Jordan Lyles (3-10, 5.46) vs Wandy Rodriguez (9-13, 3.86)
Wandy was vintage Wandy again tonight, tossing his second straight scoreless outing and his third straight quality start. Alas for the Astros, he did it wearing the opposing colors. Astros lose 6-2, dropping to .500 (2-2) for September and 42-94 overall.
*Jordan Lyles ran into increasing trouble in every odd inning tonight, as he was ultimately unable to finish the 5th. A two-run error on Tyler Greene didn't help after Lyles left, and Jordan finished with this line: 4.2 IP / 7 H / 5 R / 4 ER / 1 BB / 5 K. Fernando Rodriguez didn't help either, issuing a walk and a wild pitch to put two runners in scoring position before Greene's error. Chuckie Fick, Rhiner Cruz, and Jose Valdez combined for three scoreless frames to finish the game, but Lyles and Rodriguez had already buried the Astros six runs deep.
Observations:
*The Astros only managed four singles and a walk against Wandy over the first seven innings. Their only non-single of the night came on a RBI double by Brett Wallace (1 for 4) in the 8th off of Chris Resop.
*Jose Altuve went 1 for 4 and stole his team-leading 28th base.
*Chris Snyder had Houston's other RBI, singling in a pinch-hit appearance to drive in Wallace in the 8th.
*Jimmy Paredes went 1 for 4 in his first start in left field.
*Brandon Laird got the start at third and went 1 for 3 in his Astros debut.
*Lyles (1 for 2) and Matt Dominguez (1 for 2, R) had Houston's other hits.
Turning Point:
Houston was down 3-0 in the 5th, but Lyles was close to escaping the inning without any further damage by sandwiching a pair of outs around a Brock Holt double. Andrew McCutchen singled to drive in Holt and chase Lyles, however, then came F-Rod's walk and wild pitch to put runners on second and third. Tyler Greene was bumped by Brandon Laird on a Pedro Alvarez popup that should have been the third out, but Greene straight dropped it, putting Houston at a 6-0 deficit.
Man of the Match:
Hmm. Brett Wallace, for breaking up the singles parade and the shutout.
Goat of the Game:
Tyler Greene. Dishonorable Mention to Jordan Lyles, who gave up one in the first and two in the third on his own, without any poor defensive assistance. But Greene accompanied his two-run error with an 0 for 4, K, 3 LOBster night.
