Brett Oberholtzer (3-1, 2.91) vs Andre Rienzo (1-0, 3.56)
Well, that was far more interesting than it needed to be. 6-1 and 7-3 Houston leads somehow became a 8-7 deficit in one ugly inning, but the Astros bats would not stop swinging, and they ultimately emerged triumphant by a 10-8 final. The win improves Houston to 44-86 overall.
On the Mound:
*Brett Oberholtzer turned in the first non-quality start of his big league career, and it wasn't pretty by any means. But his 5.1 IP / 8 H / 5 R / 4 ER / 1 BB / 3 K line was still better than fellow rookie mound opponent Andre Rienzo.
*David Martinez made his second big league appearance, and he was all kinds of awful while concluding the 6th, allowing 3 R on 4 H in 0.2 of an inning then. But he settled down and allowed only a single in the next two innings after that.
*Josh Zeid (0.2 IP, H, BB) and Kevin Chapman (0.0 IP, BB) made sure the game stayed interesting until the very end, loading the bases for Jordan Lyles...
*...then Lyles dug himself into a 3-0 hole before battling back to get Avasail Garcia looking for the final out and his first career save.
At the Plate:
*Astros hitters launched 5 home runs tonight - their most since a season-high 6 back on June 5 against Baltimore.
*Leading the way, of course, was cHRis Carter, who hit his 24th and 25th, finishing 3 for 4 with a BB, a K, 3 R, and 4 RBI.
*Jason Castro celebrated his second AL Player of the Week award with his 18th home run, finishing 2 for 4 with 2 R, a BB, and 2 K.
*Brett Wallace celebrated his 27th birthday with his 11th bomb - a solo shot in the 4th to finish 1 for 5 with 2 K.
*And Matt Dominguez celebrated just being awesome, with a go-ahead homer in the 9th for his 19th of the season. He finished 2 for 4 with a BB and 3 R.
*The Robbie Grossman hitting streak is now up to 13 games after he doubled to go 1 for 5 with a K.
*Brandon Barnes had a double of his own and went 3 for 4 with a run scored, and another highlight-reel leaping catch in CF.
*Jose Altuve had the other hit, going 1 for 5 with 2 K.
Turning Point:
It looked like Chicago's 5-run 6th was going to be the focal point, but with two outs and none on in the 9th, Matty D hit his fifth home run since August 16 to put the Astros back on top 9-8. Not to be outdone, cHRis Carter made it back-to-back jacks, blasting his second home run of the game for a 10-8 Houston advantage.
Man of the Match:
cHRis Carter. He's the first Astro to reach 25 home runs in a season since Hunter Pence did it back in 2010.
Goat of the Game:
David Martinez. Earned a blown save for his work in the 6th, but the bats rescued him, and he got his first big league win nonetheless.
