Good timing for another august outing by Keuchel
Lefthander helps trim wild-card deficit to 2 games
August has brought about more of the Dallas Keuchel who dominated last season on the way to the American League Cy Young Award and less of the starting pitcher who matched 2015’s loss total by early June.
Saturday night was another example in the Astros’ 6-2 win over Tampa Bay at Minute Maid Park.
Keuchel didn’t rack up the strikeout numbers, finishing with four. But the lefthander did work effectively around traffic for seven innings. He allowed nine hits but only walked one.
This follows a start in which Keuchel allowed two runs in eight innings Sunday in Baltimore. He opened the month with a shutout over Texas. Keuchel has issued five walks in August and hasn’t walked more than three in an outing since early May.
On a roll
“I really feel like I’ve turned a corner and the body’s caught up to where I wanted to be at this point,” said Keuchel, who has gone at least six innings in all but two starts since June 18. “My offseason workouts were kind of predicated on getting my body ready for August and early September and the stretch run.
“I think I’m right there, so that’s a good sign for myself.”
His bounceback comes at a good time. The Astros (68-61) have won seven of their last eight games, cutting their hole for the second AL wild card to two games. They’re now tied for second in the AL West with the Seattle, which has lost four of five.
During an upcoming 13-game stretch against three division leaders, Keuchel’s turn in the rotation comes against the Rangers twice and Cleveland once.
“It’s a good sign that he’s been able to put back-to-back really good outings together,” Astros manager A.J. Hinch said of Keuchel, who has lowered his ERA every month since May. “We’ve always had a ton of confidence when his spot rolls around. We’re starting to inch back toward the feeling like we’re going to get that good seven-, eight-inning start if not a complete game out of him by how he’s commanding the ball and how he’s challenging the strike zone.”
Keuchel did pay for one poorly placed fastball, leaving it over the plate to No. 9 hitter Bobby Wilson. The catcher drove it over the Crawford Boxes for a two-run homer.
That cut a five-run margin to three in the fifth inning, but Tampa Bay only managed one more baserunner past second base off Keuchel. Pat Neshek sent the heart of the Rays’ order down in the eighth, and Chris Devenski struck out two in a 1-2-3 ninth.
Keuchel got out of a bases-loaded jam in the second with an inningending double play. In the sixth, Jake Marisnick ran down a Matt Duffy drive in the gap. Two batters later, the Astros caught Tim Beckham in a rundown between second and third, getting a second out instead of giving the Rays two on with one down.
“That really did help us get to them not having a big-inning opportunity,” Hinch said. “That’s two days in a row we’ve been able to capitalize on being able to get an out on the bases.” Triple doubles
Rays lefty Blake Snell couldn’t escape early and was done one batter into the fourth inning after taking a shot to his left leg on a comebacker by Marwin Gonzalez.
Three straight doubles by Carlos Correa, Evan Gattis and Yulieski Gurriel in the second inning made it 2-0. Gattis just missed a homer, and Gurriel earned his first major league RBI.
Gurriel added a second RBI double in the seventh.
Alex Bregman drove in three runs, with two coming on a homer in the third. Since his 1-for-32 start, the touted rookie is hitting .315 with five home runs and 20 RBIs.
Snell was charged with five runs on nine hits. The former first-round pick hadn’t allowed more than three earned runs since June 3 (eight starts), but he gave up four in threeplus innings.
“We put together a lot of good at-bats today,” Bregman said. “Those back-to-back-to-back doubles were huge. Yuli really put some good swings on balls and drove them.
“It was a good offensive night for us and back at it again tomorrow.”