Scott Feldman (2-0, 0.66) vs Yu Darvish (1-0, 0.00)
Five innings of sheer terror. Man crush on Scott Feldman. 11.5 innings of scoreless baseball. But then Brad Peacock could keep up the Bedardini act no longer. A two-out single in the bottom of the 12th plated the only run of the game, and the Rangers win 1-0. Houston falls to 4-7 on the season.
On the Mound:
*So that $30 million contract for Scott Feldman doesn't look so bad now, does it? All eyes were on tonight's other starter, of course, but Feldman went toe to toe with Darvish and didn't blink. For the third straight start, Scott was sterling, spinning a 7 IP / 2 H / 0 R / 0 ER / 4 BB / 3 K line.
*Chad Qualls got the 8th and allowed a one-out single and an IBB, but still kept the Rangers off the board.
*Trepidation when Kevin Chapman entered for the 9th, as he'd yet to have a scoreless outing this year. He struck out the first two, then allowed two singles and a walk to load the bases...
*...but Anthony Bass saved our souls, getting Elvis Andrus to ground out and end the threat.
*Brad Peacock lived dangerously from the start, walking the bases loaded with no outs in the 10th. But he still managed to keep the scoreless tie going until Robinson Chirinos got the game-winning single with two outs in the 12th.
At the Plate:
*Matt Dominguez, we <3 you. Yu Darvish was happily giving Astros fans flashbacks, until Matty D got his Marwin on and broke up the perfect game attempt with a single leading off the 6th. He singled leading off the 11th too, to finish 2x4 with a K.
*Jose Altuve went 0x4, but got a two-out walk in the 7th, for Houston's only other baserunner in Darvish's 8 IP.
*Dexter Fowler (0x4, K) and Jason Castro (0x4, 2 K) each added a walk against the Rangers bullpen. That was all the action the Astros saw on the bases.
Turning Point:
Brad Peacock escaped that bases-loaded jam in the 10th, and a runner on second with one out in the 11th, to keep Houston in the game until the 12th. Kevin Kouzmanoff singled with one out then, and a wild pitch by Peacock let him move up to second. Mitch Moreland K'd for out #2, then Robinson Chirinos was worked to a full count. But Chirinos ultimately won the battle, singling to center to bring home Kouzmanoff, making all the Astros' efforts for naught.
Man of the Match:
Scott Feldman. But we're sending flowers to Matt Dominguez, too.
Goat of the Game:
Brad Peacock. One strike away from escaping the 12th, but instead he ends up the loser.
