Astros 7, Padres 2: Keuchel Closes Out Impressive Road Trip

What a game!  What a series!  What a road trip!  I don't want to get too excited, because I guess mathematically we could still miss the playoffs.  But who around here believes in math?  That is for nerds and folks who count cards at casinos!  Coming into this game all we needed was for Dallas Keuchel to pitch a Keuchelesque game and we would win our sixth game in a row, and second series sweep of the road trip.

The Bearded One did not disappoint.  He did run into a little bit of trouble right out of the gate allowing one run in the first inning.  But after Matt Kemp hit that RBI double in the first Keuchel retired the next 14 batters in a row.  That streak ended when Padres pitcher Andrew Cashner led off the 6th with a single.  (Why do we let pitchers hit?  This is why I hate the NL!)  This obviously riled Dallas up so he proceeded to set down the final nine batters he faced.  You know you are an awesome pitcher when you give up one run in eight innings and your ERA goes UP.

But what about the offense?  Well it started out a little slow.  Cashner struck out the first six batters he faced.  In the 3rd, Jake Marisnick led off with a double and moved to second on a passed ball.  He later scored on a Jose Altuve sacrifice fly to tie the game at one.  After a George Springer double Colby Rasmus launched a no-doubt home run to put the team up 3-1.  The score remained the same until the top of the 9th.

With Padres closer Craig Kimbrel on the mound Chris Carter started the inning with a walk.  He went to second on a passed ball, and to third on a wild pitch.  Marisnick drove him in with a single then stole second AND third.  The throw to third went into the outfield, and Jake scored to make it 5-1.  A Gattis single, an Altuve double, and a fielders choice by Marwin Gonzalez brought home the final 2 runs.

Luke Gregerson (who may not get a save opportunity again this season) pitched the 9th inning and gave up one unearned run to close out the game with a final score of 7-2.  The Astros come home to play games at a normal time starting tomorrow night against the Seattle Mariners.  Scott Feldman will face James Paxton in the opener a little after 7pm.

Fun Facts

Rasmus homer distance was estimated at 425 feet.

Altuve continued his multi-hit game streak to 7 games, and his overall hitting streak to 8.  He is hitting .471 during the streak to raise his overall average to .355.

That average is second on the team to Marisnick, who is now batting .389.

The 8-1 record is the best nine-game road trip in the teams history.

Tweet of the Night (Daytime Edition)

Last time @Astros swept a 3-game series in San Diego was Aug. 9-11, 1982.

— Richard Justice (@richardjustice) April 29, 2015