.
Granted, the home plate umpire’s calls may have had a bit to do with it but, that’s baseball 😦
} Nando struck out the side in order in the 9th ~in a non-save situation~ small miracles!
AT the PLATE
Not a huge night offensively – but, it should have been enough 😦
RUNS – Ack, Kyle and ZU (good to see him hit a solid line drive and, zero strikeouts)
RBI – Robbie (2) and Brad (1)
IN the FIELD
* Brad made a nice grab of a deep pop-up and a great throw home (the runner was called safe but it was over-turned)
* Fine running catch by Seth to snag a would-be extra-base hit in RF (he can get on base and he can play RF!)
* Brad tries to dive for a ball in the infield but just blocks it and saves a run
* Robbie with an error on the first play of the ill-fated 8th
* ONE double-play – it ended the ill-fated 8th but, by then it was too little, too late
tweets of the game . . .
https://twitter.com/SteveSandmeyer/status/590713079664607232
https://twitter.com/SteveSandmeyer/status/590738012956454914
Compass Rosy 