*I was on the verge of packing the family up and driving back to Texas before the Astros convinced me to stay in the mountains and enjoy my vacation. Side note: Not all of it has been enjoyable. I have a couple of irrational fears: (1) getting hit in the face by a foul ball, and (2) requires a little backstory. Y'all know I'm from Pasadena - the one that smells like roses, not the one that hosts the Rose Bowl. My dad, God bless him, whenever we were going from the Beltway to 45 South towards Galveston, would act like the steering had gone out right at the apex and drift over towards the barrier and we were then sinners in the hands of an angry God who would determine if we survived the plunge. Every. Single. Time. And it got me! I developed a fear, not so much of heights, but of overpasses that curve. So while the drive up Pike's Peak with my wife and daughter had some apparently stunning views, I sure as hell couldn't look at them.
*As mentioned, the Astros walked-off the Royals after tying the game in the bottom of the 9th. The Astros are 51-27. The Astros are now 2-19 when trailing at the beginning of the 9th inning. To find the last Astros walk-off, you have to go all the way back to June 18, 2018 against the Rays. The Astros are now 8-14 in 1-run games, and 2-4 in extra-innings.
*9th Inning: Correa struck out, Gurriel singled - Marisnick pinch-ran - Reddick singled and Marisnick went 1st to 3rd, to tie the game on Gattis' sac fly.
12th Inning: Springer walked, Bregman singled and made it to 2nd on an error, Altuve was intentionally walked, Correa singled. It was Correa's first game-ending hit since August 1, 2016.
Imagine intentionally walking Altuve to get to Correa. Justin Grimm, who took that L:
You get in that situation you have to intentionally walk one. Bases loaded and no outs, just battling with that guy. He put a good swing on a fastball in the outfield. It happened how it happened.
Correa:
I don't know how many career walk-offs I have (Ed. Note: Six) Every single time they walk Altuve. They walk him because the best hitter in the game is hitting in front of me, but at the same time, it's not an easy task to walk him and get me out.
McHugh:
Yeah, he's going to do that 99 times out of 100.
[Pushes up glasses] ACTUALLY it was Correa's 11th hit in 31 PAs with the bases loaded.
Correa has an .864 OPS (.265/.364/.500) with runners in scoring position.
*McCullers: 6IP, 4H/3ER, 9K:2BB. Since giving up 7ER to Cleveland on May 26, McCullers: 31IP, 26H/12ER, 31K:11BB.
*All of Kansas City's damage came on Hunter Dozier's 3-run home run in the 4th inning. It's the 2nd time that McCullers has allowed home runs in back-to-back games this season.
*The bullpen got six scoreless innings. McCullers:
We have great pitchers here. I think that minus a couple times here and there, the bullpen has been absolutely dominant this year. It's a luxury to have, knowing that if you come out of a game and the game is close, either way win or lose, they're going to keep it that way and give us a good chance to win those games late.
*Jose Altuve was 1x3 with 3BB. Please remember he walked five total times in 234 PAs in 2011. It's Altuve's first 3BB game since June 17, 2016. Altuve tied Terry Puhl for 7th on the franchise all-time hits list with 1357. Next up is Bob Watson who, at 1448, is 91 hits away. Or, you know, about 40 games.
*Did you check out the newest Spot the Differences game?
*Seth Beer hit two home runs for Tri-City last night in an 8-2 win over Lowell. Through his first 30 ABs as a pro, Beer has two doubles, three home runs, and four walks for a 1.114 OPS.
*The financials are updated on the 2018 draft page with all of the picks from the first ten rounds signed. The Astros went over their bonus pool by $4,400, which means they have to pay a tax on that amount.
*I gotta go.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith