Arizona Diamondbacks 3, Houston Astros 1

Matt Koch was absolutely everything the D-backs would have ever hoped for this afternoon. He dueled Justin Verlander to a standstill, allowing a solo home-run over 6.1 innings. Koch scattered six hits, walking none and striking out three. The key frame was the sixth, where he had men on the corners, with no outs. But Koch escaped, through a K and double-play.

The Diamondbacks then struck in the bottom half. Daniel Descalso, who had two hits off Verlander, walked. A.J. Pollock then tripled, and came home as the ball skidded past the fielder. He was thrown out there, only for obstruction to be controversially called on the Astros. The run counted, Pollock added an insurance RBI in the eighth, and the A-bullpen made it stand up (albeit nervously!), as Arizona took two of three from the World Series champions.

Turambar will be along with a Sunday beercap in a bit.