Forget About It.
Dallas Keuchel
It was just one of those nights – just one of those frustrating plights – when bounces of the ball off excellent pitching by Dallas Keuchel created a hard to make quick “hustle and throw” situation – that led straight into a rare Keuchel throwing error and a 2-run early inning Nationals lead – one from which the Astros would finally tie things in the 9th, but fail to overcome in extra frames – as the ball and good fortune both continued to bounce in Washington’s direction. Houston’s young Mr. Davis bopped his first MLB homer to start the bottom of the 11th, but that was it. And it was not enough.
Washington won the game, 5-4, and the series, 2-1.
But we can play with these guys and beat them in the World Series, if necessary. All we have to do is get there. And have some of the balls and breaks bounce our way next time. I keep thinking of that third out bouncing high-hop ball from McCann that the Nats’ first baseman Zimmerman still managed to reach up and snare with his glove as he seemed to be going down in anticipation of a lower-to-the-ground catch on his way to a tag of the bag. A more complete Zimmerman stumble – or an inch or two higher bounce – and the ball shoots goodbye over the first sacker’s head and rolls down the right field line. And boom. The Astros would have pulled off a 4-3 score for another walk-off comeback win in the bottom of the 9th.
Maybe next time. In the meanwhile, as we said up front: forget about it.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST STANDINGS
THRU GAMES OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017
| RANK | AL WEST | W | L | PCT. | GB |
| 1 | ASTROS | 77 | 50 | .606 | |
| 2 | ANGELS | 65 | 63 | .508 | 12.5 |
| 3 | MARINERS | 65 | 63 | .508 | 12.5 |
| 4 | RANGERS | 64 | 63 | .504 | 13.0 |
| 5 | ATHLETICS | 55 | 72 | .433 | 22.0 |
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AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST GAME SCORES
THRU GAMES OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017
WASHINGTON 5 – ASTROS 4 (11 innings)
RANGERS 3 – ANGELS 0 (10 innings)
MARINERS (day off “on the town”)
ATHLETICS (day off in memory of Connie Mack)
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AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS
THRU GAMES OF THURSDAY, AUGUST 24, 2017
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 1 | JOSE ALTUVE | HOU | 484 | 173 | 35 | 4 | 19 | .357 |
| NR * | CARLOS CORREA | HOU | 325 | 104 | 18 | 1 | 20 | .320 |
| 2 | ERIC HOSMER | KC | 481 | 153 | 23 | 1 | 21 | .318 |
| 3 | AVISAIL GARCIA | CWS | 390 | 124 | 21 | 3 | 13 | .318 |
| 4 | DIDI GREGORIUS | NYY | 405 | 125 | 21 | 0 | 19 | .309 |
| 5 | JEAN SEGURA | SEA | 408 | 125 | 24 | 1 | 7 | .306 |
| 6 | MARWIN GONZALEZ | HOU | 357 | 108 | 23 | 0 | 21 | .303 |
| 7 | JONATHAN SCHOOP | BAL | 479 | 144 | 30 | 0 | 27 | .301 |
| 8 | JOSH REDDICK | HOU | 394 | 118 | 26 | 3 | 12 | .299 |
| 9 | JOSE RAMERIZ | CLE | 475 | 142 | 40 | 5 | 18 | .299 |
| 10 | MELKY CABRERA | CWS/KC | 489 | 145 | 21 | 2 | 16 | .297 |
| Other Top 40 Astros | ||||||||
| 11 | GEORGE SPRINGER | HOU | 425 | 126 | 24 | 0 | 28 | .296 |
| 17 | YULI GURRIEL | HOU | 439 | 128 | 34 | 1 | 15 | .292 |
| 28 | ALEX BREGMAN | HOU | 426 | 120 | 31 | 5 | 16 | .282 |
NR * LOST TIME ON THE DL HAS TEMPORARILY REMOVED CORREA FROM AN OFFICIAL QUALIFYING PLACE IN THE RANKING OF TOP 40 HITTERS.
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Bill McCurdy
Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher
The Pecan Park Eagle
The Pecan Park Eagle 
August 25, 2017 at 7:17 pm |
McQuellers and Correa rehabbing in Fresno tonight. Life is great. My buddy is in Scotland and he gave me his tickets for the 3 remaining Grizzlies games. Behind home plate 4th row.