Altuve, Springer and Correa – Houston’s top third of the order – combined for eight hits, four RBIs and three runs scored. Jered Weaver has a 4.74 ERA in 2015, but he has a 2-0 record with a 1.71 ERA in three starts against Houston this season. “Just couldn’t translate it over to the game”.
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The Angels dropped to 3 1/2 games behind the Astros for the final wild-card spot, with 12 games to go. If the Houston Astros can win the series they will just have to worry about passing the Rangers. They missed an opportunity to gain some ground this week, splitting a four-game series with the struggling Royals and losing two of three to the White Sox at home.
The Angels made it interesting in the ninth, however.
I wish I could’ve justified moving the Yankees up a spot after a solid week, but they’re going to have to settle for simply moving past the Royals.
The Rangers are one of the more fun stories of the season, with the resurgent Prince Fielder playing in 145 games (to date) and hitting.309/.383/.469 with 21 homers, a quality season from Yovani Gallardo in his first year in Texas, and the trade for Cole Hamels to bolster the rotation. He has just a 3.67 ERA in 17 starts since mid-June and had to be scratched from his next start against Toronto due to a hamstring strain. Altuve pushed Weaver to the brink of escaping the inning unscathed when he was picked off second base, but Springer followed with a bloop single to left field before Correa added his 19th homer this season. But from the first inning, Houston appeared better prepared to match his guile, rocketing a pair of balls to left fielder Shane Victorino, whose defense might have preserved the early shutout. “That was the difference in the game”.
I look at these matchups and think the Astros have the advantage in all of them, but the Angels staff has proved me wrong throughout 2015.
The Astros would answer in the seventh with Altuve tripling to right field and Correa hitting an RBI double, two batters later, to push the Astros lead 6-1.
Keuchel allowed one run and six hits, striking out six and walking one.
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Altuve, who finished 3 for 4 and a home run short of a cycle, had a chance to add to the scoring in the fifth but was thrown out at home on a single by Jed Lowrie to end the inning. His rate of 1.4 homers per nine innings is the highest of his career. “We’re focused on the last stretch of games, but I know that we’re very confident he’s going to be re-tooled as he gets back into the winter and hopefully come back with stuff that’s a little more reminiscent of what we’ve seen from Jered”.
