The Pecan Park Eagle

J.R. Towles set the Astros franchise record by banging out 8 RBI in an 18-1 win over the Cardinals on 9/20/2007. ~ Last night, Yuli Gurriel bagged 7 RBI in an 11-3 win over the Angels for the 2nd best one-game mark in team history.

Baseball is a game of almost all possibility ~ that we go to see in the hope of witnessing one of those great moments of supreme improbability as it materializes and comes to be ~ in the face of our watching ~ as it incredibly unfolds before our astonished-since-early-childhood eyes ~ and in ways that prompt reactions within us which range all the way from quiet simple pleasure to full-blown hysterical euphoria.

We Astros fans had one of those moments at Minute Maid Park Friday night, September 21, 2018. Astros first baseman Yuli Gurriel had a 7-RBI night on a first inning grand slam, a third inning two-run homer, and a fifth inning single-run RBI of a runner from third base from a runners at first and third situation.

Those seven RBI were enough to plate all of the Astros’ first scores on their way to an 11-3 trouncing of the LA Angels on a night in which Gerrit Cole pitched great over a seven-inning course that also produced 12 strikeouts.

Had Gurriel managed the Ruthian-level improbable, and made that third trip to the plate a 3-run homer, he would have claimed 9 RBIs on the night – thus besting the current all time record of 8 one game RBIs, set by former short term Astros catcher J.R. Towles on September 20, 2007 – almost 11 years to this date earlier than the Gurriel new second place challenge record.

(See how it so often happens with these BIG improbables? – Even when they materialize, we continue to think of ways they might have been improved. Had Gurriel managed 4, 2, and 3 runner homers in his first three times up, we probably would have moved up the expectation dial just a tad and started hoping to see a bases-empty shot on his fourth AB – you know – just to be able to say that we had seen Gurriel hit for the cycle of all HR RBI possibilities in a single game.)

Back to planet earth. What follows is a brief AP clipping account of the J.R. Towles record game, plus a link to the box score of the Towles 8 RBI game, plus the usual up-to-date material we try to cover here about the current AL West title chase.

Have a great weekend, everybody, and don’t forget to watch today’s Angels @ Astros game because – “you never know.”

The J.R. Towles 8-RBI in One Game Record Moment:

September 21, 2007 (AP) Colorado Springs Gazette, Page 65:

Houston 18 St. Louis 1 (Thursday, September 20, 2007)

At St. Louis, Houston rookie Justin Towles went 4-for-4 with a franchise-record eight RBIs and the Astros reached season highs in runs and hits.

Behind a 23-hit attack, the Astros won for the fifth time in 15 games and surpassed their previous best for runs (15) and hits (22) established Sunday against the Pirates (September 16, 2007). The Cardinals, last year’s World Series champions, have lost 13 of 15 in a September swoon.

Link to Baseball Almanac.com Box Score of Houston 18 St. Louis 1 Game:

http://www.baseball-almanac.com/box-scores/boxscore.php?boxid=200709200SLN

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Top Ten AL Batting Averages 

Thru Games of Fri., 9/21/18: 

BATTING AVERAGE

1. Betts • BOS ~ .339

2. Martinez • BOS ~ .330

3. Trout • LAA ~ .316

4. Altuve • HOU ~ .314

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AL WEST SCORES, 

Thru Fri., 9/21/18:

Houston 11 – LA Angels 3.

Oakland 7 – Minnesota 6.

Texas 8 – Seattle 3.

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AL WEST STANDINGS

Morning of Sat., 9/22/18

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SCHEDULE BALANCE FOR

HOU, OAK & SEA:

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Bill McCurdy

Principal Writer, Editor, Publisher

The Pecan Park Eagle