The gauntlet has been run and I had nothing to do with it, yet I'm exhausted from the last 11 days. I have a massive headache (which probably has more to do w the exhaustion as opposed to watching baseball from the comfort of my home) so this will be quick. Boston came to town for 4 games and here's how that panned out.
Game 1- McCullers vs Pomeranz
Outside of a couple runs in the 3rd inning, Lance McCullers Jr. had a solid outing in 6 innings, as he was caught for first time by Tim Federowicz. Ken Giles secured his 10th save of the season after Will Harris and Hector Rondon handled the 7th and 8th. Carlos Correa hit his 9th home run of the year on a fastball from Drew Pomeranz, that also brought Bregman home. The Astros 3rd and 4th runs would come in the 4th by a Tony Kemp single, bringing home J.D. Davis and Jake Marisnick bunting to bring home Federowicz. Astros 4, Red Sox 2
Game 2- Cole vs Sale
Gerrit Cole's 2 final pitches of his outing were 100 & 101 mph. I believe that's considered fast. The Astros chased Chris Sale out of the game by the 6th inning, after scoring 4 runs and getting Sale up to 100 pitches. Carlos Correa and Evan Gattis both had home runs off of Joe Kelly in the 8th, catapulting the Astros to 7 runs over the Red Sox 3.
Game 3- Verlander vs Price
One run games are the worst. Justin Verlander delivered another quality start through 6 innings. Marwin Gonzalez tripled in the 2nd to bring home Yuli Gurriel and get the Astros on the board. Alex Bregman hit a two run homer in the 3rd, pushing the Astros ahead 3-1. Will Harris came in to the game in the 7th and allowed a solo home run
and a 2 run home run, permanently putting the Red Sox on top. Yuli Gurriel singled in the 8th to bring Jose Altuve home but that would be all the Astros could deliver making the final score 5-4.
Game 4- Morton vs Porcello
Charlie Morton struggled and the Red Sox took advantage scoring 6 in 5.1 innings. The Astros failed to do much of anything through most of the game. George Springer started off with another lead off homer. In the 7th the Astros startled battling back after Max Stassi reached on a fielding error, Tony Kemp was walked and Springer was hit by a pitch. Alex Bregman came up to the plate next and hit a 2 RBI single but then was then called out at 2nd on a questionable tag, ending the comeback rally. Final Score: Astros 3, Red Sox 9.
Up next: Day off Monday, followed by a 2 game home series with Seatlle and then a four game battle against the South Oklahoma Ramgers.
Series W-L-S: 11-6-2
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
