JA Happ (1-1, 4.00) v.s. Shaun Marcum (1-1, 3.79)
The Astros continued their streak of dropping the first 2 games of a series only to win the 3rd, as they beat the Brewers by a 7-5 count this afternoon. The Astros offense continued to score runs in bunches, and JA Happ was just good enough to allow the Astros to sneak out of town with a victory. The Brewers fall to 9-10 while the Astros move to 7-12.
*JA Happ wasn't great, but he was good enough to keep the game close and allow the Astros to eventually take the lead in the top of the 7th. His line: 5.0 IP / 7 H / 4 ER / 2 BB / 8 K. He allowed 2 homeruns, and did not factor in the decision. Wilton Lopez got the win with a scoreless inning of relief, recording one strikeout. Brett Myers got his 3rd save of the year with a scoreless 9th.
Observations:
*Jordan Schafer got a hit in his 5th at bat of the day to extend his streak to 19 straight games of getting on base to start the season. He did end up only going 1 for 6 on the day however, and struck out 3 times. He is starting to strikeout more often now and needs to work on putting the ball into play and letting his speed beat some balls out.
*Jose Altuve had his 10th multi-hit game of the season. He is now tied for 1st in the NL in that category with Matt Kemp of the Dodgers. Altuve batted out of the #2 hole today (FINALLY) and went 4 for 5 with an RBI and scored 3 runs. His line for the season is now a very impressive .377/.429/.551.
*Of the first 13 Astros batters today, 8 reached base. The Astros ended with 7 runs on 14 hits. They left 12 men on base.
*Other Astros with multihit games include JD Martinez (3 for 4 with a walk), Brian Bogusevic (2 for 4 with a walk) and Chris Snyder (2 for 4). The only Astros to go hitless were Jed Lowrie (0 for 5 from the #5 spot), Chris Johnson (0 for 5) and JA Happ (0 for 2).
*The Astros drew 4 walks today, and were struck out 10 times. They stole one base (Bogusevic - his 2nd of the year).
*Top 3 Astros year-to-date OBP as of right now: JD Martinez (.432), Jose Altuve (.429), Jordan Schafer (.354).
*The 3 Astros starters this series (Harrell, Norris & Happ) went a combined 15.2 IP allowing 21 hits, striking out 15 while walking 7. They combined to give up 16 ER in the 3 game series. Our starters HAVE to be better to give us a chance to win games. The offense has been hot as of late, but the pitching just isn't giving us a chance to win many games.
Turning Point:
Chris Snyder's RBI single in the 7th was the difference, but i'm almost tempted to call the 2nd inning the turning point here. The Astros took an early lead again (they seem to do that often), only to squander it quickly in the bottom half of the 1st, falling behind 2-1. Had the Astros not rebounded here, it could have been a long afternoon for them. But they put up 3 more runs in the top of the 2nd to take a solid 4-2 lead. The Brewers would eventually tie the game at 4-4, but it gave the Astros that cushion they needed to stay in the game.
Man of the Match:
Altuve and JD Martinez were both fantastic, but the nod goes to Martinez here. 3 for 4 with a walk, a run scored and 3 RBI. A great afternoon for him after a couple of tough games at the plate lately.
Goat of the Game:
Jed Lowrie was 0 for 5 with 3 strikeouts from the #5 hole. He's an OBP machine, but is only batting .245 with a .327 slugging percentage so far this season.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
