Wandy Rodriguez (5-4, 3.27) vs Barry Zito (5-3, 3.24)
Thanks to some good pitching and a JD Martinez Grand Slam, the Astros avoided the sweep and took the final game of the series against the Giants by a 6-3 score. The Astros improve to 27-36 with the win and now head to Texas for a weekend series against the Rangers.
*Wandy Rodriguez picked up a Quality Start in a pretty fair outing, displaying a line of 6.0 IP / 6 H / 3 ER / 2 BB / 3 K. He picked up the win and improves to 6-4 on the year, although his ERA did see a slight bump - up to 3.35. Wright and Rodriguez picked up Holds with a scoreless inning of work each, and Brett Myers picked up Save number 16 with a scoreless 9th. Myers dropped his ERA to a very nice 1.99 with the outing.
Observations:
*Matt Downs homered in the 2nd inning, his 4th longball of the year.
*JD Martinez's Grand Slam was the Astros third of the season. It was an absolute no doubter and increased the Astros slim 1-0 lead to a much more comfortable 5-0 lead with one swing of the bat.
*The Astros only struck out 4 times. They also walked 4 times, and picked up 8 hits.
*The Astros went a very decent 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position.
*Bixler, Martinez, Maxwell, CJ, Downs and Bogusevic (PH) each had one hit. Altuve had the only multi-hit game with a 2 for 4 night in the leadoff spot. He also walked once and scored a run.
Turning Point:
The JD Martinez Grand Slam was the big blow the Astros needed.
Man of the Match:
JD Martinez. Took advantage of a wild pitcher and made him pay.
Goat of the Game:
Jason Castro went 0 for 4 with 3 strikeouts at the plate.
