Giants 6, Astros 4
W: Affeldt (2-2)
L: Melancon (6-4)
“Oh no no no no no. I insist.”
“Oh I just couldn’t. Please. After you.”
“I couldn’t live with myself if I went first. Please.”
“I just couldn’t. Please.”
“Oh no no no no.”
Sunday’s game was a cap to an invigorating six game stretch for the home nine. The new boys have been giving it what they’ve got, and even though they were taking it to the shittiest bunch of loserly fucks in the National League and what must be the most snakebit club in the loop, they did prevail with a 4-2 record in that stretch. Yeah, it coulda been 5-1 because the Giants absolutely refused gift after gift after gift from the Astros but in the end the panda took the bamboo for the win in extrys.
Sosa started and gave up a three-run jack to Belt in the second, but the Astros came back for four walks in the bottom of the second wrapped around a two-RBI single from Martinez and a couple of other hits to take the lead, 4-3. Tied in the eighth and in the middle of a stretch of several innings getting the leadoff runner aboard to no avail, the Giants had the bases loaded but Martinez made the play of the game. He snagged a fly to medium left and threw out a tagging Schierholtz at the plate on the fly, including a fine block of the plate by Corporan. Martinez was 3 for 5 on his 24th birthday, with two RBI but he couldn’t put the ball in play in the bottom of the ninth with the bases loaded. Without that last little bit of mojo, the curse of the extra innings caught up with the Good Guys when Melancon served up a fat cookie to Sandoval, who turned it into the turd of a two-run homer that extended their lead over the Diamondbacks.
Once again the kids looked good though. Plenty of entertainment value in this one, not the least of which is Altuve’s continued March to Greatness. He had a perfect sac bunt and one of the more bizarre pickoff recovery plays you’ll ever see.
After the game, Lyles was sent to OKC for a few days to make room for Schafer. The Astros expect to run out 2011’s clock on Lyles’ arm by using him in relief for the rest of the year. I hope that doesn’t mean working him in in emergency situations, but instead getting him a couple of innings of relief every fourth or fifth day.
Now it’s on to Denver tomorrow.
