Astros 6 Phightin’ Phillies 4
By Mr. Happy
Tonight’s ball game was sweet. It is a rare bird this season indeed. For the first three innings, it looked like the Phillies were going to win in a walkaway, leading 4-0, as the home nine were making a pretty meh pitcher, Tyler Cloyd, look like Cy Young du jour. That all changed in the fourth frame, when, with two on and nobody out Matt Dominguez found the Crawford Boxes to his liking, cutting the Phillies’ lead to 4-3, which chased Cloyd.
Meanwhile, Lucas Harrell, who apparently didn’t appreciate HPU Bill Miller’s strike zone tonight, bent but didn’t break, exiting the ball game with two outs in the top of the sixth inning, getting tossed after Tony D had given him the hook. That’s a belt and suspenders way to get a pitcher out of a ball game.
The game stayed 4-3 Phightins until the bottom of the eighth, when the Astros erupted for their second three run inning of the evening. This inning was highlighted by Jed Lowrie’s pinch hit two run double, which plated one Jordan Lyles with what ultimately was the winning run. Lyles had entered the game as a pinch runner for Scott Moore, who took one for the ball club off of the foot.
In the ninth inning, Wilton Lopez gave up a one out single to Ryan Howard. However, he induced Domonic (who spells his name unusually) Brown to ground into a game-ending 3-6-1 twin killing to preserve the win for Wesley Wright, who wins for the first time this season, going to 1-2. That was Lopez’s fifth save. The Astros now stand at 46-98, and Tony D is 7-16 (.304) since replacing Brad Mills.
It was an excellent day for Mr. Happy at work today, and it was culminated nicely with an Astros victory on a night in which he had recap responsibility. I received my first paycheck in over six years today, and I must say that it feels great. I love this job; I get up early and get in early too. There’s just something to be said for a daily routine after not having had one for many years. It’s quite comforting, and I like it a lot. The Game Zone was particularly active tonight, which was great.