Astros 3, Orioles 1: Springer, Altuve combine to lift Houston to sixth straight win

Thanks to signing that CSN Houston petition a couple years ago, I got free tickets to this game. Because of dollar hot dog night, the family and I also got to enjoy it at a pretty steep discount, factoring in the bottles of water we could bring into the park and the snacks in a ziplock back for the little one. 

Add in some Springer Dinger magic and a great performance from Peacock and you've got one of the most enjoyable nights I've spent at an Astros game in quite a while.

The roof was open the entire time, which meant it was a little hot and humid in the early innings. But, things cooled down enough by the end of the game. The hot dogs flowed like win in the stands. I got to see my second review in person. Both times, I was convinced the call would go the other way, Both times, I was wrong. I'll learn one of these days.

Jose Altuve continues his scorching pace, going 3-for-4 with a double and a run scored. He came around on George Springer's only hit of the night, a laser beam that just cleared the yellow line in the Crawford Boxes. That gave him his seventh home run in seven games. Since 1900, only one other rookie has accomplished that feat in MLB history (Rudy York, 1937).

Other than that, this game seemed to zip along. Peacock struck out eight in six innings of work. I thought at the time that he could have worked another inning, given that the bullpen used to be hit or miss (though its been the best in the majors since May 11). Plus, the game was still tied, and stretching the starter out another inning would have prepared better for extra innings.

Bo Porter disagreed with me. He brought Josh Fields in for two innings, which worked great, before Chad Qualls picked up the save.

The best moment of the night? During the fifth or sixth inning, a seven-year-old kid came out to do the "steal the base" thing, where a kid runs down the first base line from the outfield corner, picks up a base by a camera and runs back the way he came to a finish line. 

Well, the kid tonight didn't know what he was doing. He ran to the base okay, but went past it. I think he was trying to pick up the real first base. George Springer directed him back to the one he was supposed to "steal," picked it up and took off...elsewhere. It looked at first like he was trying to give his base to the umpires clustered behind second, but he passed them up and just kept on running. I have no idea where he was going. I don't think he did either.

Eventually, Dexter Fowler and the suddenly panicked in-stadium host got the kid directed back to the corner and safety. At that point, my son said he wanted to do that same thing some day. I shudder to think what would happen.

Good win, good game, good streak. Let's keep it up tomorrow.