Jarred Cosart (1-1, 1.60) vs Chris Sale (9-12, 3.08)
Alright. Lucas Harrell, that's just about enough out of you. For six innings, Jarred Cosart went toe to toe with one of the AL's best in Chris Sale, and he didn't blink. In the 7th, cHRis Carter struck again and tied the score. But as soon as Harrell took over, the game was all White Sox, and Houston drops the game and series by a 6-1 score. They'll head home to face the Mariners at 44-88 overall.
On the Mound:
*So Cosart wasn't quite as sharp as Sale, and likely he was lucky that 7 hits and 5 walks only resulted in one run. The resultant high pitch count (113) is what forced him from the game after 6 innings, but he still gave the Astros every chance to win, as he has every time out. Line: 6 IP / 7 H / 1 R / 1 ER / 5 BB / 4 K.
*Lucas Harrell, on the other hand, was 31 flavors of awful. Three walks, a sac fly, and a homer resulted in 4 runs in the 7th, then a double and another sac fly let in another run in the 8th for good measure.
At the Plate:
*The Astros hadn't scratched much off of Chris Sale before cHRis Carter went moonball again in the 7th, but his 26th homer even the score at 1. Carter also doubled earlier in the game to finish 2 for 4 with 2 K.
*Matt Dominguez (1 for 4, K), Jake Elmore (1 for 3), and Jonathan Villar (1 for 3, 2 K) all had hits of no consequence.
*Pour one out for the Robbie Grossman hitting streak; Sale snapped it at 14 games, and Grossman went 0 for 4 with 2 K.
Turning Point:
Harrell entered a 1-1 game in the bottom of the 7th after Carter's solo shot in the top of the frame, and started by walking Leury Garcia. Garcia stole second, then advanced to third on the same play when Jake Elmore missed Cody Clark's throw to try and catch him. After getting Gordon Beckham to ground out, a sac fly by Jeff Keppinger plated the go-ahead run, but Harrell wasn't done yet. Back-to-back walks to Adam Dunn and Paul Konerko were followed by a 3-run blast to center by Avisail Garcia, and Harrell's MLB-leading 15th loss was well earned.
Man of the Match:
Jarred Cosart. The walks are concerning - 26 total, versus 25 strikeouts, in 51 IP - but the results remain impressive.
Goat of the Game:
Lucas Harrell. He's got a nifty 6.95 ERA out of the bullpen now (17 ER in 22 IP).
