Dallas Keuchel (1-3, 4.63) vs Yovani Gallardo (8-8, 4.07)
That did not go well. That did not go well at all. Dallas Keuchel was wild, which is bad news for a control pitcher, and Yovani Gallardo was as dominant as Houston has come to expect (11-2, 2.72 career vs. Astros). It added up to a 10-1 loss, dropping the Astros to 35-70 overall. Houston finishes the worst month in franchise history with a 3-24 record.
*Kid Keuchy ran into trouble from the outset today, and it never got much better. He made it into the 5th, but didn't record an out then before leaving, so he finished with this line: 4 IP / 7 H / 7 R / 7 ER / 6 BB / 1 K. Chuckie Fick inherited two runners from Keuchel, and immediately let both score on a three-run HR to Corey Hart, but he allowed no further runs in three innings of work after that. Rhiner Cruz allowed the final two Brewer runs in his one inning of work.
Observations:
*Uuuuuuuuuugly. Gallardo has a history of dominating Houston, but the Astros didn't make it hard on him tonight either.
*Chris Snyder had Houston's first hit, and their only extra-base hit, with a solo home run leading off the 3rd. Jordan Schafer followed with a walk, which was the Astros' last base runner until the 6th.
*Jose Altuve had two of Houston's five hits, singling twice to go 2 for 4. That brought his average back over .300, to .302, for the first time since the All-Star Break.
*Brett Wallace (1 for 4) and Brian Bogusevic (1 for 1) had a single each for Houston's other two hits.
*Steve Pearce was the Astros' only other base runner, when he was hit by a Jim Henderson pitch in the 8th.
Turning Point:
Milwaukee took the lead in the 1st and never gave it back, but Snyder's homer at least cut the lead to 2-1 in the middle of the 3rd. But then the first three Brewers went double (Carlos Gomez), walk (Ryan Braun), 3-run HR (Aramis Ramirez) off Keuchel to begin the bottom of the 3rd.
Man of the Match:
Jose Altuve. He's 18 for 43 (.419) with 7 multi-hit games in his last 11.
Goat of the Game:
Dallas Keuchel. Unlike the rough beginning to his last start, after which he settled in, he never found that groove tonight.
