You win any way you can. Tonight, it took five RBI from the eight and nine hole hitters to put the Astros over the top and within two games of first following Seattle’s loss to Miami.
After last night’s starting pitching disaster by Mike Burrows, right away, it looked like the other off-season pitching acquisition, Imai Tatsuya, was about to blow it for the Astros for the second straight night. James Wood led off in the Nationals’ first with a home run, his 25th. This, after last night’s game-winning grand slam.
Fortunately, Imai did not implode, holding the Nats to two runs in 3.2 innings. Should we start calling Imai a starter or an opener? A key to the victory was Steven Okert taking the ball from Imai, facing the aforementioned slugger, Wood, with two men on. Okert got the K on three pitches and then held the Nats in the fifth.
Meanwhile, the Astros offense kept nibbling away, getting an unexpected boost from light-hitting utility infielder Nick Allen, who got back one run with a sac fly in the second and gave the Stros a lead with a two-run single in the fourth. Christian Vazquez added the Astros’ fourth run with a sac fly, scoring Brice Mathews.
Vazquez added their fifth run in the sixth inning on an RBI single, scoring Zach Dezenso.
For the second straight night, Jose Altuve homered. His eighth-inning blast gave the Astros a 6-2 lead.
The suddenly-reliable Astros bullpen, tonight it was Okert, Enyal De Los Santos, Bryan King, and Bryan Abreu, held the Nats until the ninth. Then, just-recalled Alimber Santa allowed a home run to Jose Tena and a single to Wood. After an impressive K to Andres Chaparro. Joe Espada inserted closer Josh Hader for the save, but a Curtis Mead infield hit and an error put runners on second and third with slugger CJ Abrams representing the tying run at the plate. Abrams walked, loading the bases for pinch hitter Dylan Crews. Hader closed it out with a K to Crews on a high heater, evening the series with a 6-3 win.
The Astros go for the series win and a chance to get to just one game under .500 tomorrow at 5:45 CT.
I do wonder if Espada decided Hader was burned for tomorrow once he started warming up. Would make a little more sense why they brought him in.
Send Imai to the BP. Maybe, he’ll get angry and opt out of the contract. 😁
Sucks to have used so much of the bullpen but Thursday is an off-day so I imagine it’s all hands on deck today again. Nobody hit the 20-pitch mark.
.500 is within reach before the break. Astros play the Rangers in the last series before the break and the Mariners play the Rays so even the division lead is attainable before the break.
oh the freakout if the lone astro all star rolled into Philly for the ASG with houston atop the division…