Submitted by NeilT
Astros 2
Anaheim 3
Of course they lost. They were on the road, and Keuchel was pitching. I was talking with my friend Buck McBraden, whose son, Kole, was in the same little league as Dallas Keuchel.
“We told his parents, if we told them once we told them a dozen times, Dallas is pretty talented, but you want him to succeed on the road you have to get him in travel ball early.”
Kole started travel ball when he was three, on the Tulsa Toddlers (who won the national three-year old living room tournament that year in Iowa City), then went on to play for the Pre’s, the Oklahoma Plains, the Smudge, the Dust Bowl, and a team Buck started, the Tulsa Lubricators, a 10-year old travel team, on which Kole pitched and played second base.
“Kole should have played shortstop,” Buck told me, “but it’s hard for a left-handed shortstop to turn the double play. But his curve was good, and he had a nasty two-seam, and his four-seam was hitting 40.”
“Little League just won’t do it for you. You don’t get the competition because the skills aren’t there. Dallas’s parents didn’t have him in a league by three, so he never got used to traveling. It was a real waste, because that kid had some talent.”
And you saw it last night, if you didn’t fall asleep. Keuchel made it through 6, but his first error of the season cost him. In the second he soared to get a Baltimore chop, but he isn’t yet used to his superpowers. He went too high and bounced the ball off the heel of his glove. What should have been a third out turned into a Dallas Kerfuffle, with two walks, more than enough wild pitches (1, scoring the first Angel run, with another in the first and only 5 for the season), and 3 total runs scored, none earned. None earned.
That was really the ballgame. Fields gave up no hits and no walks in relief, which is a relief, and Neshek followed Fields with one hit, one walk, and no runs. Jered Weaver pitching for the Angels was blowing stuff right by the ‘Stros, with 7 Ks, which must have surprised Weaver. Altuve had a double in the first, and became the youngest Astro to reach 800 hits. He also had a steal after reaching on a fielder’s choice. Gomez homered in the 6th to drive in Correa for the two runs.
Kole is now back in Tulsa, after two seasons of Juco ball at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M. Buck is starting Tulsa’s first two-year old league for his grandson, Lance. “It’s not really organized ball,” Buck told me, “It’s more to get them used to swinging the bat.” The Arlington Dickities won, but of course the Houston Astros will win no more games on the road. Ever.
