Sanchez returns, Astros O and a comedy of errors dry out the Marlins 8-2

Wow, offense!

Today, Jason Alexander(1-1, 7.27 ERA, 20 SO) and the Astros began a 3-game road series against the red-hot Miami Marlins and starter Sandy Alcantara.(6-9, 6.30 ERA, 81 SO) This game was significant for a number of reasons, one of which being the return of newly acquired left handed OF Jesus Sanchez, as this was his first game against his former team since the trade deadline last Thursday. The most important aspect of this game though, was the fact that the ‘Stros entered loanDepot park licking their wounds after a disappointing 3 game sweep at the hand of the Boston Red Sox at Fenway.

The Marlins came into this series as winners of their last 5 in a row, including their own 3 game sweep of the New York Yankees. (Their 1st sweep of the Yankees in franchise history) Miami was also riding the wave of reaching .500 baseball for the first time since April, so you know them and their fans came in feeling rejuvenated and hungry for even more success against a team in Houston who hasn’t seen consistency since before the All-Star break.

With the Astros losing their last 3 in a row, and dropping 3 of their last 5 in series play, something had to give. Especially, considering the Mariners are right in the rearview mirror with only a 2.5 game division lead deficit after they recently took 3 of 4 from the Texas Rangers.

First pitch: 5:40PM, CST

Through the first 2 innings, Alexander and Alcantara pitched to a 0-0 stalemate, with the only hiccup being a Jose Altuve fielding error in the bottom of the 1st on a Agustín Ramírez ground ball to 2B. (No significant damage happened) To this point in the ballgame, Alexander had 2 strikeouts to his credit, while Alcantara managed to get away with a few loud contact outs via a Carlos Correa flyout and two lineouts by Christian Walker and Victor Caratini in the 2nd.

Then, in the top of the 4th, the wildest thing happened. The Astros managed to explode for 5 runs in the inning, matching their complete run total from their last 3 games combined. Here’s the breakdown:

The action started with a Jeremy Peña double(his 19th, which leads the team), followed by a Jesús Sánchez double to score Jeremy and make it 1-0 Astros. (By the way, if you ever needed an indication of how bad this Astros offense has been, Jeremy got HBP in the ribs on June 27th and was put on IL for about a month and some change, yet he STILL leads the team in doubles.)

The vibes continued when Jose Altuve laid down a perfect bunt to successfully reach 1st base and advance Sanchez to 3rd, putting runners on the corners. Then, after Altuve stole 2nd base, Carlos Correa whacked an RBI-single to left field to score Sanchez and advance Altuve to 3rd, Astros then up 2-0. Christian Walker then scored Altuve after a funky force out situation in which two Mariners defenders got crossed up at 2B as Correa was called out and Walker made it safely to 1B. Astros up 3-0(!) More offensive prosperity happened, with Caratini lining a single to right field and Yainer Diaz putting the finishing touches on via a ground ball double to left field to score both Walker and Caratini to make it 5-0 ‘Stros. (This marks the 1st time the Astros had a 5+ run lead in 4 games, since beating the Nationals 9-1 on July 31st.)

Two consecutive strikeouts by Taylor Trammell and Cam Smith then ended the dream inning, which was the complete inverse of their nightmare 4th against Boston yesterday.

Through the bottom of the 5th, Jason Alexander was having the best game of his major league career, flummoxing Marlins batters while giving up only 1 hit, no walks, no runs, and 6 K’s on only 67 pitches.(The 6K’s tying his career high)

Things got rocky for Jason in the bottom of the 6th however, when the bases were loaded after two singles by Kyle Stowers and Agustín Ramírez and a drawn walk by Liam Hicks. Alexander escaped though! Getting Otto Lopez to ground out on a Peña throw to 1B to end the threat.

Jason’s day was done, finishing with a sterling 6 innings of 0 run ball, complete with 3 hits, 0 walks, 6K’s, and lowered ERA from 7.27 to 5.97. (This was also his 1st career start giving up 0 runs) His counterpart Alcantara then returned to the mound in the top of the 7th to try and keep a lid on the Astros after their explosive 4th. This would not prove to be a fruitful decision for the Marlins.

Because, after a Cam Smith infield single to leadoff the inning, Jeremy Peña smoked an RBI-double to left field to score Cam from 1B, making it 6-0 ‘Stros. (Scott Boras must be licking his chops right now. I would agree, pay that man!)

That would be the end of the scoring though, as two flyouts by Altuve and Sanchez, and a generous strike 3 call on Correa by HP Ump Lance Barrett, ended the inning. This would all but spell the end of Sandy Alcantara’s night, with a closing stat line of: 7 IP, 9 hits, 1 walk, 5 K’s, 6 runs, and his ERA being raised from 6.30 to 6.44.

Bryan King then entered the game for Alexander to begin the bottom of the 7th. And unfortunately, he proceeded to immediately break the shut out by giving up back to back homers to pinch-hitters Javier Sanoja and Derek Hill to lead off the inning, making it 6-2 Astros. After consecutive strikeouts by Dane Myers and Eric Wagaman, an Xavier Edwards double extended the inning and brought Kyle Stowers up to bat. That would be all though, as King finally got out of the inning by getting Stowers to line out to Sanchez in left field to end the inning.

The offense continued adding runs in the 8th inning, this time courtesy of reliever Cade Gibson. After Christian Walker struck out to leadoff the frame, Victor Caratini was HBP and awarded 1B. Pinch-hitter Mauricio Dubón then doubled to left field to score Caratini, making it 7-2. (I didn’t mention the mental lapse at 2B by SS Otto Lopez, forgetting to tag Caratini at 2B for the potential double play to save the score) Cam Smith then joined the party by adding a bloop single to right field that Dane Myers couldn’t hang onto, upping the score to 8-2.

Jeremy Peña then grounded into a force out of Cam Smith at 2B to end the inning.

Bryan Abreu then entered the game in the bottom of the 8th, walking Agustín Ramírez to begin the inning. The would-be baserunner didn’t last long though, as another Marlins mental lapse occurred that involved a Liam Hicks single to left field that ended with Ramírez running himself into a Carlos Correa induced out at 2B. Why? Because baseball, that’s why. Otto Lopez and Javier Sanoja then flew and popped out respectively to end the inning.

A quick top of the 9th for the Astros offense led to a Héctor Neris appearance in the bottom of the inning to try and close out the fish, and that he accomplished in short order.

A Derek Hill ground out, followed by back to back strikeouts of Myers and Wagaman, finished off the Marlins and ended the game with the Astros victorious by a final of 8-2.

Jason Alexander(2-1) got the win tonight, as Alcantara(6-10) and the Marlins saw their winning streak snapped at 5 games. This also marked the 1st Astros win on the road during this current road trip that started August 1st in Boston. Along with Alexander, Jeremy Peña was the player of the game on offense, going 2-4 with 2 Doubles, 1 walk, and 1 RBI.

The Astros will face RHP Cal Quantrill tomorrow in game 2, while not yet announcing who will toe the rubber on their part. They will hope to build on today’s momentum and start a new winning streak with their 2nd in a row.

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