Lucas Harrell (7-6, 4.56) vs Tim Lincecum (3-10, 6.42)
Some losses hurt more than others. This one hurt more than most. Astros tie the game (in bizarre fashion) with two outs in the 9th, keep it tied until the 12th, then Brett Myers comes in and it's all for naught. Houston loses 3-2 in 12, and lose Jed Lowrie to injury in the process. They're now 0-9 in extra innings, 0-12 in their last 12 road games, and 33-55 overall.
*Lucas Harrell gave up five hits and four walks in his five innings, but kept the damage down to only one run. His line: 5 IP / 5 H / 1 R / 1 ER / 4 BB / 4 K. Fernando Abad allowed the Giants' second run on back-to-back doubles in the 6th, but then Lyon, Del Rosario, Lopez, and Fernando Rodriguez combined for 5 scoreless to take it to the 12th. Myers came next, but he allowed three straight singles without recording an out to give San Francisco the game.
Observations:
*We'll start with Jed Lowrie. He was 0 for 2 when Melky Cabrera grounded to second in the bottom of the 3rd. Lowrie's knee did unnatural things on the play, and he immediately went down in obvious, serious pain. The official announcement initially was a sprained ankle, but it's clearly more serious than that. We'll no doubt hear more about this in the coming days.
*The Astros had 7 hits and 2 walks to go against 16 strikeouts as a team.
*Justin Maxwell had Houston's only extra-base hit, a double in the 9th that drove in the Astros' first run. Maxwell went 1 for 4 with 2 K.
*The six singles went one apiece to Jordan Schafer (1 for 5, 2 K), Jose Altuve (1 for 5, 1 K), J.D. Martinez (1 for 5, 1 K), Chris Johnson (1 for 5, 1 K), Brian Bogusevic (1 for 1), and Matt Downs (1 for 2).
*Brian Bixler came in after Lowrie was injured, and he still managed to strike out three times for the second consecutive game.
*Chris Snyder (0 for 4) also struck out three times against one walk, but one of those strikeouts led to the tying run with two outs in the 9th. More on that after the jump.
Turning Point:
I don't feel like discussing Myers' latest meltdown, so we'll go instead with Houston's believe-it-or-not 9th. Santiago Casilla came in to relieve Tim Lincecum, and he started by sandwiching a Scott Moore walk between strikeouts of Martinez and Johnson. Then came Maxwell's double to right, driving in Moore, which brought Chris Snyder to the plate. Snyder struck out swinging on a 1-2 pitch, but the pitch was wild and let Maxwell advance to third while Snyder ran to first. Giants catcher Hector Sanchez made an ill-advised and wild throw to first, so Snyder was safe, and Maxwell scored the tying run before Brandon Belt could get the ball back to the plate.
Man of the Match:
Justin Maxwell. His clutch double and heads-up baserunning in the 9th at least gave the Astros a chance.
Goat of the Game:
Brett Myers. Again, your closer and bullpen anchor can't do this.
