"Just hasn't gone our way” - Veteran All-Star Justin Verlander reflects on Astros' missed opportunities in tight series against Mariners
The Houston Astros have been suffering from a poor run of form ever since the start of the season. They have occasionally shown sparks of life, but the winning streaks didn't last for more than one or two games.
After winning the previous series against Oakland Athletics 2-1, they lost three consecutive games against the Seattle Mariners in their ongoing four-game series. The latest defeat came on Wednesday as they faced a humiliating 2-1 loss. Houston was first to take a 1-0 lead in the fourth inning when Yordan Alvarez scored.
However, the M's leveled the score line in the fifth inning thanks to Dominic Canzone's home run. The Mariners then went on to take the lead in the 10th inning when Jonatan Clase scored to clinch the victory for his team.
After another disappointing and unprecedented defeat against the Mariners, Astros' veteran pitcher Justin Verlander reflected on all the opportunities they missed during this series. The 41-year-old praised the Mariner's pitching department, saying such games are always margined and the thought of coming in and dominating such games is not "realistic" (via MLB.com):
"They have an outstanding rotation, good bullpen. You know these are going to be close games. If you think you're going to come in here and bang out five, six, seven runs a game, I don’t think that’s realistic.
"I think this series has gone relatively the way people expect, it's just unfortunate that we couldn't come through with the one big pitch or one big out, one big hit. In these tight ballgames, the margin for error is so small. Just hasn't gone our way."
This three-game losing streak is another hard blow on the Astros, who are already suffering so far this season. With these losses, the club is currently in third place in the NL West with a 24-32 record.
Even though they have no chance to win or tie this series, manager Joe Espada and his men will try to get the most out of the last game and give their all to win it and end their latest losing streak.
Justin Verlander lauds George Kirby for his performance vs. Astros
Justin Verlander also praised George Kirby for his performance in the third game of the four-game series on Wednesday:
"I knew it would be a low-scoring affair, but when I do watch him, he’s a guy that fills up the zone. He’s been great," the nine-time All-Star pitcher said.
Kirby indeed had an impressive performance last night. In the six innings he pitched, he had an ERA of 1.50 and struck out eight hitters. Overall, the 26-year-old RHP has played and started 12 games so far this season, with a 4-5 record. He has maintained an ERA of 4.08, a WHIP of 1.02 and has 65 strikeouts under his belt this season.
The series finale between the Astros and Mariners takes place at T-Mobile Park on Thursday.