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Lucas Harrell on the mound hoping to rebound from a poor outing against the Oakland Athletics.
1st Inning
Harrell strikes out Jason Giambi to end the top of the first inning. I didn't realize Giambi was still playing baseball, after all he did interview for the manager position with the Colorado Rockies.
Here's a little fist pump from Harrell after the K
2nd Inning
Harrell ends the top of the second inning the exact same way he ended the top of the first, with a strikeout. The strikeout victim none other than Richard Justice favorite player Drew Stubbs.
In the bottom half of the inning J.D. Martinez got the Astros on the board with a two run shot to right field.
Rick Ankiel followed with his own homerun giving the Astros a 3-0 lead and their first back-to-back homerun of the 2013 season.
3rd Inning
Harrell didn't end the top of the third inning with a strikeout but he did start the inning ending double play.
4th Inning
Matt Dominguez with some slick glove work to end the top of the fourth inning.
In the bottom half of the inning J.D. Martinez appeared to hurt his knee on an awkward check-swing on an inside pitch at the knees. He was helped off the field and replaced by Brandon Barnes. Barnes would get a single in his at bat for Martinez.
5th Inning
In the bottom of the fifth inning with Jose Altuve on base Justin Maxwell hit an infield pop-up as Altuve was attempting to steal second base. He made it all the way to second before he had to hustle back to first to avoid being doubled up.
Altuve stole the bag on the very next pitch.
7th Inning
After Justin Maxwell reached base he decided it was time for some thievery. He stole not one but two bases and did so on consecutive pitches.
8th Inning
With runners on first and second and one out the Hector Ambriz and the Astros defense get a much needed double play to end the top eighth inning. Watch as Altuve learns to fly.
9th Inning
With a runner on first Jose Veras gets Jason Kipnis to ground out to Carlos Pena for his first save of the season and the Astros first win in six games.
Injury Update
Update on JD Martinez: Diagnosed with right knee sprain and is day-to-day. Martinez left game in 4th after injuring the knee during his AB
— Houston Astros (@astros) April 20, 2013
Game Thoughts
The defense was very good in this one. Lucas Harrell and the entire pitching staff feed the defense a steady diet of groundballs and the defense delivered. Hopefully, Martinez's injury is minor. Brandon Barnes did a good job filling in with a 2-3 night. Matt Dominguez is a joy to watch at third base. Finally, Justin Maxwell's back to back steals was my favorite part of the night.
