And the plot thickens. Braves 6 Astros 2. With the loss and the combination of the Rangers win, things are once again knotted up atop the A.L. West.
Peter Lambert was cruising along until the 4th. The Braves strung together three straight hits, the biggest coming off the bat of Michael Harris who took a breaking ball opposite field for a 2-run homer. In the bottom half of that frame the crowd of over 37,000 came to life when the Astros matched with a trio of baserunners. Yordan Alvarez started things
with his 32nd double of the season. Isaac Paredes scored Alvarez with an RBI single to center. Altuve also singled, but the Astros did no more damage there. In fact, those were the only hits the Astros managed until LaMonte Wade singled in the 8th. Isaac Paredes would eventually bring in Wade with his 88th RBI of the year.
It appeared that Atlanta’s breakout moment would come in the 6th. They loaded up the bases which ended Lambert’s night. Lambert’s final line: 5.1 IP 6 Hits, 2 ER with a walk and 6 K’s. AJ Blubaugh came on in relief, recording outs on Yastrzemski and Riley to keep it a one run affair. However, in the 7th the Braves finally extended their lead. Drake Baldwin drew a walk and came home on Ronald Acuna’s shot to left field, making things 4-1.
Matt Olson put the final nail in the coffin launching his 40th home run in the 9th. All three of the Braves home runs for the evening were two-run blasts.
Tyler Mahle has now improved to 4-1 in eight starts with the Braves. The last time Peter Lambert won a game was back on July 11th. With the win, Atlanta has now clinched a spot in the playoffs for the 8th time in 9 years.
Odds & Ends:
With a pair of walks, Yordan Alveraz now has 105 on the season.
Daulton Varsho is now 3-30 at the plate in recent games.
Hayden Wesneski will look for his 6th win of the season tomorrow night. First pitch set for 6:10 CDT.
George Springer turns 37 on Saturday.
