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TROOOGDOOORR!
He burninates the village. He burninates the town.
HE'S TROGDOOOOOOR! TROGDOOOOOOR!
First he was a man. Then he was a dragon man. Then he was a dragon.
TROGDOOOOOR!
That's all. Chris Carter is awesome and so is his nickname. He provided the punch for the Astros offense, hitting his team-leading 11th home run of the season in the seventh off Jerome Williams, who had pretty much locked down the Astros to that point. Carlos Pena hit a double off of him, but it was rough sledding for Houston's offense.
Luckily, the pitching staff was up to the task. If you're looking for a reason why Houston has won more games recently, start there. The starting pitching and the relievers have both been very good in the last seven days. Astros starters have a FIP of 4.00 over that span.
Bud Norris will help lower that number, as he spun six shutout innings on Saturday, striking out six while allowing four hits and three walks. He lowered his ERA to 3.39 with the outing and moves to 5-4 on the season. Jose Veras made it interesting in the ninth, but managed to coax Mike Trout into a forceout to third for his 10th save of the season.
Houston has now won four straight games and five of its last six. Given that they could have won Tuesday's game in Houston, they've had a good week. The Astros won five in a row last season for its longest streak, from April 30 to May 5. In 2011, the team's longest winning streak was four games. You have to go back to 2010 to find a longer streak than that, when Houston won seven in a row as part of a big second-half surge.
What's more, the Astros have now won as many games in the last six games as they had in the previous 17, when they went 5-12. This streak may not last, but enjoy it while you can. Maybe the resurgent Jordan Lyles can give the Astros a series win Sunday.