Daily dose of Yordan (Game 80)

Today's statline: 2-5, R

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It was another one of those "Yordan in LF, Brantley at DH" days, and Yordan made the most of his opportunities there. He made the routine grabs there (There was a Wynns flyout that I remember for some reason) and made some good reads on singles hit to him, which is always good to see.

At bat 1 (Bottom of first): 4 pitch groundout to pitcher

Yordan started the at bat by watching two low fastballs, both of which were closer to the dirt than the strike zone, for a 2-0 count. He then swung and missed at a middle middle fastball that he probably should have done more with, kinda regretful but can't change that. He then swung at the next pitch, a fastball low in the zone, and made pretty good contact on a hopper up the middle, but Lakins grabbed it and tossed it to first for the easy third out.

At bat 2 (Bottom of third): 3 pitch single to left

The at bat started the way most of Yordan's at bats do, with a strike looking on a pitch right down the middle. He then watched what looked like an intentional pitchout for ball 1, before swinging at a fastball right down the middle and taking it to the opposite field for a clean 1-bounce single, advancing Gurriel to second. He would not score though, as Correa and Tucker struck out and Toro lined out to end the inning.

At bat 3 (Bottom of fifth): 2 pitch single to center, R

Yordan once again started the at bat by watching a fastball sail right down the middle of the zone. Something funny to note, this pitcher's fastball topped out at around 88 MPH so I thought it was a changeup at first. The next pitch was the exact same pitch in the exact identical part of the zone, and Yordan squared up and hit a grounder that found it's way through the shifted infield and into center for a single. Good job by him to hunt for a specific pitch from the pitcher and keep the defense honest with an anti-shift hit. He would later score on a Toro 2-run single that tied the game 3-3.

At bat 4 (Bottom of sixth): 3 pitch flyout to left

The same pitcher came out to pitch to Yordan in the sixth, and I must say it was funny to see his offspeed pitches barely loft in at 81 MPH. Yordan watched two of those sliders, one outside by a bit and the other waaay outside, for a 2-0 count. However on the third pitch the pitcher threw a slider right down the middle and Yordan popped it up to left field, where the left fielder made the easy grab to strand 2 runners and end the inning. Yordan seemed pretty upset at the pop fly, he probably should have done more on the pitch but it is what it is.

At bat 5 (Bottom of ninth): 3 pitch flyout to center

Again, Yordan watched the first pitch of the at bat, a sinker near his hands but in the zone, for a strike. He then swung and missed pretty badly on a changeup, that felt pretty deflating. He then got another changeup low but in the zone that he drove into center field, but it missed being a home run by like 10 feet as the center fielder made the grab running back towards the warning track.

While the power wasn't really there for today's game, Yordan still found gaps and did the little things to be a positive impact for his team. Such an effort deserves an all star berth, and you can vote for him (and other Astros) at https://www.mlb.com/all-star/ballot. Until then thanks for reading!