May 1, 2015
Astros 2, A’s 1
W – Fister (2-3)
L – Hill (3-3)
S – Gregerson (5)
Sunday’s game featured another substandard offensive showing, but at least today it was enough for a win. The Astros managed only two hits against A’s pitching, but they balanced that with working seven walks. Altuve notched a leadoff homer in the 1st to take an early lead, Castro led off the 3rd inning with a single, and the Astros were done hitting for the day. The Astros managed to load the bases on walks after Castro, and then Rasmus hit a sac fly to the warning track in right center, missing a grand slam by 10-15 feet.
Two runs was all that Doug Fister needed today. He worked himself into some jams in the 2nd (bases loaded) and 3rd (runners at the corners) and then pitched out of them, then went on cruise control until the 7th. Springer made a diving grab of a Coco Crisp liner to lead off the inning, then three consecutive hits by the A’s cut Houston’s lead to 2-1. Fister induced a 1-out grounder before leaving the game. Tony Sipp cleaned up the mess in the 7th, Sipp and Harris combined for a scoreless 8th, and Gregerson pitched an uneventful 9th.
The starting pitching has been really encouraging lately, but the bats are still playing with fire and need to get their shit together. There’s a 10-game homestand starting on Monday night so we’ll get a break from all this west coast nonsense for a while. [Insert generic platitude about getting back on track at home.]