Or, “Do Not Adjust Your TV Set; The Unis Actually Are Pink”
May 8, 2016
Astros 5, Mariners 1
W – McHugh (4-3)
L – Iwakuma (1-4)
It’s hard to complain too much about splitting a four-game series with the first-place team in the division. It stings a little that the Astros had a legitimate chance at sweeping the series if just a couple of things had gone differently, but at least they’re not any worse off than they were Thursday afternoon.
Collin McHugh turned in what was undoubtedly his best outing of the season aside from his appearance in the home opener. A 4th inning solo homer by Robinson Cano was the only black mark on a pretty good day on the mound, throwing seven innings of one-run ball. (Speaking of Cano, can we get a break from this guy? Dude is 13×26 with 16 RBI and slugging 1.000 against Houston this year.) The Mariners got a runner to third in the 3rd inning but weren’t able to plate him, and they never really put up much of a fight otherwise. Sipp pitched perfect 8th and 9th innings to seal the win.
Offensively, the Astros relied on smallball: singles, doubles, and stolen bases were the order of the day. Back-to-back doubles by Luis Valbuena and Tyler White started the scoring in the 2nd. They put up another pair of runs in the 3rd. Altuve reached base on a single, stole second and then third; Correa walked and stole second; and back-to-back singles by Rasmus and Marwin scored them both. They added a pair of insurance runs in the 7th, largely aided by some Mariners brain farts. Altuve stole second and advanced to third on a high throw, then Springer hit a grounder right to Ketel Marte at short; Marte didn’t even get his glove on the ball and the ball dribbled into left-center, allowing Altuve to score easily. Springer then stole second and scored when Correa singled to center.
One last thing: I think we can all agree that moms are great and breast cancer is bad, but can the pink uniform/equipment trend please stop once and for all? I turned on the game and thought my TV’s color chip had failed when I saw pink “ASTROS” lettering and a pink “H” on a gray cap. Yes, the only good thing about today’s unis were that the Astros got a win while wearing them. The cynical part of me also feels like organizations do this largely for self-serving purposes, saying, “Hey, look at us, we respect women and hate cancer too!” At least it certainly feels that way when the NFL turns the shield pink for the entire month of October.