Atlanta Braves drop day game to Houston Astros
The Atlanta Braves played Game 3 against the Houston Astros on Thursday afternoon, starting just after the USA’s World Cup match concluded. Braves fans made the seamless transition from rooting for their country to rooting for Braves Country. Too bad the Braves didn’t give them as much to root for. In the majors, there’s no such thing as an easy series sweep, and the Astros reminded us all of that in a 6-1 loss.
In a rare second consecutive day of A-B-C baseball, the Braves chased home B.J. Upton after a single, a stolen base, a throwing error allowing him to get to third and, finally, a sacrifice fly. The Braves led 1-0 in the first inning before the Astros got to bat. However, when the Astros did grab the lumber, they tied the game at 1-1 thanks to a double that scored Jose Altuve. The diminutive slugging second baseman for the Astros is exactly the type of player that every team covets. He’s quick with both his legs and his bat, plus he’s young with a lot of pop.
In the 4th inning, the Astros got a sacrifice run of their own to take the lead 2-1. The Braves then failed to get Justin Upton home after a 1-out double in the 5th inning that would have tied the game. That would prove costly in the bottom half of the 5th inning, as Mike Minor gave up his 11th homer of the season. With one runner on and two out, Minor walked George Springer, then gave up a huge 3-run jack to Matt Dominguez. Bonus points if you had any clue Matt Dominguez played for the Astros before he put one in the stands. I certainly didn’t since he went 0-6 in the first two games against the Braves.
With a four-run deficit, the Braves needed runs quickly, but while they could get several men on base, they seemed to freeze up when it came to driving them home. If you’ve ever been to Houston in June you know it’s next to impossible to freeze anything, but the Braves pulled it off in face-palming fashion. Justin Upton and Evan Gattis both had doubles on the day, but neither of them crossed the plate. Tommy La Stella, Jason Heyward, Gerald Laird, and Chris Johnson all went hitless.
The Braves went 0-5 with RISP (shocking no one), and the team finished with six hits, one walk, and four Ks. Mike Minor got lit up in 6 innings with five earned runs, seven hits, two walks, and five Ks. The Braves head from Houston to Philadelphia for a four game series up North. Stay tuned to see if the Braves can vault themselves back into first place this weekend.