Jered Weaver (9-8, 3.38) vs Brett Oberholtzer (4-2, 2.65)
The most notable note of tonight's game for the Astros is that they have now set the all time American League team strikeout record, fanning nine times to finish the night with 1,393 K for the season. Oh, and Brett Wallace hit a home run. But there was nothing else to write home about for Houston, and they fall to the Angels 6-2. The loss drops them to 51-97 on the season, 4.0 games ahead of Miami in the #RodonWatch with 14 to play.
On the Mound:
*Brett Oberholtzer was not terrible, but neither was he near as sharp tonight as he had been the last two times out. A solo HR in the 3rd and back-to-back-to-back RBI hits in the 4th tagged him with a 6 IP / 6 H / 4 R / 4 ER / 2 BB / 4 K.
*David Martinez worked the final three frames and dug the hole a little deeper, allowing 3 R on 3 H and 3 BB, but the offense produced nothing behind him anyway.
At the Plate:
*The Astros matched the Angels tonight with 9 hits a piece, but only one of Houston's went for extra bases, while 5 of Los Angeles' 9 were XBH.
*That lone XBH for Houston was a two-run homer by Brett Wallace in the 4th, his 13th of the season and accounting for all of the Astros' scoring. Wallace finished 1 for 4 with 2 K.
*Jose Altuve is still white hot, going 3 for 4 tonight with a K. He's raised his average back up to .284 from a season-low .266 on August 31.
*With Altuve DHing, Marwin Gonzalez got the start at second and went 2 for 4.
*Jonathan Villar (1 for 5, 2 K), Matt Dominguez (1 for 4), and Jimmy Paredes (1 for 4, K) also had hits.
*Trevor Crowe went 0 for 3 with a K, but reached on a walk and scored on Wallace's HR.
Turning Point:
After a leadoff walk to Mike Trout and a K of Mark Trumbo, doubles by Howie Kendrick and Kole Calhoun and a single by Chris Ianetta transformed the Angels' 1-0 lead into a 4-0 margin in the 4th. That was more than the Astros could handle against Jered Weaver tonight.
Man of the Match:
Brett Wallace. He's actually third on the team in slugging percentage (.443) behind Jason Castro (.485) and Chris Carter (.450).
Goat of the Game:
Brett Oberholtzer. He lost his sharpness in the 4th, and it cost the team.
