Ronel Blanco returned to the mound today after a 10-game suspension as if he had never left, allowing only one run in seven innings. That, and a big assist from the As’ defense, gave the Astros a 5-2 win, taking the series in Oakland.
However, the Astros’ hitting drought, especially with runners in scoring position, continued into this rubber match. Although the Astros were 4-10 with runners in scoring position, only one of those four resulted in RBIs, and the Astros stranded ten runners. Only one of the Astros’ runs were earned.
In the second inning, the Astros stranded a runner on second with no outs, after leading off the inning with two singles.