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Houston Astros: Club Astros finally gets the monkey off their back

By Eric Huysman |
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A roller coaster ride for Astros’ fans

Sep 19, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros starting pitcher Scott Kazmir (26) is removed from the game against the Oakland Athletics in the fourth inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Saturday night’s Houston Astros game was a bumpy emotional journey for Astros’ fans everywhere. We started off the game roughing up a Cy Young candidate, Sonny Gray before Evan Gattis tried to advance to second base on a fly out to right field. Gattis maybe thought that they would throw to third base to try to get the lead runner. Instead, they threw to second base and caught Gattis like a bear caught in a bear trap. The Astros had already scored three runs off of Gray in the first, so why was this such a big deal?

Excitement Turned to Regret

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When an ace pitcher is struggling, you go for blood and don’t give outs away like Gattis did there. Gray couldn’t find the strike zone early in the game. So Astros fans were probably happy that they scored three runs, but with the team has pitched recently, you have to be greedy and get as many runs as you can squeeze out. The Astros are still in playoff competition, but their margin of error is shrinking as we speak. Every win means something right now, so if you see an opportunity to take advantage, you Felix Hernandez them.

After fans had cooled down, Scott Kazmir gave up a homer to some guy named Jake Smolinski, which brought back deja vu back from Friday night’s game where the Athletics crawled back little by little to win 4-3. Kazmir only lasted 3 2/3 inning, getting the rare early hook from manager A.J. Hinch in the fourth inning. The pitcher we traded for to pitch in these big time game situations was pulled early; Astros fans thought that was the end of the game with how things have gone recently.

Here we go Again

Vincent Velasquez is in the game; he will hold the A’s down. He’s part of the bright future and can throw the heat, but he struggled last night giving up three runs in 2 1/3 innings. The thoughts that we suck again was floating through all the Astros fans minds. I even had the urge to tell the Houston Chronicle to break out the tombstone, but instead I urged them to hold off on it for now. The Astros were down 6-3 in the sixth inning, and even the public address announcer seemed unexcited when he announced Jose Altuve‘s name. My family was ready to leave, and I could see that most of the fans were ready to leave.

Next: Doodles the Rally Monkey

Doodles the Rally Monkey

During my broadcasting through Periscope, my daughter kept on putting her new $12 six-inch money in front of my camera, so I introduced the viewers to Doodles, the rally monkey. Then suddenly, Colby Rasmus hits a double over the head of Billy Burns in centerfield. The leadoff hit got some of the fans back into the game. Yesterday I wrote an article about how the Astros don’t have a true cleanup hitter, you can read it here: The Astros Lineup Lacks a True Cleanup Hitter. Gattis tends to struggle when the Astros are trailing, so fans were trying to figure out what he would do with a runner in scoring position. Gattis then hits a pop up to second base; there was a big “ah man” shouted throughout the stadium.

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Then comes the power of Doodles after the Gattis pop-up as Luis Valbuena, who has been cold recently, sent a line drive to right field for a single scoring Rasmus from second base. The Astros had finally knocked out Gray; now they had to face the A’s bullpen.Then Hinch replaces Preston Tucker with Chris Carter; all Astros fans could do was cover their eyes. Carter then popped up weakly in foul ground for the second out.

Hinch rolled the dice and pinched hit Matt Duffy for Jason Castro, with the power of Doodles, Duffy hit a ball that almost left the ballpark. He settled with a run-scoring double that got the Astros within one run. The stadium was electric with everyone rooting for the underdog Duffy. With the homer in last night’s game, hopefully, it has earned Duffy a start in Sunday’s season finale against Oakland.

Next: Rally Gattis

Rally Gattis

Sep 19, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Astros designated hitter Evan Gattis (11) is congratulated by third baseman Luis Valbuena (18) and eft fielder Colby Rasmus (28) and catcher Max Stassi (12) after he hit a three run home run against the Oakland Athletics in the seventh inning at Minute Maid Park. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports

Doodles has led the Astros back to within a run, but what was next? George Springer, who has not hit for much power since his return from the fractured wrist, grounded out to shortstop. Carlos Correa followed with a hit that gets by the third baseman. Jed Lowrie, who has had some big hits recently, strikes out with Correa at first. Two outs in the inning, Doodles makes another appearance that leads to Rasmus getting a walk to get two runners on with the guy I said wasn’t clutch enough earlier in the day.

No one can forget the colossal running mistake that Gattis made in the first inning, but he stepped up to the plate in the seventh inning looking to rectify for his earlier mistake. The fans were on their feet; the Gattis hits a towering homer to right field as fans all across the stadium were kissing their Gattis bobbleheads. Not only did Gattis get a homer when the Astros were trailing, but he gave them a two-run lead with one swing.

With that one swing of the bat by Gattis, he has brought Crush City back to its former glory. Max Stassi added a homer, and Springer drove in another run with a sacrifice fly to make it 10-6. After a week of futility, the Astros finally break through.

The Astros gained some confidence and finally got the win that they desperately needed. The Astros still control their own destiny in the wild-card race, they just have to play solid baseball and take advantage of the other team’s mistakes. They don’t have to win out the rest of the way, but they have to play tough against the division opponents. The Angels and Twins are trying to steal the second wild-card from the Astros. Maybe now that they got to celebrate Club Astros at home again, this team will start having fun again. We can only hope.

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