Scott Feldman (2-2, 3.02) vs Yordano Ventura (2-4, 2.80)
Astros fans, you may begin addressing your Valentines and love letters to George Springer at 501 Crawford Street. Four home runs in three days? How do you follow that up? No problem for young George tonight. A perfect night at the plate for Springer, including yet another home run and five runs scored, keyed Houston's best offensive attack of the season, and gave Scott Feldman far more support than he would need. Astros blast the Royals 9-2 for their second three game winning streak of the month, improving to 20-32 overall.
On the Mound:
*On most nights, Scott Feldman would have been the story for a game like this, in which he only allowed one run on four hits through five innings, then traded KC's second score for two outs in the 6th. For the offensive support he received, however, I think that Scott will gladly take a back seat with his 6 IP / 8 H / 2 R / 2 ER / 1 BB / 0 K line.
*Tony Sipp pitched a perfect 7th, with a K.
*Josh Fields pitched a perfect 8th, with a K.
*Then Jerome Williams pitched a slightly more adventurous 9th, allowing two runners on singles with only one out, but a strikeout and a groundout sewed up the win for Feldman & friends.
At the Plate:
*12 times this season, including 11 this month, Houston tied their season high of 11 hits. Led by a Superman effort from Gerorge, they finally smashed through that standard tonight with 16 team hits, and a season-high-tying 9 runs.
*So, George! It was a great night for him already by the 8th inning, with a pair of doubles, a pair of RBI, and a sweet running catch to end the 7th. But then, just for good measure, he added a solo shot to left center for his fourth straight game with a home run, capping his 4x4, 5 R, 3 RBI, BB night.
*Marwin Gonzalez weren't too shabby himself, going 4x5 with a 2B, a RBI and a R.
*Alex Presley did not play in the field, but still had plenty to contribute at the plate, going 3x5 with a 2B and a R.
*Dexter Fowler was himself perfect at the plate, going 2x2 with 3 BB and a RBI.
*Jason Castro added to the attack by going 2x5 with 2 RBI.
*MLB hits leader Jose Altuve "only" had one tonight, but also added a walk to finish 1x5 with 2 R.
*Matt Dominguez was hitless at 0x4 with 2 K, but did add a RBI on a sac fly.
Turning Point:
The Astros jumped out early, scoring their first run on a Jason Castro groundout for the first out of the game, following and Altuve single and walks to Fowler and Springer. Matty D's sac fly made it 2-0 before the end of the 1st. Then with two outs and none on in the 2nd, Houston piled on some more, with a sequence of Gonzalez double, Altuve walk, Springer double, Fowler single, Castro single, all of which together plated three more Astro runs. The lead would be 6-0 before KC finally got on the board in the 4th, so it was never close.
Man of the Match:
Who do you think? Gotta be George.
Goat of the Game:
Not that it mattered, but Robbie Grossman (in his return from OKC) and Marc Krauss both rained on the Astros' hit parade with their respective 0x5, 2 K nights.
