GAME 145 - September 14: Astros 3, Brewers 2
GAME 146 - September 15: Astros 8, Brewers 6
One thing for sure -- the new baby Astros are a scrappy bunch. They may not always win, but they keep things close. The Brewers series featured three more very close games, along with a couple more examples of terrific pitching.
On Monday, Brett Myers (yawn) threw another 7 innings, giving up only a single run on 6 hits, striking out 10 Brewer batters. The single run was the result of a fourth inning solo homer by Corey Hart; other than that, Myers had the Brew Crew stymied. Myers was just back with the Astros after a short vacation in Florida, where his wife was giving birth to their son. After a first-inning run, the Astros failed to score again until the bottom of the seventh, when they put another 3 runs on the board, just in time to give Myers a chance for the win. The offensive star for Houston was Keppinger -- he went 2 for 2 with a double and a single, 3 walks, a run and an RBI. Matt Lindstrom entered the game in the ninth inning, with no outs, a runner on second base, and a two-run lead to protect. he got 3 quick outs for the save.
Tuesday's game started with a bit of a scare: But Norris was hit hard on the shin by a first-pitch come-backer, but he managed to make the play for the out. He was limping a bit afterwards, but managed to hang in for 7 1/3 innings, giving up just a single run (solo homer in the first inning) on 3 hits and 5 walks, striking out 7. Fulchino and Byrdak each contributed an out to finish the eighth. Lyon gave up a leadoff solo homer in the ninth, just to make things interesting, before retiring the next 3 batters to get the save. The Astros only run scorer in the game was Chris Johnson, who came up to bat with 2 runners on and two outs, and hit a LOOOONG homer to center field. CJ also hit a double later in the game. Kepp had another good game, with a double and a single.
Wednesday's afternoon game was a bit of a heart-breaker. After all the recent close-game wins, the Astros were starting to look kind of invincible. Then J.A. Happ broke the string of great pitching starts, giving up 3 in the first inning and another 2 runs in the fifth to put the Astros behind 5-0. Happ didn't make it out of the fifth inning. In the bottom of the inning, though, his teammates came through big-time, scoring 6 runs to take the lead. No single heroes, or perhaps I should say all the heroes were singles -- El Caballo singled, CJ singled, Wallace reached on an error (Lee scored), Sanchez singled (CJ scored), Castro walked to load the bases, Bogusevic singled (Wallace/Sanchez scored), Bourn grounded into a fielders choice (Bogusevic out), Bourn stole second, Kepp singled (Castro scored), Pence singled (Bourn scored). Then having batted around, El Caballo grounded into a double play to end the fun. After such a singular (!) effort to take the lead, it would have been nice to preserve it. Mills used a boatload of relievers after Happ (Villar, Paulino, Byrdak, Melancon, Abad) to get through to the ninth inning with the lead. But Lyon blew the save in the ninth, allowing the Brewers to tie it up. Then Lindstrom gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in the tenth inning to lose the game.
Even with the disappointing ending, it added up to another series win for the new baby Astros, who have a 9-5 record in the first half of September. The Astros are only 6 games under .500 with 16 games still to play. That means that a winning record for this season is still a finite possibility. Given where we came from the first half of the season, that's pretty amazing! But it won't be easy: The Astros will be facing the division leading Reds over the weekend. Don't look for me on Twitter during the first games, which will be played on Yom Kippur. But I'll be back on Sunday for the series closer.
Can you sing "Okalahoma"? Well, learn the words -- that's where our triple A team is likely to be next year. Now that Round Rock is turning into a Rangers franchise, the Astros need a new home for their top minor league team, and it looks like it will be Oklahoma City. Not sure whether the players will enjoy it there more than Round Rock (just a conversation away from way-cool Austin). But who cares -- play ball! O-K-L-A-H-O-M-AAA Oklahoma OK!
On Monday, Brett Myers (yawn) threw another 7 innings, giving up only a single run on 6 hits, striking out 10 Brewer batters. The single run was the result of a fourth inning solo homer by Corey Hart; other than that, Myers had the Brew Crew stymied. Myers was just back with the Astros after a short vacation in Florida, where his wife was giving birth to their son. After a first-inning run, the Astros failed to score again until the bottom of the seventh, when they put another 3 runs on the board, just in time to give Myers a chance for the win. The offensive star for Houston was Keppinger -- he went 2 for 2 with a double and a single, 3 walks, a run and an RBI. Matt Lindstrom entered the game in the ninth inning, with no outs, a runner on second base, and a two-run lead to protect. he got 3 quick outs for the save.
Tuesday's game started with a bit of a scare: But Norris was hit hard on the shin by a first-pitch come-backer, but he managed to make the play for the out. He was limping a bit afterwards, but managed to hang in for 7 1/3 innings, giving up just a single run (solo homer in the first inning) on 3 hits and 5 walks, striking out 7. Fulchino and Byrdak each contributed an out to finish the eighth. Lyon gave up a leadoff solo homer in the ninth, just to make things interesting, before retiring the next 3 batters to get the save. The Astros only run scorer in the game was Chris Johnson, who came up to bat with 2 runners on and two outs, and hit a LOOOONG homer to center field. CJ also hit a double later in the game. Kepp had another good game, with a double and a single.
Wednesday's afternoon game was a bit of a heart-breaker. After all the recent close-game wins, the Astros were starting to look kind of invincible. Then J.A. Happ broke the string of great pitching starts, giving up 3 in the first inning and another 2 runs in the fifth to put the Astros behind 5-0. Happ didn't make it out of the fifth inning. In the bottom of the inning, though, his teammates came through big-time, scoring 6 runs to take the lead. No single heroes, or perhaps I should say all the heroes were singles -- El Caballo singled, CJ singled, Wallace reached on an error (Lee scored), Sanchez singled (CJ scored), Castro walked to load the bases, Bogusevic singled (Wallace/Sanchez scored), Bourn grounded into a fielders choice (Bogusevic out), Bourn stole second, Kepp singled (Castro scored), Pence singled (Bourn scored). Then having batted around, El Caballo grounded into a double play to end the fun. After such a singular (!) effort to take the lead, it would have been nice to preserve it. Mills used a boatload of relievers after Happ (Villar, Paulino, Byrdak, Melancon, Abad) to get through to the ninth inning with the lead. But Lyon blew the save in the ninth, allowing the Brewers to tie it up. Then Lindstrom gave up 2 runs on 3 hits in the tenth inning to lose the game.
Even with the disappointing ending, it added up to another series win for the new baby Astros, who have a 9-5 record in the first half of September. The Astros are only 6 games under .500 with 16 games still to play. That means that a winning record for this season is still a finite possibility. Given where we came from the first half of the season, that's pretty amazing! But it won't be easy: The Astros will be facing the division leading Reds over the weekend. Don't look for me on Twitter during the first games, which will be played on Yom Kippur. But I'll be back on Sunday for the series closer.
Can you sing "Okalahoma"? Well, learn the words -- that's where our triple A team is likely to be next year. Now that Round Rock is turning into a Rangers franchise, the Astros need a new home for their top minor league team, and it looks like it will be Oklahoma City. Not sure whether the players will enjoy it there more than Round Rock (just a conversation away from way-cool Austin). But who cares -- play ball! O-K-L-A-H-O-M-AAA Oklahoma OK!
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