Yu Darvish (5-1, 2.56) vs Erik Bedard (0-2, 7.36)
Ooooooooooooh... Philip Humber. I'm as much a fan of the "local kid comes home" story as anyone, but if it wasn't already, Humber's welcome is officially worn out. Tonight could have been one of Houston's most unlikely and uplifting wins of the season, but then Phil Humber happened, and all of those good feelings were erased. A furious late rally fell just shy, so the Astros lose 8-7, and drop to 10-27 on the season.
On the Mound:
*Of all the pitching matchups that Houston has faced this season, maybe none has looked more one-sided than Yu Darvish vs. Erik Bedard. But truth turned out to be that Bedard out-dueled Darvish while both were in the game. Erik left with a 3-1 lead after a Lance Berkman double to start the 6th, and finished with a 5 IP / 4 H / 2 R / 2 ER / 1 BB / 7 K line.
*Philip Humber has pitched in 9 games for the Astros. He's been charged with the loss in 8 of them. If he didn't pitch his way off the team tonight, I don't know what it will take, following a 0.2 IP / 5 H / 5 R / 5 ER / 1 BB / 1 K outing. That left him with a shiny 9.59 ERA.
*The godawful 6th ended on a caught stealing with Jose Cisnero on the mound and Big Puma at the plate, but Lance homered in his restarted AB to begin the 7th. That was the only run allowed in Jose's 3.1 innings of work.
At the Plate:
*Matt Dominguez, Darvish slayer! The Astros had nearly as much trouble against Yu tonight as they did (*ahem*) the last time around, but Matty D made a huge difference. A solo home run in the 3rd and a two-run shot in the 5th staked Houston to a 3-1 lead. He finished 2 for 4 with a K.
*The only other Astro to solve Darvish in 7 innings was - who else? - Marwin Gonzalez. Marwin the Magnificent tonight went 1 for 3 with a sac fly RBI and a K.
*Robbie Grossman doubled and scored in the 8th (after Yu left), finishing 1 for 3 with 2 BB and a K.
*Jose Altuve went 0 for 3 with a K, but got the 8th-inning RBI on a sacrifice fly.
*Carlos Corporan singled and scored to begin a 9th-inning rally, finishing 1 for 4 with a K.
*Carlos Pena doubled in the 9th and finished 1 for 2 with 2 R and 2 BB.
*Trevor Crowe had a RBI single in the 9th and ended up 1 for 4 with a run scored.
Turning Point:
That godawful Rangers 6th inning. Lance Berkman led off with a double that ended Bedard's night, then PhiLOL Humber came in to bork everything up. After fanning Adrian Beltre, it went 2-run HR, triple, double, walk, triple, pop-up, single. That turned a 3-1 Houston lead into a 7-3 Texas arsekicking.
Man of the Match:
Matt Dominguez. A big bright spot in an otherwise infuriating evening for Astros fans.
Goat of the Game:
Philip Humber. Jeff Luhnow, if you're reading - Edgar Gonzalez is available. What say we bring him back, and end the Humber experiment NOW?
