In about the least surprising result imaginable, Colby Lewis defeated the Houston Astros on Thursday night.
In the pure sense that the Rangers won the game to complete a four-game sweep of former first-place team in the AL West, it was fairly shocking. But the fact it was Lewis against Houston made it very believable.
Lewis entered the night with a 8-1 career record against the Astros, which included his last outing — a 12-9 Rangers win despite the fact he allowed three homers and seven runs to Houston back on Aug. 3. After Thursday's game, he's 9-1 with a 2.53 ERA in his 12 starts against the Astros.
Lewis didn't have his best stuff on Thursday night — certainly nothing like the stuff he flashed last Friday in his perfect game bid against Oakland. But once again, against Houston, and in a big game with a lot on the line, Lewis stepped up like he has so many times before in the postseason, much less a meaningful September game, and got the job done.
On the night, Lewis allowed seven hits in six innings of work. He struck out three and walked none while allowing two, two-out earned runs, even though they were the result of a play not made by Mike Napoli in left field that likely could've been made by an experienced outfielder. Most importantly, he kept the ball in the yard, which plagued him the last time he faced the Astros, and therefore kept the Astros' runs to a minimum.
Lewis is well on pace to eclipse the 200-inning mark this year and is the unsung hero of this pitching staff for the second consecutive year. Only thing about this year is that it actually matters.
