Dallas Keuchel (0-1, 7.20) vs R.A. Dickey (1-1, 4.63)
Happy recap! Losers of six out of their previous seven, including getting Lucas Harrell'd on national television the night before, the Astros were looking to skip town with a win north of the border. They broke out the power bats to do just that, and Dallas Keuchel was brilliant too, as Houston took down Toronto 6-4 tonight. They head south to face Yu Darvish (oh joy) and the Rangers at 4-6 on the season.
On the Mound:
*Kid Keuchy was on top of his game tonight, with the only run he allowed coming on a solo homer by Colby Rasmus. Other than that, Keuchel was golden, with a 7 IP / 5 H / 1 R / 1 ER / 2 BB / 6 K line.
*Chad Qualls allowed a leadoff double to Melky Cabrera in the 8th, but then retired the next three Blue Jays in order.
*Josh Fields got the call for the 9th, and he was one out away from ending the game with two on, but a two-run double by Adam Lind sent Fields to the shower.
*Anthony Bass took over and should have ended the game on Melky Cabrera, but his own throwing error allowed Cabrera to reach and Lind to score. Bass did then get Maicer Izturis to ground out, earning his first Astros save.
At the Plate:
*If you had the Astros tied for the American League lead in team home runs after 10 games - no, you didn't. Three more Houston home runs tonight pushed their team total to 14. No Astro has more than two, but nine Astros have at least one.
*Robbie Grossman is showing signs of life, and he got Houston on the board first tonight with a two-run shot in the 5th. He also walked twice to finish 1x2 with 2 R.
*Jonathan Villar has now doubled his home run total from 2013, after a three-run blast to straightaway center in the 7th gave him his second HR of the year. He went 1x4 with a K.
*Jason Castro also notched his second HR of the season, with a solo shot in the 8th. He also added a single to go 2x4.
*The night after ending his 0fer the season, Marc Krauss got his first XBH, going 1x3 with a 2B, a R, a BB, and a K.
*Matt Dominguez also had a double and identically went 1x3 with a R, a BB, and K.
*Dexter Fowler has still hit safely in every game he's started, going 1x5 with a K tonight.
*Jose Altuve had Houston's other hit, going 1x4 from the cleanup spot.
Turning Point:
Toronto immediately answered Bob Grossman's two-run homer in the 5th with the solo shot from Rasmus, and the game stayed a tight 2-1 until the 7th. Marc Krauss led off with a fly out against R.A. Dickey, but then Matt Dominguez doubled and Grossman walked to give Houston two on. That brought up Jonathan Villar, who immediately turned Dickey's knuckler into a three-run homer in the centerfield seats, which would ultimately be the deciding blow.
Man of the Match:
Dallas Keuchel. After Scott Feldman, he became the second Astros starter to go 7 innings in a game this season.
Goat of the Game:
Josh Fields. Inherited a 6-1 game for the 9th and made it 6-4 before his book was closed.
