Astros 4, Palms 3: Early Damage, Late Push, Same Result

 By Vin Castillo

The uniforms changed. The roof closed. The opponent reset.

The result did not.

Friday night in Houston, the Miami Palms let another winnable game slip away, falling 4–3 to the Astros and extending their skid to four games — all of them carrying the same frustrating shape.

One Bad Inning

Jarod Lantz was steady for most of the night. Unfortunately, the Astros only needed one inning where he wasn’t.

Houston struck for four runs in the second, cashing in three walks and a string of singles and doubles to turn a quiet game loud in a hurry. By the time the inning ended, Lantz had already thrown nearly a third of his pitch count — and the Palms were chasing again.

To his credit, Lantz regrouped. He went seven full innings, allowing no runs after that second frame. But once more, the early damage proved decisive.

Power, but Not Enough

Miami actually struck first, when Matt Koch launched a solo homer in the opening inning. Koch later added a ringing double and finished with two of the Palms’ four hits, driving in two of their three runs.

  • Koch: 2-for-4, HR, 2 RBI

  • Chris Korb: solo home run in the seventh (his 11th)

That was the extent of the offense. Justin Verlander worked efficiently, overpowering Miami with nine strikeouts and allowing just four hits over eight innings.

There were moments late — Korb’s homer, a ninth-inning opportunity — but never a sustained rally.

A Familiar Feeling

The Palms scored in the first, seventh, and eighth innings. They never scored twice in the same frame. They never put real pressure on Houston’s bullpen. And once Osuna took the ball in the ninth, the ending felt inevitable.

Four straight losses. 
All of them decided by brief lapses or missed chances.

Miami drops to 36–35, still above water, but drifting — not sinking dramatically, just slowly enough to feel it.

What Stands Out

  • The rotation is giving them innings.

  • The bullpen, again, was solid.

  • The offense is living on isolated power and very little else.

That’s not a collapse. It’s worse.

It’s stagnation.

And until the Palms can string together real at-bats — not just solo swings — this road trip is going to keep feeling like the same night on repeat, no matter what city they’re in.

 Houston Astros 4, Miami Palms 3

 Friday, June 12, 2020

 

 

 Miami Palms (36-35)                                      Houston Astros (1-0)                                    

 Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      Player          AB R  H BI BB SO  P  A  E LOB   Ave      

 ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      ------          -- -  - -- -- --  -  -  - ---   ---      

 Munoz ss        4  0  0  0  0  2  1  3  0  2   .297      Tucker rf       4  1  3  2  0  0  3  0  0  0   .750

 Koch 2b         4  1  2  2  0  2  1  3  0  0   .282      Altuve 2b       4  0  1  1  0  0  0  0  0  0   .250

 Grant rf        4  0  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   .296      Bregman 3b      4  0  1  1  0  0  1  4  0  0   .250

 Encarnacion dh  3  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  1   .255      Alvarez dh      3  0  0  0  1  0  0  0  0  2   .000

 Korb 3b         4  1  1  1  0  1  1  2  0  1   .263      Gurriel 1b      4  0  0  0  0  1  8  0  0  4   .000

 Wieters c       4  0  0  0  0  2  6  0  0  0   .244      Brantley lf     4  0  2  0  0  0  3  0  0  0   .500

 Holt lf         4  0  0  0  0  0  2  0  0  0   .258      Springer cf     4  1  0  0  0  0  1  0  0  0   .000

 Garcia 1b       2  0  0  0  1  1  9  1  0  0   .231      Correa ss       4  1  1  0  0  2  2  2  0  1   .250

 Sohn cf         2  1  1  0  1  0  2  0  0  0   .269      Maldonado c     1  1  0  0  2  0  9  0  0  0   .000

 

                 -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---                            -- -  - -- -- -- -- -- -- ---            

 Totals          31 3  4  3  2  9  24 9  0  4             Totals          32 4  8  4  3  3  27 7  0  7  

 

 

                        1  2  3  4  5  6  7  8  9      R  H  E

                        -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -  -      -  -  -

 Miami Palms            1  0  0  0  0  0  1  1  0      3  4  0  

 Houston Astros         0  4  0  0  0  0  0  0         4  8  0  

 

 

 

 LOB- Miami Palms 4, Houston Astros 7; 2B- Koch(10), Tucker 2(2); HR- Koch(8), Korb(11);

 RBI- Koch 2(24), Korb(37), Tucker 2(2), Altuve(1), Bregman(1); RLSP- Encarnacion,

 Munoz, Alvarez, Gurriel 2;  

 

  

  

 

 

 Miami Palms               IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Lantz(L 1-3)              7.0  7  4  4  3  2    5.79  

 Peralta                   1.0  1  0  0  0  1    3.48  

 

 Houston Astros            IP   H  R  ER BB SO    ERA

 Verlander(W 1-0)          8.0  4  3  3  2  9    3.38  

 Osuna(S,1)                1.0  0  0  0  0  0    0.00  

 

 Pitches-strikes- Lantz 93-54, Peralta 13-7, Verlander 100-62, Osuna 9-5; Batters faced- Lantz 31,

 Peralta 4, Verlander 31, Osuna 3; 


 HBP- Encarnacion(by Verlander);  

 

  

 Temp - 0, Sky - Roof Closed, Wind -  

 

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