Brett Oberholtzer (4-3, 2.98) vs Zach McAllister (8-9, 3.96)
Mother Nature granted the Astros a reprieve after over 9 hours and 24 innings of baseball, plus travel, the previous two days. Unfortunately, she couldn't do anything to protect the Astros from themselves. Tonight it was errors instead of base running, but for the third straight game, the Astros beat themselves with dumb mistakes. Cleveland wins 2-1 in a rain-shortened six and a half inning game, sending Houston to a season high seventh straight loss. The Astros now sit at 51-102 with 9 to play.
On the Mound:
*The rain helped, but Brett Oberholtzer officially turned in his second CG of the month. As on 9/1, he surrendered no earned runs, but three Astros errors let in two runs of the unearned variety, making Brett the tough-luck loser once again. His line: 6 IP / 4 H / 2 R / 0 ER / 3 BB / 2 K.
At the Plate:
*Brandon Laird provided all of the offense that mattered, launching a solo HR (#4) in the top of the 2nd that gave Houston a brief 1-0 lead. He finished 1 for 3 at the plate, but also committed the fielding error in the bottom of the frame that led to Cleveland's first run.
*Chris Carter was 1 for 3 with a triple and a K, but threw the ball away in the 4th, giving the Indians run #2.
*J.D. Martinez got his first start, and his first hit, since July 26, finishing 1 for 3 with 2 K.
*L.J. Hoes is up to a seven-game hitting streak now, going 1 for 2 tonight.
Turning Point:
Oberholtzer got Carlos Santana to K leading off the bottom of the 4th, then allowed a single to Ryan Raburn and a walk to Asdrubal Cabrera to put two on with one out. Michael Brantley grounded to Chris Carter at first, and Carter attempted to get the force at second, but he threw the ball into left field instead, allowing Raburn to score. For good measure, Marc Krauss then picked up the ball and threw it away too, letting Brantley reach second and putting Cabrera on third.
Man of the Match:
Brett Oberholtzer. He's got a 1.67 ERA for four starts in September, but he's 1-3 over that stretch.
Goat of the Game:
Laird, Carter, and Krauss, for stellar sieve-like defense.
