Bud Norris (5-1, 3.14) vs Chad Billingsley (2-3. 3.91)
The Astros hung with one of the best teams in the Majors for a full 9 innings again, but they couldn't build on their winning streak as they dropped a 6-3 decision to the Dodgers, due to a walkoff 3 run homerun by Dodgers catcher AJ Ellis in the bottom of the 9th. The Astros drop 2 games back of .500 at 22-24 while the Dodgers improve to 31-15. The Astros will look to pick up the series win on Sunday.
*Bud Norris had been hot as of late, but he laboured through his outing today. He threw 116 pitches (74 for strikes) in only 4.2 innings of work. His line: 4.2 IP / 8 H / 3 ER / 4 BB / 4 K. Del Rosario, Cruz, Lyon, Wright and Lopez each saw work. Wright took the loss after his baserunner scored on the walkoff homerun (given up by Lopez).
Observations:
*Jordan Schafer returned to the lineup and slid right back into his familiar leadoff spot. Another interesting decision by Mills as Schafer had been struggling there even before his injury, and Altuve had been red hot there. Schafer went 1 for 4 with a walk and an RBI, but also struck out twice.
*Altuve went 1 for 5 with another double from the 2 hole. His line on the year is now .309/.361/.463. The guy can hit.
*After JD Martinez' big game, he came crashing right back down to earth with an 0 for 5, 2 K performance.
*Carlos Lee continued to quietly produce, going 1 for 5 with another RBI. His line on the year is now a very solid .301/.359/.428.
*CJ and Castro each picked up a hit as well. CJ's line is pretty solid this year as well - .289/.327/.440.
*The Astros walked 6 times to 9 strikeouts, not a bad ratio. They also had 7 hits on the night, but went 2 for 10 with RISP again - one of their biggest ongoing struggles this season.
Turning Point:
It doesn't get much bigger than the 3 run walkoff homerun by Ellis, although the Dodgers 4th inning was a big turning point too, as they Astros still held a 2-1 lead - but came out of that inning down 3-2.
Man of the Match:
Bogusevic had a very nice night at the plate, scoring 2 runs (including the game tying run in the 8th), and went 2 for 3 with a walk.
Goat of the Game:
Wilton Lopez gave up the walkoff 3 run homerun after giving up a walk as well.
