Houston Astros hammer Chicago Cubs 3-0 – MLB Recap
Houston Astros hammered the Chicago Cubs 3-0 in the first game of their three-match regular series encounter on Monday, October 1 at Wrigley Field in Chicago.
"Lucas, we were only going to go five innings with him. We weren't going to take him over 100 pitches, He really pitched well with confidence, he fell behind early and all of a sudden he got locked in. A two-hit shutout here is a pretty special game," interim manager Tony DeFrancesco said.
Astros' entire roster played well and won the game in style. Their batting prowess showed dominance and literally outclassed the Cubs’ with a three-run advantage.
"It didn't quite seem like a playoff atmosphere, There was a little bit of sleepwalking at the plate. Are guys ready to get out of here? I don't know. I won't put words in anybody's mouth. We didn't take out at bats like we wanted to stick around," Cubs' manager Dale Sveum said.
Left fielder Fernando Martinez played beautifully and provided a great offensive thrust which eventually proved wonderful for the Astros.
He scored two runs and smashed two hits along with an important RBI on his three at-bats. He played well and maintained his slugging percentage at .478.
Martinez kept the Cubs’ pitchers under pressure and rattled them with big hits as it also proved one of the winning factors for the Astros.
Along with Astros’ left fielder Martinez’s offensive play, centre fielder Brandon Barnes also played well and supported his team with his one run on three at-bats as he maintained his slugging percentage at .283.
Houston pitchers also played tremendously and earned a great victory for their team. Starter Lucas Harrell pitched solid innings and received two hits only. Not allowing any runs on his exceptional spell, he struck-out seven potential Cubs’ batters and maintained his ERA at 3.76.
Later all of the Astros' relief pitchers also showed great temperament and edge past the Cubs’ with great force.
On the other hand, the Astros' entire roster did not play well and lost bitterly in the end. Their starter Jason Berken was hammered with big hits as he allowed two runs and four hits on his 4.82 ERA which certainly put the Cubs’ batting line-up on the back-foot causing a humiliating defeat.
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