“Next time Hinch calls for you, you stay away from the white part of the plate. – Larry and me has got that part covered!”
Bottom Line: It’s a little hard to win from a brilliant 6-inning performance by the starter when the three relievers who come in to protect, hold and save victory pitch more like “The Three Stooges” over the last two innings 0f opportunity. Astros starter Brad Peacock gave up only 1 run over the first 6 frames, striking out 8 and walking 1, before leaving the Astros with a 6-1 lead to defend.
Then came Mo, Larry, and Curly.
Taking over in the bottom of the 7th, Francisco Liriano, Francis Martes, and Tyler Clippard proceeded to cough up 6 runs on 5 hits and 1 walk, capped by a 3-run homer off Clippard in the bottom of the 8th in a way that made his return for the bottom of the 9th totally unnecessary after the Stros took the sheep’s way home, going away mildly in defeat in the top of the 9th.
Liriano and Clippard were/are our Astros shore-up acquisitions at the recently infamous trade deadline. Boy! Weren’t we lucky?
What’s that you were saying about the Dodgers yesterday, Harvey?
Other notes: Jose Altuve returned to the lineup, but went 0 for 5. …. Alex Bregman stayed torrid, going 2 for 5 and raising his BA to .287. …. Jake Marisnick was the only other Astro with multiple hits, including a monster bomb to dead center in the 4th …. and George Springer also picked up his 29th HR of the season with a blow in the 7th that briefly looked like the deciding crunch on an Astros victory. …. It was not to be. …. The good news that lasted? The Red Sox also lost Saturday, keeping the Astros a full 5 games up on the Bostons for home field advantage in the AL Playoffs.
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DAY 2 IN HOUSTON
RAIN. RAIN. RAIN
SOME BAD FLOODING
A FEW TORNADOES
Fleming Drive & Maxey Road
East Houston
Sunday Morning
August 27, 2017
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AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST STANDINGS
THRU GAMES OF SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2017
| RANK | AL WEST | W | L | PCT. | GB |
| 1 | ASTROS | 78 | 51 | .605 | |
| 2 | ANGELS | 66 | 64 | .508 | 12.5 |
| 3 | MARINERS | 66 | 64 | .508 | 12.5 |
| 4 | RANGERS | 64 | 65 | .496 | 14.0 |
| 5 | ATHLETICS | 57 | 72 | .442 | 21.0 |
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AMERICAN LEAGUE WEST GAME SCORES
THRU GAMES OF SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2017
ANGELS 7 – ASTROS 6.
YANKEES 6 – MARINERS 3.
ATHLETICS 8 – RANGERS 3.
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AMERICAN LEAGUE BATTING AVERAGE LEADERS
THRU GAMES OF SATURDAY, AUGUST 26, 2017
| RANK | PLAYER | TEAM | AB | H | 2B | 3B | HR | BA |
| 1 | JOSE ALTUVE | HOU | 488 | 173 | 35 | 4 | 19 | .355 |
| NR * | CARLOS CORREA | HOU | 325 | 104 | 18 | 1 | 20 | .320 |
| 2 | ERIC HOSMER | KC | 488 | 156 | 24 | 1 | 21 | .320 |
| 3 | AVISAIL GARCIA | CWS | 395 | 126 | 21 | 3 | 13 | .319 |
| 4 | JONATHAN SCHOOP | BAL | 488 | 150 | 30 | 0 | 28 | .307 |
| 5 | DIDI GREGORIUS | NYY | 412 | 126 | 22 | 0 | 19 | .306 |
| 6 | JOSH REDDICK | HOU | 401 | 121 | 26 | 3 | 12 | .302 |
| 7 | JEAN SEGURA | SEA | 418 | 126 | 24 | 1 | 7 | .301 |
| 8 | MARWIN GONZALEZ | HOU | 361 | 108 | 23 | 0 | 21 | .299 |
| 9 | ELVIS ANDRUS | TEX | 513 | 153 | 34 | 3 | 16 | .298 |
| 10 | JOSE RAMERIZ | CLE | 483 | 143 | 40 | 5 | 18 | .296 |
| Other Top 40 Astros | ||||||||
| 13 | GEORGE SPRINGER | HOU | 434 | 128 | 25 | 0 | 29 | .295 |
| 20 | YULI GURRIEL | HOU | 446 | 129 | 35 | 1 | 15 | .289 |
| 25 | ALEX BREGMAN | HOU | 435 | 125 | 31 | 5 | 16 | .287 |
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
Houston, Baseball, & Other Musings.
The Pecan Park Eagle 