Astros 2, Mariners 1: McHugh Nearly Unhittable In Win

I remember when I was ten, and couldn't wait for the Astros to visit Los Angeles or San Diego so I could stay up for the late starts.  Such a treat.  Now many, many years later, I took a nap so I could watch game two of this series against the Seattle Mariners.  Tonight Collin McHugh takes the hill opposite Roenis Elias for the M's.  McHugh has obviously been one of the best surprises on the team this season.  In his last 7 starts he is 4-0 with a 1.79 ERA.

At the plate, the Astros night was just like the previous night.  They had runners on base all game, but had trouble getting runners home.  They managed to get a run in the 4th inning.  Carter led off with a single, but was erased on a fielder's choice by Jake Marisnick.  Jon Singleton came to the plate and hit a ball that looked like it went over the right field wall. The umpire did not give the home run signal, so Marisnick raced home from first, and Singleton made it to third.  Upon review, the replay showed Singleton came about 1 inch away from a 2-run homer.  Instead he was credited with a double, taking 3rd on the throw.  The inning would end with the Astros having a 1-0 lead.  In the 6th inning it looked like Chris Carter scored from second on a 2-out infield single by Singleton, but the play at first was overturned on review, as it showed he was out by inches.

McHugh's performance did not disappoint.  Through the first 7 innings, he faced only one batter over the minimum.  The only base runners he allowed were Austin Jackson on an infield single (who was then erased on a great 6-3 double play started by Jonathan Villar), and Kendrys Morales reached when Jose Altuve made an error.  McHugh's only blemish on the night came with one out in the 8th inning.  Logan Morrison crushed a solo homer off the second deck in the right field stands to tie the game at 1-1

In the top of the 9th, after 2 quick outs, Singleton drew a walk and took second on a wild pitch by Yoervis Medina.  Matt Dominguez hit a single to deep short.  It was fielded by SS Brad Miller, which held Singleton at third.  Jonathan Villar followed with a single to right to drive him in for a 2-1 lead.

Josh Fields came in for the 9th, and got the Mariners in order for his 3rd save on the year.  Collin McHugh got the win, taking his record to 9-9.  He ended up pitching 8 innings, giving up 2 hits, 1 run with 4 strikeouts and zero walks.

Come back tomorrow and stay up late to see the glorious debut of NiTro in the rubber game of this series.

Fun Facts

Chris Carter has been on base via hit or walk in career-long 15 straight games.

Jonathan Villar had one of the best games I have seen him play.  Slick plays in the field, and driving in the game winner with 2 outs in the 9th.

Jon Singleton has obviously been working on his defense.  He is scooping the low throws better than he was just a few weeks ago.

Things That Don't Happen Often

Jose Altuve had an 0-fer in his second straight game (but still leads for the batting title).

Matt Dominguez had back to back nights with an infield single.  The odds of that happening again are in the neighborhood of "crazy impossible".

Tweet Of The Night

If Collin McHugh can pitch 11 innings tonight, he will qualify for the ERA leader board.

— Mike Fast (@fastballs) September 10, 2014