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The Astros won today. In other news, the sky is blue, grass is green, and the Pope is Catholic. It’s starting to feel like clockwork and that’s a beautiful thing.
After a dominant series win in New York over the weekend, the Astros swept the Marlins to improve their record to 6-1 on the road trip. They also continued a torrid May in which they have gone 13-4 (.764 win pct).
Their MLB-best record now stands at 29-12 and it’s the first time the Astros have been 17 games over .500 since 2004 (they finished 92-70 that season). Here are some players that were on that 2004 team:
Jeff Bagwell
Dan Miceli
Brad Lidge
Craig Biggio
Pete Munro
Roger Clemens
Roy Oswalt
Mike Gallo
Carlos Beltran
Hey, look at that. The Astros haven’t been 17 games over .500 since Beltran left the team. Coincidence? Yeah probably, but it’s still a fun fact.
Game Recap
The Astros had scored 11 first-inning runs on the road trip coming into today. They added to that total when Jose Altuve hit a double in the 1st to score George Springer, who had reached second base on a double of his own.
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Lance McCullers Jr. had a nice outing and received some help from the outfield throughout the game. He didn’t have his typical high strikeout numbers, racking up only 3 Ks over 6 IP. Still, he only surrendered 3 hits, 1 walk, and held the Marlins scoreless.
McCullers also contributed with the bat. With men on 1st and 2nd and 2 outs in the 6th, McCullers put the ball in play. Dee Gordon fielded the ground ball, but a non-chalant flip to second caused the ball to be dropped and loaded the bases. George Springer took advantage of the miscue with a broken bat single through the right side that scored a pair, pushing the Astros lead to 3-0.
That’s where it would stay, although Altuve did his best to get into scoring position a few more times. After his double in the 1st, he had a triple in the 3rd, a triple in the 5th, and another double in the 9th.
Chris Devenski, who hadn’t pitched since his rough outing in New York on Sunday, walked the leadoff batter in the 7th before retiring the next three he faced. Will Harris and Ken Giles followed with scoreless (and hitless) innings of their own to close out the win for the Astros.
Looking Ahead
The Astros now return home after playing 10 of 12 games on the road. After an off day tomorrow, they will welcome the Cleveland Indians for a 3-game series over the weekend.
The Indians won 2 of 3 against the Astros in a series at Progressive Field in April, but haven’t been playing up to expectations thus far in 2017 (though they’ve also been dealing with multiple injuries to key players). Still, it should be a good test for the Astros as they face the 2016 AL Champions for the final time in the regular season.
Go ‘Stros!!