Bridwell Couldn’t Save This Offense

Astros 2, Angels 1

The game wasn’t even short. It ended after 10, and the official time was 2 hours and 56 minutes. 3 runs were scored.

This game didn’t give us any mercy. To open Players’ Weekend, Laz Diaz was behind the plate. Well known as one of the worst umpires in the game, Diaz kept up his inconsistent strike zone consistently. If a pitch was clearly a strike (in his eyes), he would pump his right first quickly in front of him. If it was a little off the zone, he would wait half a second, and then sharply turn his body to the right and point over there yonder, as if he couldn’t look the camera in the eye as he was missing calls left and right.

Of course, you can’t complain, as the zone worked both ways. But our chances came early, before Laz Diaz and Collin McHugh took them away forever. In the 1st, Mike Trout walked, and Albert Pujols stepped up to the plate and did his best to GIDP. Truly. He hit the perfect GIDP ball right to JD Davis at third. Thankfully, Trout had advanced on a passed ball, and Kole Calhoun banged one off the right field wall to cash him in.

In the 2nd, as the Halos looked to expand on their lead, Laz took it all away. With first and second and one out, Kaleb Cowart took a pitch about a baseball-and-a-half off the plate, and Laz rang him up. Players’ Weekend indeed. McHugh would not allow another baserunner until Trout walked in the 6th.

In the meantime, the Astros took the lead. JD Davis took a misplaced Parker Bridwell pitch over the left field fence in the 3rd. George Springer, who Bridwell “struck out” (although not according to our good friend Laz), doubled and scored on a wild pitch in the 6th.

The Angels limped their way to 6 hits, and half of them weren’t even decent. Bridwell did his best, but two runs over 7 innings is nothing to be ashamed of, and the offense did not do their part.