Have you ever felt like you watched the same game 3 nights in a row?
Once again, the Astros' pitchers were able to contain the Blue Jays potent offense for most of the game, a couple Astros had nice nights, some well-struck balls were nothing but loud outs, and one run was all the offense could produce.
Alex Bregman and Tyler White are my players of the game for the Astros, with Mike Fiers getting honorable mention.
Bregman hit the ball well in his first 3 at-bats, but only had one hit to show for hit. He drove a ball to deep center field in the 4th, but Pillar was able to track it down a few steps shy of Tal's Hill. In his final at-bat of the game, Bregman showed good plate discipline by drawing a walk against Blue Jays closer Osuna. The defense was still there for Bregman as it has been since his call-up.
Tyler White was the only Astros batter to get 2 hits and he drove in the only run by ripping an RBI double to left in the 5th to score Evan Gattis. Besides his multiple hits, White provided some entertainment when he skyrocketed a foul ball behind home plate that landed on the rafters at Minute Maid momentarily before falling back down.
Fiers had a nice night and was able to make the heart of the Blue Jays lineup take some silly-looking swings at his curve balls. He struck out 7 over 6 innings and only gave up 2 runs, which both scored on outs. The Blue Jays got their first run in the top of the first as Donaldson hit an RBI groundout to score Devon Travis from third. In the top of the 5th, Justin Smoak struck out swinging on a wild pitch and Russel Martin came home to score.
The Blue Jays manufactured another run against Will Harris in the 8th inning. James Hoyt came on in the 9th for his second MLB appearance and struck out 2 batters, but gave up a solo shot to Edwin Encarnacion.
The Blue Jays have a great pitching staff and it certainly showed in this series. Given that the Astros scored a total of 5 runs in 4 games, perhaps we should be happy that they won 1 of the 4 games.
Either way, tomorrow is a new day full of opportunity. A strong showing against the Rangers would be a huge lift for this club and it’s fans both psychologically and in the standings.
Go ‘Stros!!