Now I know why the Astros are so bad at scoring runs. It’s not that they are bad hitters. It’s because every time they play, the pitcher they face happens to have a career game.
Tonight, Kevin Gausman threw only the 11th complete game shutout in all of MLB in the 2025 season against the Astros. At the game’s end, the fans gave him a standing ovation, and he got the iced Gatorade treatment from his teammates.
It had nothing to do with the Astros’ hitting futility. It was pure pitching excellence.
OK, it was pitching excellence. He had 26 out of 30 first pitch strikes. He had 79 strikes out of 100 pitches with a 91 game score. He allowed only two hits, one walk, with nine Ks. All that said, you have to conclude that it’s relatively easy to baffle the already bewildered Astros lineup.
In all aspects, the Blue Jays looked like a legitimate World Series contender. Great pitching, superb fielding, and enough offense to win most games. On the other hand, the Astros looked like a team on the outside looking in come October.
For example, according to the box score, Astros starter Cristian Javier gave up two earned runs on three hits in the first inning. One of those hits was a swinging bunt in which Javier bounced his throw to first, and which Christian Walker should have handled but bobbled. The second was a routine pop-up on the outer infield that should have been an easy out for the right fielder, but no one called, and it resulted in an RBI double. This was the kind of baseball you expect to see on the 12-year-old Little League field.
In the eighth inning, right fielder Jesus Sanchez made an official error when a line drive bounced out of his glove, resulting in an unearned run charged to Lance McCullers, who allowed two runs on two hits and one walk in two innings pitched.
Cristian Javier was charged with four earned runs in six innings, allowing six “hits,” one walk, with six strikeouts. He did allow a home run to Davis Schneider in the second inning and a leadoff triple to Dalton Varsho in the fourth that led to another run.
Only Jeremy Pena and Carlos Correa managed to get hits today, both in the fourth inning. But with one out, both Jose Altuve and Jesus Sanchez failed to score the runner on third. Not that it would have mattered much if they had.
We await the outcome of the Mariners/Cardinals game later this evening to see if the Astros retain sole possession of first place in the AL West. Frankly, except for the lucky month of June, this team plays like a .500 ballclub, if that.
