Monday, August 4, 2014

The Jays are Blue

GAME 109: Blue Jays 6, Astros 5
GAME 110: Astros 3, Blue Jays 1
GAME 111: Astros 8, Blue Jays 2
GAME 112: Astros 6, Blue Jays 1

After the fun of winning a series from the A's, the Astros took on another strong playoff contender, the Toronto Blue Jays -- and won again! In fact, like in the A's series, the Astros came pretty close to a sweep.

Let's get that disappointment in game 1 of the series out of the way first. This was not quite the failure of the loss in the A's series; it had been back and forth over the whole game. Starting pitcher Jake Buchanan was called up to fill in for the traded Cosart, and held the Blue Jays to 3 runs over his 5 innings. The Astros gave him just enough run support - 4 runs. Veras gave up a tying homer in the sixth, but the Astros came back to go ahead by one in the bottom of the inning. The Astros were still leading 5-4 in the 8th, when the Blue Jays tied on a pair of singles and sac fly off of Josh Fields. Then Chad Qualls gave up a game winning homer to garner his second consecutive loss. What more could we expect in a game that Altuve doesn't get even a single hit in? Enough said.

Let's move on to better things! The rest of the series was much more fun. Here are a few highlights.

As usual, I missed the Friday night game, and most of the Saturday evening game, due to Sabbath observance. Friday night's game featured a solid start for McHugh -- he gave up only one run in 6 1/3 innings, and the bullpen held on to shut out the Jays for the rest of the game. However, Astros batters didn't get around to scoring a run to take the lead until well after his watch. The game winning runs came in the bottom of the eighth on Petit's first major league homer.  (Alas, it was on a night that his wife had a headache and didn't go to the game!)

I tuned in after the Sabbath just in time for fun and games! After Oberholtzer had pitched 7 innings, nursing a 4-2 lead, the Astros brought in Mike Foltynewicz for his major league debut. FOLTY!!! It was only 3 batters in relief, but it gave fans a chance to see what we have in store. He pitched all fastballs -- ranging from 94 to 99 -- to the heart of the Jays' order.  Cabrera popped out, then the mighty Bautista struck out on four consecutive 99 MPH fast balls, then pinch-hitter Rasmus walked on a full count. Porter then brought in Sipp to pitch to next Jays' batter -- no one throws to left-handed batters better than Sipp! But uh-oh -- Sipp gave up a LONNNNG fly ball that was clearly headed over the wall to tie the game. The Robbie Grossman took a leap into the air and grabbed the ball for the third out.  

In the bottom of the inning, the Astros doubled down. Carter led off with a single, and Castro hit a homer to make it 6-2.  After Hoes singled,  Singleton hit a sharp bounce-off-the-wall fly ball and started running. Hoes scored, but Singleton was called out sliding into home plate. But hooray for the new review process!!! The out call was overturned on review and Singleton was awarded the inside the park home run! For a big guy, he can leg it! The final score was 8-2, after Clemens pitched a hitless ninth. What a great game for the Astros offense! Although Altuve "only" got 2 hits, Carter, Castro, and Singleton were each 3 for 4 -- each with a homer.

With at least a tie guaranteed for the series, it was Feldman's turn to pitch. He's pitched well lately, but the bullpen hasn't helped him get a win for his efforts.  Sunday afternoon he didn't take any chances with the bullpen: He pitched a complete game, giving up only one run in the second inning before dominating the Blue Jays for the rest of the game. The Astros scored their six runs, uncharacteristically, without a homer - just lots of singles, doubles, walks, and sacs. But they managed to score their runs early in the game, giving Feldman plenty of support for the win.

In other good news, Springer is going to Quad Cities for a rehab stint. Hopefully our star rookie will be back soon! Meanwhile, Santana is getting a second chance, after his dreadful series of Ks in his debut earlier this season. He's been called up to replace Guzman, who's out on DL.

The Astros have a night off -- for Tishe B'av? -- before taking on the Phillies Tuesday night.

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