Just a Split, Not a Sweep

GAME 55: Astros 3, Orioles 1
GAME 56: Astros 2, Orioles 1
GAME 57: Orioles 4, Astros 1
GAME 58: Orioles 9, Astros 4

After winning 7 in a row, it was a downer to lose the second pair of games in the Orioles series at MMP. Can you hear what a change in world-view that is? Up until a couple of weeks ago, I was just looking to win one game in each series, hoping for about .333 on the season - an improvement over last year. Now it's disappointing to split a 4-game series, instead of sweeping. Well, I didn't expect that the kids were going to win every game for the rest of the season. But things are sure looking up!

The excellent offense of recent games slowed down considerably on the return to Minute Maid Park. That's a bit ironic, given how many of the Astros' runs this year have come courtesy of homers, and MMP is a very home run friendly ballpark. Happily the Astros starting rotation, except for our ace, are still pitching some nice games. On Thursday, Brad Peacock threw like he knew his future was on the line - 6 innings, giving up only 1 run, striking out 8. Unfortunately, he left the game before the Astros took the lead. They had just enough offense, with a 2-run Springer Dinger in the 7th making the difference between W and L. Friday night it was Oberholzer dealing, also looking to secure his place in the rotation. He pitched 7 innings, giving up only 1 run on 4 hits. His teammates barely helped out, but happily Villar -- after going oh-fer-a-coupla-dozen -- came through with a RBI double to allow the Astros to eke out the win. Saturday afternoon, Keuchel broke his string of 3 virtually complete games, giving up 3 runs in 6 innings. Not terrible, but not good enough without run support. Altuve and Springer uncharacteristically went 0 for 8 together, and set the tone for a loss. Let's not even talk about Sunday's mess. Feldman was banged up for a bundle of runs, and though the Astros scored more runs than in the previous game, it wasn't anywhere near good enough. So settle for the series split and move on.

In the rotation battle, Peacock won, and Oberholzer was sent back down to Triple A. But bigger news out of OKC: Singleton's coming!!! He's joining the big league team NOW. Just in time for me to go offline for a few days for religious observance (Shavuot). WAH! Can't wait to see what happens next! And can't wait to hear who we pick in the draft Thursday night. Will check as soon as the holiday ends.

Chag sameach! (That's Hebrew for Happy Holiday!)