Houston Astros beaten by Chicago Cubs 1-4 – MLB Update
Houston Astros were beaten by the Chicago Cubs 1-4 at Minute Maid Park in Houston, Texas on Monday, September 10 in the opening game of their three match series of the 2012 Major League Baseball regular season.
Astros were unable to take advantage of their home conditions as they took an embarrassing loss in front of their home crowd. Astros have not been able to live up to their fans’ expectations this season. Their offence in particular has proved to be the biggest
disappointment.
The hitters, one again, failed to make the most of scoring opportunities as they managed to put just a single run on the board, thanks to Jason Castro who singled to right in the fourth inning.
For the Cubs, Dave Sappelt had a memorable time on the plate as he drove in all four runs. Sappelt doubled to left in the second inning to put Cubs on the board. He later added a double to deep left centre in the seventh inning to deny the Astros any chance
of coming back into the contest.
"Oh yeah, we count down every day -- our magic number to not get 100," Sappelt said. "So we definitely have that in the back of our minds."
"Those guys are starting to understand how close that 100 losses is," Cubs’ manager Dale Sveum said. "That's the goal. That's the talk now and obviously they're responding now."
"I feel like since I've come back, I've been a different pitcher, starting with that L.A. game," Cubs’ starter Chris Volstad said in a post game interview. "I feel good. I've just got to continue it and keep it going -- that whole consistency thing."
Astros’ starting pitcher Dallas Keuchel displayed some top quality pitching skills but he was unfortunate to end up on the losing side. Allowing just six hits and one run in four decent innings, he had a great time on the plate but he failed to save his
team from an embarrassing defeat. Astros will be looking to regroup themselves and fight back in Game 2 to keep the series alive.
The Cubs will definitely be happy with their performance as they managed to beat the Astros and build up some much needed confidence in their line-up.
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