Brett Myers (0-2, 8.82) vs Lucas Harrell (0-2, 5.63)
Ah, Brett Myers, how we missed you. As our fearless leader noted earlier (and as we saw for ourselves while he was here), Myers has had a bit of trouble with the long ball this season. That pattern held true tonight, and Myers helped his old team snap their losing streak as a result. Astros return home with a win, beating Cleveland tonight 3-2. They're now 5-11 overall.
On the Mound:
*One out kept Lucas Harrell from an official quality start, and one bad pitch kept him from a scoreless night, but it was still a solid start and a well-earned win nonetheless. Lucas' line tonight: 5.2 IP / 5 H / 2 R / 2 ER / 5 BB / 4 K, with both runs scoring on a Lonnie Chisenhall HR.
*Wesley Wright (1.1 IP, 1 H, 2 K) and Hector Ambriz (1 IP, 1 H, BB) earned a hold each for their scoreless outings.
*Then, oh boy... Jose Veras in for the 9th. But it actually turned out well this time, with a one-out single going nowhere, and Veras gets his first Astros save.
At the Plate:
*Back-to-back! Consecutive home runs were the only way Houston would score tonight, but Lucas Harrell made sure that it stood up. The first went to J.D. Martinez, a two-run dinger in his only official AB, before he sprained his knee batting and left the game in the 4th.
*Rick Ankiel did what Rick Ankiel does, following J.D.'s homer with a solo shot of his own. He also later struck out (of course), finishing 1 for 3.
*Brandon Barnes came in when J.D. Martinez went out, and he ended up with Houston's only multi-hit game tonight. Brandon finished 2 for 3 with a K, and we don't need Julio Borbon, thankyouverymuch.
*Jose Altuve's latest hitting streak is now up to five games, as he went 1 for 4 with a SB and a K.
*Justin Maxwell went 0 for 3 with 2 K, but he managed 2 SB of his own, reaching on a walk in the 7th and then swiping both second and third.
*Matt Dominguez had the Astros' other hit, finishing 1 for 3 with a K, and Carlos Pena scored the other run, going 0 for 3 but walking in advance of J.D.'s big swing.
Turning Point:
Brett Myers got Chris Carter to fly out starting the 2nd, but Carlos Pena followed with a walk. Then J.D. Martinez went deep to right, and Rick Ankiel went deep to right right behind him, putting the Astros up for good.
Man of the Match:
Lucas William Bradley Harrell. Martinez and Ankiel provided the offense, but Harrell made sure that it was enough.
Goat of the Game:
Jason Castro. 0 for 4 with 2 K, and he's down to .207 on the season.
