Brian Bogusevic, former Astros outfielder and Space City Home Network analyst, joins Next Up following the Astros defeating the Oakland Athletics 3-0 Wednesday at Minute Maid Park. The Astros have won three out of the four-game series against the A's and are on a four-game win streak.
Framber Valdez started on the mound and threw seven scoreless innings. Seth Martinez pitched in the remaining innings to combine for a two-hit shutout. The Astros got "Framber at his best," Bogusevic said.
The Astros move to a 18-25 record and are 5.5 games back from the lead in the AL West. "It's still a deep hole to climb."
Prior to the win streak, disgruntled fans were unhappy with the Astros slow start to the season, and first year manager Joe Espada was placed with some blame. However, Bogusevic values Espada's late-game decision-making. "It' all about matchups," and as a player, "you're looking for a sound approach to managing a game," and Espada has "inspired confidence" with his strategies.
The Astros latest success against the A's is bittersweet because Ronel Blanco was ejected before the start of the fourth inning Tuesday when the third base umpire found a foreign substance on his glove. Blanco has since received a 10-game suspension. Bogusevic does not dispute that Blanco broke the rule, but pushes MLB to "make it more uniform" after similar instances around the league saw different results. "Enforcement creates a whole lot of grey area for something that should be black or white."
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