Thomas Campbell – USA TODAY Sports
It’s not very often that everything goes right for a team like the Houston Astros. Literally, everything went right tonight. Jordan Lyles threw a great game, the young guns went crazy and Chris Carter continued his ever-entertaining strikeout escapades in the Astros’ 12-4 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Here are some highlights of the night:
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Robbie Grossman, 2-for-4, four RBIs and a home run.
L.J. Hoes, 2-f0r-3, three walks and a stolen base.
Jose Altuve, 2-for-4 and one RBI.
Brandon Barnes, 2-for-4 and one RBI.
Matt Dominguez, 1-for-3, one homerun and two walks.
Jonathan Villar, 2-for-4, two triples and two RBIs.
And who can forget Carter’s performance? He went 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. Honestly, amongst all the offensive outbursts, I found myself cheering for Carter to achieve six strikeouts more than I was cheering for Villar to get a third triple or for another home run from Dominguez.
That’s not a good sign.
When a player’s struggles become a laughing matter, something needs to be done. I’m sick of pointing out why Carter should be sent down. It’s too easy and too obvious to keep pointing out. It’s best to just let him prove the point himself, which he is doing magnificently.
The Astros had as mahy two-out RBIs as they had RISP with two outs. That is a huge improvement.
Even Brett Wallace had a good game, going 2-for-3 with a minuscule one strike out.
How many golden sombreros does Carter want on his hat rack? How many will the Astros let him have? The man can only wear so many hats.
OK, that’s enough about Carter. Unfortunately, the Astros robbed Carter of his final at-bat, where he could have nabbed his fifth strikeout, by pinch-hitting with Jake Elmore.
Anyway, this ranks in the Astros top-five games this year. Everything went right, and although I’d love to say that the Astros can build on this, I know better.
The Astros are full of surprises, that much is certain.
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