Brian McCann’s two homers help Atlanta Braves defeat Houston Astros, 3-1 – MLB Update
Atlanta Braves’ catcher, Brian McCann was impressive with the bat as he went 2-for-2 and struck two homers in the end to give the Braves a 3-1 victory against the Houston Astros at Turner Field, Atlanta, on May 17.
McCann was excited after this convincing win and said, “If the game is close, I know I'm the first one off the bench to hit. I'm ready for that. I know that's my role when I'm not playing.”
The pitchers from both sides played a crucial role to restrict the scoring-runs of the batters. The Braves’ starter Derek Lowe also shined with his pitches as he threw seven solid innings and gave away just one run on five hits including one earned run and
four strike-outs. The relievers also performed pretty well for the Braves as they did not allow even a single run in combined four inning pitches.
Lowe said of his performance, “Starting pitching has been our strength all year long. I'm just trying to do my part.”
The first six innings went score-less for both the sides. During seventh inning, Brett Wallace broke up the silence of the Astros’ fans by hitting a one-run homer against Lowe off the left-centre field position to take a 1-0 lead.
The Astros were on top at the end of eighth inning also because no score was added. Then, McCann held a charge for the Braves and hit a tying home run in the ninth inning to give his team some hope of winning. An additional 10th inning was given
to both sides for breaking a tie run but it remained empty. In the 11th inning, the Braves stepped on the gas and added two runs to go-ahead 3-1.
McCann hit his second home run of the game on contribution with Eric Hinske, who singled off the left field position to complete a two-run campaign. The Astros’ Manager Brad Mills was disappointed with the loss. Speaking to reporters, he said of the game,
“That was an absolutely brutal call. You don't make that call in that situation where he's trying to get out of the way. He was trying to protect himself.”
Wandy Rodriguez pitched superbly for the Astros as he did not allow a run in the eighth inning pitches. The relievers gave away three runs in combined two pitched innings.
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