Eight innings of three-hit ball wasn’t enough for Hunter Brown to taste victory on Thursday night. Brown struck out nine and walked zero, while actually lowering his ERA to an AL-second 1.43 but dropping to 6-2. Brown placed 65-of-91 pitches over the plate and gets credit for a complete game (and a Quality Start) despite the loss. Brown’s 56 2⁄3 innings thus far is tied for second most in the major leagues (Zach Wheeler leads with 58).
With 28,108 on hand at Globe Life Field, the game took only a minute over two hours, the second shortest game of the season for Houston.