The Three J’s Lead Astros To Series Win Over the Royals

The Astros have started to put together some good baseball over the last week. Tonight’s game was just about as good as we could have asked for, with the Royals throwing their best hurler, James Shields, to attempt a series victory. The Astros countered with Jordan Lyles and the result could not have been better. The Astros took the game 3-1, and were lead by the Killer J’s Three J’s of Jordan Lyles, Jason Castro, and J.D. Martinez.

Though Jordan Lyles’ numbers looked good, he did have a hard time finishing off batters. The good news, Lyles kept going after each batter, even after constant foul tips. Lyles didn’t give in the whole game, and got through six innings, allowing just six hits, one run, one walk, and three strikeouts. It took Lyles 101 pitches to get through six innings, but he did a good job getting positive results during frustrating at-bats. When Lyles departed, the trio of Travis Blackley, Hector Ambriz, and Jose Veras, all came through with hitless innings, and secured the victory for Lyles.

On the hitting side, Lyles got early run support with a J.D. Martinez  two-run opposite-field home run. Martinez finished the night 2-4, and has been swinging a hot bat as of late (10/29). The Astros wouldn’t score again until the eighth inning when Jose Altuve got on base via the walk and stole second base. Jason Castro followed with a drive over the outstretched glove of rightfielder Jeff Francouer. Castro finished the night 3-4, and the 3 and 4 hitters combined for five of the eight Astros hits.

Defensively, the Astros put Jimmy Paredes at third base, and he looked a lot more comfortable as an infielder. Paredes made some nice plays (avoided a possible collision), and showed off his gun. It will be interesting to see if the Astros choose to keep Paredes in the outfield, or convert him to a utility infielder.

The Astros will have an off day tomorrow as they await the Oakland Athletics.