Read the Astros side (the whole game, score included)
Houston at Philadelphia
This is Missed It. Houston at Philadelphia, Wednesday, September 9, 82 and partly cloudy at Citizens Bank Park, wind 13 miles an hour out to center field, with the Astros. You missed it? Here's the whole game, as it happened.
Pregame
It's Houston Astros at Philadelphia Phillies, and we are on the road tonight. The Astros are looking to make some noise in enemy territory, and we've got a full nine innings ahead of us. The bats need to wake up early, the arms need to keep us in it, and we need to find a way to come out on top. Let's get this one going.
Innings 1-3
Top of the first, and we're underway. Three batters come up for Houston, and it's quick. Nothing doing. No runs, no drama, just a clean inning and we're back on defense. Score stays zero-zero. Bottom of the first, and the Phillies get their shot. Three batters for them too, and they don't do anything with it. We're through one, still zero-zero, and both sides are feeling each other out. Top of the second, and we get a little more life. Four batters come up for Houston this time, but we still can't push anything across. Zero runs, and the score remains zero-zero. It's early, but you can feel both teams waiting for that first crack. Bottom of the second, and the Phillies get four batters of their own. Still nothing. No runs, no real threats, and we head to the third inning tied at zero. Then comes the top of the third, and this is where things open up. Eight batters for Houston, and we finally break through. With two outs and a runner on, Isaac Paredes steps in. He gets a pitch he likes, and he doesn't miss it. Paredes homers on a fly ball to left center field, and Yordan Alvarez scores ahead of him. That's a three-run shot, and just like that, we've got a three-nothing lead. The dugout is alive, the bats are awake, and we're rolling. But the Phillies answer right back in the bottom of the third. Seven batters for them, and they put up four runs of their own. With no outs and a runner on, Bryan De La Cruz singles on a ground ball to right fielder Cam Smith, and J.T. Realmuto moves to third. That's the first crack. Then, with one out and two on, Trea Turner singles on a ground ball to right fielder Cam Smith. Realmuto scores, De La Cruz moves to third, and it's four to one. The lead is shrinking. Then Bryce Harper steps in with one out and two on, and he singles on a ground ball to right fielder Cam Smith. De La Cruz scores, Turner scores, and Harper takes second on a throwing error by Cam Smith. Just like that, it's four to three. And then Luis Arraez singles on a ground ball to center fielder Daulton Varsho, and Harper scores. Four to four. The Phillies have tied it up, and the air has gone out of our sails a little. But we're still in this.
Innings 4-6
Top of the fourth, and we need an answer. Five batters come up for Houston, and we get it. With no outs and bases empty, Daulton Varsho drops down a bunt, a ground ball to second baseman Luis Arraez. Varsho reaches safely, and then he takes second on a throwing error by Arraez. That's a gift, and we're going to take it. Then Cam Smith steps in with no outs and a runner on, and he doesn't waste any time. Smith homers on a fly ball to center field, and Varsho scores ahead of him. That's a two-run shot, and just like that, we're back on top, six to four. The lead is ours again, and the bats are singing. Bottom of the fourth, and the Phillies get three batters. No runs. We hold them, and the score stays six to four. We've got the lead, and we're feeling good.
The Sequence
This is where the game gets decided. Bottom of the fourth, we hold them. Top of the fifth, three batters for us, no runs. Score stays six to four. Then bottom of the fifth, and the Phillies get something going. With two outs and bases empty, Trea Turner steps in, and he homers on a fly ball to right center field. Just like that, it's six to five. The lead is down to one, and you can feel the momentum shifting. Top of the sixth, three batters for us, no runs. We can't get anything going, and the Phillies are smelling blood. Bottom of the sixth, and this is where it falls apart. Nine batters for Philadelphia, and they put up six runs. With no outs and two on, Edmundo Sosa singles on a ground ball to right fielder Cam Smith. Luis Arraez scores, Bryson Stott moves to second, and it's tied again, six to six. Then, with one out and the bases loaded, Bryan De La Cruz walks. Stott scores, Sosa moves to third, Justin Crawford moves to second, and the Phillies take the lead, seven to six. And they don't stop there. By the time the inning is over, it's six to eleven, and we're staring at a five-run deficit. Top of the seventh, and we try to claw back. Five batters for us, and we manage one run. Score is now seven to eleven. But it's not enough. Bottom of the seventh, five batters for the Phillies, no runs. We hold them, but we're still down by four. Top of the eighth, four batters for us, no runs. Bottom of the eighth, five batters for them, no runs. And then top of the ninth, three batters for us, and we can't do anything. The game is over.
Wrap-up
Final score, Houston seven, Philadelphia eleven. The Phillies take it by four, and it stings. We had the lead, we had the momentum, and then the bottom of the sixth happened. That six-run inning broke us. We fought back, we tied it, we took the lead again, but we couldn't hold on. The bats went quiet when we needed them most, and the Phillies took advantage. It's a tough one to swallow, but we'll take the lesson and move on. We're still in this fight, and we'll be back.
Outro
That was Houston at Philadelphia, from the Astros side. This has been Missed It. Every game, both sides, at missed it dot net. Produced by James Barrett.