After an absolute debacle at the plate last night(again) vs. the Rangers, the Astros yet again found themselves at a crossroads entering game two of the series. Going 2-14 with 9 LOB in game one, they now face Rangers Ace Jacob deGrom(11-6, 2.68 ERA, 166 SO) as they try to tie the series. Yeesh.
They’ve already been struggling as of late with producing any consistent offensive output. They now have to win a much needed divisional game against a top-4 AL pitcher with a 2.68 ERA. It’s not one sided
though, as young Ace Hunter Brown(10-7, 2.28 ERA, 188 SO) took the mound for the Astros to make it a bonafide pitcher’s duel at Globe Life.
With the Mariners having fallen flat on their faces in the midst of their struggles, there is still time to right the ship and create some distance in the AL West race. The question is, can they conquer their offensive futility and Jacob deGrom to do it?
First Pitch: 6:16 CDT
Top of the 3rd Inning:
The orange team struck first, as Christian Walker belted a deGrom slider 426 feet to center field to make it 1-0. That homer was roughly 110mph off the bat.
Top of the 5th Inning:
The Astros then made it a two homer day, as Yordan took a changeup 421 feet to right field to increase the lead to 2-0. Like Walker, the exit velo was 110 off the bat. Man, it’s great to have a generational hitter back in the lineup.
Top of the 6th Inning:
The Astros finally scored on a non-homer based play. Yainer Diaz lined an RBI-double to right field to score Carlos Correa to make it 3-0.
(I hate to be that guy right now, but at this point they were 1-7 with RISP and 7 LOB.)
Hunter Brown was then replaced by Enyel De Los Santos to start the 7th. That brought to a close a magnificent quality start by the Diesel. His final line: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 3 BB, 8 K, 0 ER.(now has a 2.25 ERA)
A quick shout out to De Los Santos. Ever since being acquired by the Astros on August 7th, he’s been a machine of production. In August he went 2-0 in 9 games played, with a 1.08 ERA.
Here’s an even closer look: 6 H, 1 BB, 8 K, 1 R, .207 AVG, 0.84 WHIP
Kudos to Dana Brown.
Top of the 8th Inning:
Look at that, small ball works! Cam Smith led off the inning with a triple, followed by a Victor Caratini HBP. Then, Walker finished the job for Cam with an RBI-double to left field to make it 4-0.
A returning Jake Meyers then scored Taylor Trammell from 3rd base on an RBI-single to left field to jump to 5-0.
Doing his typical “Yordan things”, Alvarez lined an RBI-single to center field also to make it 6-0.
I will give credit where it’s due. Since September 1st, the Astros have scored 4+ runs 4 times. That makes it 4 out of 6 games played.(Including tonight’s 6) This is also their third 6+ run ballgame in the same span.
Top of the 9th Inning:
This is the part where Rangers fans want to hide their eyes. A butt kicking that was already in progress then turned into the Astros stomping a Texas sized mudhole and walking it dry. (Stone Cold Steve Austin must be smiling somewhere)
It would be more efficient to do it this way:
Cam BB, Trammell double, Yainer 2 RBI-single, Meyers reached on an error, Peña single(bases loaded), Dubón 2 RBI-single, Urías RBI-single. Goodness, that felt personal. 11-0 Astros.
This marks their 1st 10+ run ballgame since August 22nd against the Orioles.
Bottom of the 9th Inning:
Logan VanWey then finished the shutout in 1-2-3 order, finishing the Rangers and helping tie the series at 1-1. The final score was 11-0.
The win elevated their record to 78-65 on the season and handed Hunter Brown his 11th win. This one had to feel good, knowing how much they’ve struggled as of late to string quality at bats together. This could perhaps be the start of the offensive turnaround that Dana Brown pounded the proverbial table for recently.
Tomorrow, they try to capitalize on tonight’s beat down by facing Patrick Corbin(7-9, 4.48 ERA, 114 SO) in the series finale. Luis Garcia(1-0, 4.50 ERA, 6 SO) will make his second start since returning from the IL.
