This is the time of year that it gets difficult. I love baseball. It is easily my favorite sport. But football is my very attractive and very popular mistress. And once the incredible heat of August rolls around and the Astros start playing games that mean very little, my mind wanders. I'm all about honesty here. As much as I love my childhood team, it becomes hard to stay engaged for the long haul. Throw in a heavy dose of technical difficulties, and getting pepped up to write a recap can be near impossible. But nevertheless, one must press on. And luckily, the reliable wife of mine that is baseball always comes through with a little gem to remind me just why I love the game so much. A win is still a win, no matter when the win.
What went well:
- Dallas Keuchel, who's beard is really unrivaled at this point, held the A’s to just 1 ER, mostly thanks to his dope changeup. He finished with a line of 7.0 IP, 5 H, 2 R, 3 BB, 3 SO.
- Dexter Fowler cut the Oakland lead in half in the 4th with just his second dinger since returning from the DL.
- Trogdor did what Trogdor does, hitting his 11th HR in the month of August, plating the game-winning runs in the bottom of the 8th against the typically reliable Luke Gregerson. He sure has a knack for showmanship, doesn't he?
- Jonny Gomes did not look like the guy with the -3.5 UZR, making a ridiculous catch that took away 2 RBIs from Trogdor. The entire Oakland defense was sharp, with Nate Freiman and Josh Reddick joining in the fun by adding web gems of their own.
- The out-of-town scoreboard gave Nate "Not Travis" Freiman a double, an extra base, and an RBI in the 4th, extending the Oakland lead to 2-0.
- Jonathan Singleton committed his 10th error of the season, putting him behind just Garrett Jones for the league leader in errors among 1B.
- As stated before, the end of August and the entire month of September is when most fans begin to fantasize about next year, and so I ask, what will become of Singleton next season? He's obviously no defensive whiz, and has the second-highest K% among all players with at least 250 PA. I'm in the camp that believes he will be better next year and just needs to hit his stride, but I wouldn't necessarily blame someone who thought otherwise.
- I'm not sure defense really wins championships in anything anymore, but it sure wouldn't hurt for the Astros to be better at it. Besides errors by Singleton and Keuchel, there wasn't really anything to complain about in this game. Rather, watching what Oakland was able to do with the leather made me positively envious. I guess that's what happens when you're a fan of the team that ranks 29th in UZR.
- Chris Carter can hit the ball very hard.