Jeff Samardzija (4-2, 3.00) vs Wandy Rodriguez (3-4, 2.24)
Sweeeeeep! The Astros finished off the sweep of the Cubs and sent them to their 9th straight loss with a 5-1 victory. If there is anything sweeter than sweeping the Cubs, I don't know what it is (I am still quite bitter about some of their classless fans that showed up for the Astros "home game" at Miller Park a couple of years back)...but I digress. The Astros now move to 21-23, within striking distance of that elusive .500 record again, while the Cubs fall to 15-29.
*Wandy Rodriguez was very sharp again tonight. His own blemish was a first inning homerun given up to Cubs CF Reed Johnson. He finished with a very nice line of 7.0 IP / 8 H / 1 ER / 0 BB / 5 K. He improves to 4-4 and lowered his ERA on the season to a very nice 2.14. Brandon Lyon got the Hold, and Brett Myers pitched the 9th (although it wasn't a Save situation as the Astros had tacked on 3 additional runs in the bottom of the 8th).
Observations:
*JD Martinez is back! He went 3 for 4 with a triple, a run scored and 3 RBI's. And he did it all wile only seeing 7 pitches on the evening. Perhaps he will find more success swinging early in counts on pitches he likes. The aggression certainly worked for him today.
*Carlos Lee also had a very nice night, going 3 for 4 with 2 runs scored.
*The Astros had 9 hits, walked 4 times and struck out 5 times.
*Chris Johnson also had a nice night going 2 for 4 with a pair of runs scored.
*Jason Castro got the start behind the plate and went 1 for 2 with 2 walks.
*Schafer is obviously still in some pain, and had the night off. Bogusevic started in CF. He went 0 for 4 with 2 K's.
*Jed Lowrie and Travis Buck both had rough nights at the plate, going 0 for 5 and 0 for 4 respectively - making it a combined 0 for 9 with a strikeout from our 2 & 3 hitters tonight.
*Jose Altuve led off again. While he wen 0 for 3, he did draw a walk and drove in a run.
Turning Point:
The JD Martinez 2 run triple in the 4th were the Astros first runs of the game, and gave them the lead. It also proved to be the only runs the Astros would need.
Man of the Match:
JD Martinez. 3 for 4, a run scored and 3 RBI. Welcome back, JD!
Goat of the Game:
Bogusevic or Lowrie. Bogey was 0 for 4 with 2 K's, and Lowrie was 0 for 5 with a K. Take your pick.
