The Pecan Park Eagle

Two pitchers going late with no runs are like two cross country runners taking on Death Valley with no canteens for support. The first that finally does find water probably wins, but chances are that neither survives the grind long enough to win anything.

What messes up an inning in which two of the first three hitters get it started with a single and a double? You got it. – It’s when the only man that doesn’t hit is the middle guy – and his contribution is to hit into a 6-4-3 double play, followed by a fourth batter who leaves the runner at 2nd base, via a called or swinging strikeout, a can-of-corn fly ball out, or a foul out to the catcher.

This kind of time at bat inning can happen anytime, even with great teams, it’s simply far less noticeable when a really good team like the Astros is trying to get the hum back into the flow of a talented batting order still struggling to get back into the roaring hum of their best aggressive and pitcher supportive lineup.

Right now, the boys are still trying to recover, even though the H.E.B. Grocery television commercial stars are back in the lineup. Neither Springer nor Correa are hitting at levels we know they are capable of producing, and that goes for average or strategic game spot hitting.

For now, the strategic hitting hummers in the lineup are pretty easy to identify. The first two are really easy to pick: Alex Bregman and Tyler White, plus Marwin Gonzalez and Yuli Gurriel, they are the two plus two to go ready now in the company of Mr. Altuve, but even he is human. Did you ever think you’d live to see the day of the little giant striking out four times in a row? ~ What’s the color of the sombrero awarded for that hapless-at-hitting accomplishment?

Now we need to get McCann back – and hitting from the heels of the hitter he already is – and we need Springer and Correa humming as the hitters we all already know they are. They have nothing to prove. They just need to be the hitters they really are.

Maybe then – a guy like Justin Verlander can go out there and pitch the kind of game he pitched last night and actually get the kind of early run support he needs to win most games of that type.

Two pitchers going late with no runs are like two cross country runners taking on Death Valley with no canteens for support. The first that finally does find water probably wins, but chances are that neither survives the grind long enough to win anything.

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A Peek at the AL Batting Average Race 

Through Games of 8/30/18: 

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AL WEST Contender Scores

Through Games of 8/30/18:

LA Angels 5 – Houston 2.

Seattle 7 – Oakland 1.

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AL WEST STANDINGS:

Morning of Fri., 8/31/18

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AUGUST

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle