Thankfully, I didn't see this game because I was at Pappasito's eating my weight in cheese and then at the airport. But I can toss some stats your way, eh?
*From July 1 - today, the Astros are 6-22. They have struck out 10+ times in 18 of those 28 games.
*The team OPS is .671, which is two points lower than the team's OPS in 2012.
*Today's game, a 3-2 loss for the Minnesota sweep, puts the Astros at 14-21 in one-run games.
*It was the 59th time (out of 110 games) that the Astros have scored three or fewer runs. They're 9-50 in those games.
*When they allow four or more runs, the Astros are 12-64.
*So we're caught up. Let's focus on today's game...
*It sucked.
*Except for Brad Peacock. In twelve career Major-League appearances, Peacock struck out 27 of the 186 batters he had faced (14.5%). Today, Peacock struck out ten of the 27 batters he faced (37%). After his 7IP, 4H/3ER, 10K:2BB (2HR) performance, his ERA dropped from 8.07 to 7.25.
*The Astros were terrible (we could actually stop this here) against the Twins' bullpen. Here's the line vs. the Twins' bullpen this weekend:
Friday: 7IP, 3H, 1R, 6K:0BB
Saturday: 6IP, 1H, 0R, 10K:1BB
Sunday: 4IP, 2H, 0R, 4K:2BB
Total in 17 innings: 6H, 1R, 20K:3BB
*The Astros didn't record a single extra-base hit for the 9th time this season; the first time since they went three straight games without an XBH from June 30-July 2.
How about some positivity in an attempt to not foam at the mouth?
*Robbie Grossman was 2x5, giving him at least one hit in each of the seven games in which he has played since being called up (12x25).
*Jose Altuve was 1x4 with a walk. He also got his 27th and 28th stolen bases, putting him five short of his 2012 total, with an 80% success rate (75% success rate in 2012). No other Astro has more than nine stolen bases.
*As a matter of fact, Altuve has stolen 61 of the Astros' 178 stolen bases (34.3%) since the beginning of the 2012 season.
*Jason Castro was 1x2 with three walks, giving him seven walks in his last eight games. Castro had seven walks total from June 20-July 25.
*Chris Carter didn't strike out! But, as High Heat Stats mentioned tonight, his 145 strikeouts are tied with Lee May for the most in a single season in Astros history (1972). It's August 4. Lee May struck out 145 times in 647 plate appearances. Carter has struck out 145 times in 398 plate appearances.
*Matt Dominguez was 2x4. It was his 3rd multi-hit game in his last five.
*In their next three series, the Astros play Boston, Oakland, and Texas; teams against which the Astros are 3-22. So...
Man of the Match: Brad Peacock
Goat of the Game:
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
