Wednesday, August 6, 2014

From the Office of the County Clerk - G114: Astros @ Phillies

Brad Peacock (3-7, 4.93) vs David Buchanan (5-5, 4.40)

So much for pitching well. Brad Peacock returned from OKC (again) to take the rotation spot of the dear departed Jarred Cosart, and his Astros mates staked him to an immediate 1-0 lead before he took to the mound. But a 5-run Philly 1st, followed by 3 more in the 4th, buried Houston deep in a hole that their sputtering offense had no chance of climbing out of. Phillies beat the Astros again, tonight 10-3, and Houston drops back 20 under at 47-67 overall.

On the Mound:

*Nothing pretty about tonight's appearance for Brad Peacock. After last night's marathon game took its toll on the bullpen, Brad stayed in even after allowing 5 ER in the 1st, and it might have been said that he "settled in" or "battled" after that. But allowing a 3-run home run to Chase Utley with two outs in the 4th erased any extra credit you might have given him. Bradley finished with a 5 IP / 7 H / 8 R / 8 ER / 4 BB / 4 K line.

*Darin Downs appeared again, even after facing 6 batters last night, and turned in a scoreless 6th with a single and a K.

*Mike Foltynewicz didn't pitch last night/this morning, so he drew the final two innings tonight, allowing one run in each inning on 4 total hits, a wild pitch, and 2 K.

At the Plate:

*Moderately more Astros offense tonight, but still not nearly enough after the Phillies erupted in the 1st. Jose Altuve at least got back on the multi-hit wagon, going 2x5 with a R, a RBI, and a SB.

*Gregorio Petit also went multi-hit, going 2x4 with a R and a K.

*Chris Carter had two more hits and finished 2x4.

*Matt Dominguez had Houston's first (and so far only) XBH of the series, doubling and scoring a run to finish 1x4 with 2 K.

*Jake Marisnick was 1x3 with a sac fly RBI.

*Jonathan Singleton went 0x4, but got the other RBI on a fielder's choice.

*Marc Krauss and L.J. Hoes did not start, but each singled in their respective pinch-hit appearances.

Turning Point:

Houston's 1-0 lead from the top of the 1st was to be very short-lived, as Ben Revere led off the bottom of the inning with a single, and Jimmy Rollins followed with a double. Chase Utley flied out, but then Ryan Howard doubled to put the Phillies ahead for good at 2-1. Then they just kept pouring it on, with two walks, a wild pitch, a sac fly, and another single (by Phillies starter Jake Buchanan) making it 5-1 before the inning mercifully ended when Buchanan hustled/TOOTBLAN'd himself into out #3 at second base.

Man of the Match:

Jose Altuve. Still leading the Majors in hits and the AL in batting average and steals, so at least we have that.

Goat of the Game:

Brad Peacock. Flashes of potential interspersed with flashes of awfulness all year.