- Shohei Ohtani starts and dominates with 8 K's and zero walks (topped at 101 mph)
- Solo HRs by Walker in the 2nd and Shuemaker in the 3rd hurt — 2 homers allowed
- Tucker's clutch RBI in the 8th got one back, but the rally fell short in a 1-2 heartbreaker
Man, what a two-way day for Shohei!
No at-bats today — pure pitcher Shohei Ohtani mode. On the road at Minute Maid, and against the Astros no less, taking the bump as the starter. I'm not gonna lie, I sat down in front of the TV in seiza for this one.
The velo's coming back, I'm telling you!
Topped out at 101 mph, averaging 90 mph. When I saw that top reading I literally yelled, "Whoaaa! It's back, it's back!" 8 strikeouts. EIGHT. Facing 26 batters and getting 8 swings-and-misses means his fastball-sweeper combo was filthy today. From what I could see on the broadcast, he was getting them to chase those low sweepers in the dirt every time. That's it, that's vintage Shohei right there.
But yeah… that one pitch
Bottom of the 2nd, when Walker took him deep for the solo shot, I was like "oof…" You can tell by the crack of the bat — that one's just hats off. He got beat in a fair fight.
Then the 3rd. When Shuemaker — a guy I honestly wasn't even watching that closely — also took him yard, I let out a "You gotta be kidding me…" Those two homers basically decided the game. Only 4 hits allowed but 2 of them being HRs means there were almost no mishit balls. The Astros lineup was really squaring him up today.
But hey — zero walks. ZERO walks. That's huge. It means he never lost his rhythm, pitched his game all the way through. Outside of those 2 homers, he was nearly perfect. He's gonna get it back next start, guaranteed.
The lineup was way too quiet…
The real problem was our offense. Finally got on the board in the top of the 8th. Tucker brought one home with a clutch hit, but up to that point, complete silence. The Astros starter had his off-speed stuff dropping off the table low today. Even Freeman and Betts couldn't catch up to it.
No runs in the 9th either. 1-2 — close, but a game where the lineup just couldn't back up Shohei's gem. I was screaming at the TV, "Come on lineup, get it together!"
Flush it and on to tomorrow
When pitcher Shohei gives you a start like that, you really wanted to win this one, honestly. But the pitching itself was a massive positive. Velo's back, K rate looks solid. Already pumped for his next outing.
The fact that even a no-bat Shohei day gets us this fired up — that's the magic of being a two-way player. Let's pray the lineup explodes in this next series. On to the next one!
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