A series split with the Cleveland Forklift Drivers and a series loss to the Damn Yankees. Do we even wanna talk about it? Alright, let's talk about it real quick.
Game 1- Verlander vs German
This game was pretty good. Justin Verlander left the mound at 113 pitches as Yankees fans hurled boos at him for hurting their feelings. Verlander sits a 1.11 ERA. J.D. Davis got his first home run of the season in his first at bat ever in Yankee Stadium with a 3 run shot high and deep to left field. Ken Giles needed 14 pitches to shutdown the game in the 9th securing the win. Final score: Astros 5, Yankees 1.
Game 2- Morton vs Sabathia
This game was pretty good... until the 9th inning. CFM had another 10 strikeout game. Chris Devenski came on in the 9th to shut it down but instead issued a walk to Miguel Andujar, struck out Gleyber Torres and then with a four seamer at the top of the zone, Brett Gardner homered, tying up the game. The rest of the 9th was iffy but Devo got out of it. Brad Peacock came on in the 10th and I have no desire to talk about the pitching anymore. Evan Gattis had himself a homer and a sac fly. Marwin Gonzalez drove in 2 with a double in the 4th, putting the Astros up 3-2. Astros end up losing 6-5 and my stomach hurts.
Game 3- Keuchel vs Severino
Dallas Keuchel had a 28 pitch first inning but seemed to settle in, sending down 11 of the next 12 batters he faced. In the 5th, Keuchel loaded the bases with two outs and two runners scored on a Gary Sanchez single putting the Yankees up 3-2. Keuchel was taken out at 106 pitches in the bottom of the 6th after issuing a double and single with no outs. Collin McHugh came in to give the Astros a fighting chance but the Astros lose the series, dropping game 3 with a score of 5-3. On a positive note, Max Stassi is good at baseball. Check out that beautiful .303 batting average. Stassi had a 2 run homer and an RBI double, bringing in the only 3 runs the Astros would score. How about a strike em out, throw em out, too?
So pile the Sunday loss to Cleveland (along with Monday's Rockets loss that made many of us feel like we were gonna vom), on top of this series loss to New York and you're probably not that thrilled with the sports. I'd be surprised if the Astros didn't have another October showdown with the Yankees this season and this is definitely not how we would want that to go. Thankfully there is a lot of baseball ahead so plenty of time for improvement.
Up Next: If you're not ready to watch another challenging series, may I advise you skip this upcoming four game home series. In the final leg of what has got to be the Astros most challenging stretch in the schedule, the Boston Red Sox come to Minute Maid Park before a much deserved Monday off.
Series W-L-S: 11-6-1
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
