Roy Halladay (10-7, 4.01) vs Jordan Lyles (4-11, 5.33)
Derrick Goold can officially stop losing sleep over the Astros compromising the integrity of the pennant race. Instead, he can wring his hands over his Cardinals being 2-8 in their last 10 and on the brink of falling out of a playoff spot, and now they have to face the Astros next. Houston rallied late today for a 7-6 victory, taking 3 of 4 from a Phillies team that came into town on a 7-game winning streak and 18-6 since August 18. The Astros are 7-5 against contenders this month, 8-7 overall in September, and if they're gonna lose 100 games, they at least made sure today that #100 didn't come at home - they hit the road to St. Louis at 48-99 in 2012.
*Jordan Lyles and the 5th inning don't mix well this season. After a three-run 5th today, Clark Goble noted that Lyles' 5th-inning ERA this year is a ghastly 15.83. Jordan did well enough over the preceding four innings, however, to at least keep his team in the game against Roy Halladay, ending his afternoon with a 5 IP / 5 H / 4 R / 4 ER / 4 BB / 6 K line. Hector Ambriz and Wesley Wright pitched a scoreless inning each to get the Astros through the 7th, then Xavier Cedeno struck out Ryan Howard leading off the 8th, but Mickey Storey came on next and immediately ran into trouble. He retired none of the three batters he faced, allowing two runs in the process, but Wilton Lopez came to the rescue for the final 1.2. Wright recorded his second win of the series and the season, and Lopez logged his sixth save.
Observations:
*Scott Moore was the first of three Astros with a pair of RBIs apiece today, getting his on a two-run homer off Halladay in the 3rd. He finished the day 2 for 3.
*Carlos Corporan also took Halladay way downtown, blasting a solo shot off the facade of the second deck in RF in the 6th, and he finished 1 for 4 with 2 K. This was Carlos' fourth home run in 67 ABs this season, after he had none in 154 ABs last year.
*Justin Maxwell picked a huge spot to push his hitting streak to 10 games, doubling home the tying and go-ahead runs with one out in the 7th. He ended his day 1 for 4 with 2 Ks and a run scored.
*Matt Dominguez also came up big in the 7th with a two-run single, which ultimately resulted in the winning runs. He finished 1 for 4.
*J.D. Martinez didn't factor in the scoring, but he did have himself a nice day at the plate, going 2 for 3 with a double, a triple and a K.
*Jimmy Paredes had a nice day as well, going 1 for 3 with two walks, two runs scored, and a spectacular leaping catch to rob Chase Utley of at least a double in RF.
*Jose Altuve went 0 for 5 with a K, but he reached base on a throwing error in the 7th, swiped second for his 31st steal of the season (good for sixth in the league), and came around to score on J-Max's double.
*Brandon Laird also pinch-hit, walked, and scored in the 7th.
Turning Point:
The Astros were down 4-3 when Philadelphia's bullpen took over for Roy Halladay in the bottom of the 7th. Matt Downs pinch-hit leading off and struck out, but Jose Altuve reached next on a throwing error by Phillies 3B Michael Martinez. The Altuve stole second, followed by walks to Jimmy Paredes and Brandon Laird, to load the bases with one out for Justin Maxwell. J-Max dunked Phillippe Aumont's 2-1 pitch just inside the right field foul line for a two-run double, putting Houston up 5-4, then Matt Dominguez followed by bouncing a single into left over a leaping Michael Martinez to drive in two more. The Phillies got two back in the top of the 8th, but Wilton Lopez came in and preserved the 7-6 lead thereafter.
Man of the Match:
Going with Wilton Lopez, but there were plenty of heroes today. Great team win!
The Astros bid farewell to Ed Wade and the Phillies until who knows when, in a fashion that Jeff Luhnow has to feel good about.
