Well, a sweep was a bit much to ask.
Remember when we were all worried about the infield logjam? Seems like years ago. Only three positions for Altuve, Pena, Correa, or Paredes?
None of those guys played today, Paredes getting the day off, the other three injured. That left the Astros with only two bona fide MLB bats in the lineup, Yordan Alvarez and Christian Walker. They went o-fer against Nathan Eovaldi and Co. And that pretty much sums up the Astros today, who fell to the Rangers in the third game of the series, 8-0.
Astros pitching was surprisingly effective in the first two games of this series, holding the Rangers to one run in two games. And surprising Peter Lambert kept the pace for the first six innings innings in this game, allowing only two runs through six, and that on a just barely, oppo taco homer to Jake Burger in the fifth inning.
Then how come the five runs in six innings in his box score? He came out to pitch in the seventh inning, and the wheels fell off. A walk, a double, and a hit by pitch earned him the hook, and Cody Bolton allowed all the inherited runners to score, plus a couple of his own for good measure. So, Lambert allowed the same number of runs as he allowed hits and walks, with a WHIP of one. He deserved a better fate.
Bolton surrendered another run in the ninth on a Kyle Higashioka solo homer, concluding the scoring in this 8-0 Rangers win.
The win broke a five-game Rangers losing streak against the Astros.
The Astros hit the road tomorrow in Minnesota against the Twins. Tatsuya Imai gets his second start since returning from IL. Jeremy Pena and Jake Meyers should return from IL during this series.
Would be interesting to be in an alternate universe where Paredes plays today and Joe pulls Lambert after 6….
I also think it would be interesting to have a new manager.