Game 2

Lucas Harrell was fantastic in this game.  He attacked the strike zone with the confidence of a veteran.  The stadium gun had his fastball at a consistant 92.  He struck out 4, allowed only 3 hits through 7, and, perhaps most importantly, walked no one.

Schafer and Martinez came through with a home run each, while Chris Johnson added a pair of doubles.  Mix that with some timely hitting from Snyder and some Rockies errors and you get a 7-3 Astros win.

The Turning Point:

Let's look deeper at the fourth inning.

In the top half, the Rockies got Carlos Gonzalez to third with one out after a double and a wild pitch.  After giving the appearance of staying back, the infield rushes in.  Troy Tulowitzki ground the ball to Marwin Gonzalez and Gonzalez in out at the plate.  A gutsy call from the coaching staff pays off.  Shortly after this, Tulo is thrown out trying to steal, and the top half ends.

The Astros come up in the bottom half.  Brian Bixler, who got the start over Altuve for some reason, reaches on an error and scores on a J.D. Martinez home run. 

Astros Player of the Game:

It would be incredibly irresponsible not to go with Lucas Harrell in this game.  What a performance by the young man.  Only 4 Rockies reached base in 7 innings and one of those was by fielder's choice.  I hope this is a sign of things to come.

What are you thinking Brad?

Rhiner Cruz entered the game with 2 out in the ninth, which seemed to baffle those around me.  In this case, I see what Mills was doing.  He was bringing in a young pitcher with electric stuff and very little ability to control said staff during a low pressure situation.  So, I will give him pass on that one.

Other Notes:

Chris Johnson stole a base, which might happen one more time this season.

While J.D. Martinez drove in 3 runs, he also grounded into 2 double plays.

I am blown away that a 49 year old with a 79 mph fastball is pitching in the bigs.  Jamie Moyer is a classy individual who loves the game, and I wish him luch this season.

Marwin Gonzalez is an adequate shortstop in the field.  He gets to the balls that you would expect him to and shows a decent arm.  On another note, Troy Tulowitzki is a great shortstop.

Brandon Lyon gave up a home run, but that isn't what concerns me.  Even his outs were hit hard.

Game 1

The game started out with some optimism.  The crowd was jacked up, Wandy got off to a good start, and the Astros scored first on a Carlos Lee single.  Four errors and a Tulowitzki shot later, it was a 5-3 loss in the opener.

The Chris Johnson error in the second didn't lead to a run, but it did force Wandy to work a little more.  Giving big league clubs extra outs is never a good idea.

The Turning Point

The Wandy throwing error is a ball that should have never left his hand.  They were not going to get Fowler on that play no matter what.  Instead of first and second and nobody out instead of second and third with none out.  The Rockies ultimately scored 3 runs on a sac fly, a Helton double, and a timely Cuddyer hit.

Let's look a little deeper at the inning a little deeper.  With second and third and no one out, Carlos Gonzalez hit a comebacker to the pitcher that kept the runners stuck in their current spots.  If Wandy eats the bunt from Fowler, this ball could have been a double play or at worst a force out at second.  I also accept the fact that Wandy might have thrown the ball to Schafer in center, but bear with me.  Tulowitzki hit a fly ball to right that scored a run, but hypothetically would have ended the inning had the comebacker to Wandy been a double play.

Fast forward to the eighth.  Eric Young enters the game as a pinch runner and steals second.  From where I was sitting, he looked out, but I have been assured that he was safe.

He proceeds to get hung up on a ball in the dirt.  Jason Castro decides to throw the ball behind the runner, which was the wrong move even if Marwin Gonzalez would have caught it.  Young would have still made third.  It is basic baseball fundamentals that when you have a runner frozen, you force him to commit to a location by running at him.  It was a poor decision that cost the team.  I am sure that Jason Castro knew it was a mistake as soon as he let the ball go.

Errors destroy Major League Baseball teams.

Hey Brad.  What are you thinking?

Why was Fernando Abad in against Troy Tulowitzki in the eighth?  I wondered to myself if Mills had forgotten that he is supposed to manage the game to the end.  This game was still in the balance.  It was not a solid loss at this point.

Fernando Abad is the last lefty that you want to face a right handed power bat like Tulo in a game situation.  Abad allowed an astronomical 4.82 HR/9 verses RH hitters last season according the Fangraphs, so naturally he did what the stats said that he very well might do.

Astros Player of the Game:

The first player of the game award goes to Carlos Lee.  He had 2 of the Astros 5 hits, hit his first HR of the season, and a 2 out RBI in the first.

Other Notes:

Altuve drew a walk, which puts him one quarter of the way to last season's total.