Wandy Rodriguez (4-4, 3.14) vs Gavin Floyd (4-5, 5.32)
The Astros found a power surge, hitting 3 homeruns on their way to an 8-3 victory in the opener of their interleague series against the Chicago White Sox. The Astros improved to 25-33 with the win.
*Wandy Rodriguez got the nod and was solid again, as he has generally been this season. His line: 5.1 IP / 9 H / 3 ER / 1 BB / 2 K. Lopez, Wright and Rodriguez picked up Holds, while Myers pitched the 9th in a non-save situation after the Astros scored their 3 runs in the top half of the 9th.
Observations:
*Altuve led off with Schafer batting 2nd. Altuve went 2 for 5 with a run, while Schafer went 0 for 4 with 3 K's, a walk and a run scored. Schafer did have a very nice at bat against a tough lefty in Matt Thornton in the 7th, but eventually struck out swinging.
*Jed Lowrie continued to stay hot, with his 11th homerun of the year. He's having a very nice year so far and looks like a very shrewd pickup by Luhnow.
*Brian Bogusevic hit a very nice 3 run bomb in the top of the 9th to increase the lead to 8-3 and really put the game out of reach. He has homered 3 times in the past 10 days now.
*Brett Wallace also homered, his first of the year. Maybe it's the hair?
Turning Point:
While the Bogusevic 3 run homerun was huge and put the game out of reach, i'm going to go with a smaller play here. In the top of the 7th, with Altuve on 1st and Maxwell on 3rd and one out, Altuve was caught leaning at 1st and got himself into a rundown. Justin Maxwell very wisely snuck home on the play to score and make it a 5-3 lead. That 2 run lead was a little more cushion - a very nice heads up play by Maxwell.
Man of the Match:
Jed Lowrie had a big night, going 2 for 4 with his 11th homerun of the year. He drove in 3 runs and scored once.
Goat of the Game:
Close between CJ and JD Martinez, but because CJ had a bit of an excuse (he was feeling nauseous and that is why he was removed from the game), the goat goes to JD. 0 for 4 from the cleanup spot with 2 K's.
