Lucas Harrell (1-0, 2.55) v.s. Zack Greinke (1-1, 5.09)
The Astros fell behind early but fought back to make for a close game tonight, however they ultimately fell to the Brewers by a 6-5 count. The Astros fall to 6-11 and the Brewers inch closer to .500 at 8-9.
*Lucas Harrell was not sharp tonight - his line: 5.0 IP / 5 H / 5 ER / 3 BB / 1 K. He took the loss and moves to 1-1 on the year with a 3.97 ERA.
Observations:
*Jed Lowrie hit his first homerun of the season tonight in the top of the 1st. Batting out of the 2 hole again, he went 2 for 5 with the HR and scored twice.
*The Astros scattered 13 hits tonight - not a bad effort at all. Unfortunately it was the pitching that really let them down again tonight, as it has at a few points during the season already.
*JD Martinez went hitless again tonight with an 0-4 outing. He was the only starter to not collect a hit tonight. He did draw a walk however and his OBP is a solid .408.
*Jose Altuve stayed hot with a 2 for 4 night, making myself and many others wonder what more he has to do to earn a spot at the top of the lineup. Jed Lowrie is well suited for the #2 hole, but with Altuve hitting as well as he has it only makes sense to move him up and give him more AB's and more chances at driving in runs.
Turning Point:
A few choices here - had the Astros not put up a fighting chance with 3 in the top of the 7th, the turning point could have been the disaster of a 1st inning. But in the end it has to be Brandon Lyon's bottom of the 6th. Walk/Single/Wild Pitch/Hit Batter......he's lucky he escaped having only given up 1 run. In the end, that 1 run was the difference in the game though.
Man of the Match:
How about Bogey again! He was clutch tonight. A bases loaded walk in the 5th brought in a run, and a 1 out triple in the 7th drove in 2 more to make it a close game. He went 1 for 4 in the end, but also walked, scored a run and drove in 3 runs. Some guys may have had better nights on the scoreboard, but nobody was more clutch than Bogey tonight.
Goat of the Game:
Lucas Harrell put the Astros in a hole from which they would never recover with another rough outing. Close second to JD Martinez, going 0 for 4 and leaving 3 men on base.
