GAMES 80-82 - June 27-29: Astros Beat the Sox Off of Boston!

Friday, June 27: Boston 6, Houston 1
Saturday, June 28: Houston 11, Boston 10
Sunday, June 29: Houston 3, Boston 2

Quote of the Day: "It's fun again." (Doug Brocail)

Okay, the title is a bit of an exaggeration. The Astros won the series by taking two games, winning each by a single run. But hey - that's the Sox we're talking about, leading the AL East! This is huge! And three series wins in a row is definitely putting a better ending on a very ugly month of June. If they can keep this up, the Astros could be back at .500 before the All Star Game.

The series didn't get off to an auspicious start. Runelvys Hernandez, in his first start as an Astro, pitched 5 innings on Friday night, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, walking 3 and fanning 5. Sampson gave up another run in the sixth. Lefty Wright loaded up the bases in the ninth, and Brocail came to the rescue - allowing 2 of the inherited runners to score. But all that was gravy for Boston. Houston only managed to eke out a single run, on Abercrombie's first homer as an Astro. Enough said about this game; let's get on to the good stuff.

I turned on the computer as soon as the Sabbath ended on Saturday night, just in time to catch the Astros coming to bat in the sixth. The Red Sox had just put 5 runs on the board in the top of the inning, and I wasn't really sure that I wanted to keep watching. The Red Sox had taken an early lead off of starter Backe in the third. After two quick outs, Backe gave up a single, a walk, a pair of doubles, and another single, allowing 4 runs to score before ending the inning.

Backe led off the bottom of the inning - and was hit by the first pitch. Bourn used his new best trick - the bunt single - to get on, and Pence moved Backe and Bourn to scoring position on a ground out. Berkman struck out for the second out - his second of three consecutive K's in the game. But the other two B's scored on Lee's single, making it 4-2. Tejada got on with an infield single, bringing up Mark Loretta to face his old team. One pitch, on big swing, and he had himself a 3-run homer, giving Houston a 5-4 lead. The Astros put on another run in the fifth inning, on Lee's solo home run.

Backe gave up a walk and an RBI triple to start the sixth, leading Cooper to bring in Geary in relief. Two singles, a walk, a sac fly, and a double later, five runs had scored, giving the Sox a 9-6 lead. That's about when I tuned in, just in time to watch the Astros go down 1-2-3. Byrdak pitched a lovely seventh, and then it was time for some fun.

Bourn walked, then Pence singled to start the bottom of the 7th. Then Berkman, with 3 K's for the night in his earlier at bats, singled to score Bourn and move Pence to third. Pence scored on a passed ball, making it 9-8, and all of a sudden the Astros were back in the game. Byrdak and Brocail combined for a 1-2-3 eighth, keeping them there.

The Astros didn't take long to complete their rehab - Wigginton led off the bottom of the eighth with a home run to tie it up. Erstad got a pitch-hit single, and Ausmus bumped him to second with a nice sac bunt. Bourn sturck out for the second out. Pence walked, to put runners on first and second. Then Berkman completed his recovery from those three strikeouts - he doubled to score Erstad and Bourn, putting the Astros ahead 11-9.

Drama queen time: Valverde started the ninth with a nice strikeout. But then he realized that the Astros were more that one run ahead, so he gave Mike Lowell a nice pitch to hit over the fence, making things more interesting. Now, with a nice tight one-run lead, Valverde was ready: he struck out Youkilis and Varatek to end the game. Houston won: 11-10. It was Big Papa's 20th save of the season.

It's summer, which means it's proposal season for those of us who work for federal contractors. So I was working on Sunday from 8 in the morning until after 11 at night. But from 2 to 5:30 PM, I had two computers going - one for proposal writing, and the second tuned to mlb.tv. Brian Moehler pitched a nice start, 5 2/3 innings, giving up just one run on a third inning solo homer. But the Astros didn't do a whole lot to help him out. Blum (starting at third) hit a solo home run in the second, and Berkman got an RBI single in the fifth, but that was it for Moehler's watch. Lefty Wright came in to relieve him in the sixth, with two out and two on, promptly walked the bases loaded - and then struck out pesky Dustin Pedroia to leave them all stranded.

With the score still a way-too-close 2-1, Wright opened the seventh with another strikeout. But Cooper wanted a right-hander, so he brought in Villareal to face Manny Ramirez. Whack! A home run tied it at 2-2. Villareal put the next two on, and was replaced by Brocail. Two quick outs for Brocail ended the seventh, and three in a row shut down the Sox to end the top of the eighth. With one out In the bottom of the inning, Tejada took 9 pitches to get a single, then advanced to second on a wild pitch. Blum grounded out, two away. Then it was pinch-hitter Mark Loretta's chance for further heroics against his old club, and he didn't pass it up. His single scored Tejada from second to put the Astros ahead 3-2.

In the ninth, there was no room for drama. Valverde gave up a walk, but had no other trouble on his way to putting out three batters, to give the Astros the win - and the series. Valverde walked off the mound with a huge grin on his face.

Oh, did I mention that it was Josh Beckett on the mound for the Sox? No slouch (the pitcher, not the sox). Winning three consecutive series against Al teams, two of which are duking it out for the top of the touch AL East - how cool is that? And how much confidence does that build in a team whose lousy June turned around their huge May and left them in the hole? Hopefully, we're well on our way to a humongous second half!

Cooper shuffles the deck... In an effort to shake up the team and to take better advantage of who's hitting, Coop has rearranged the lineup. Bourn, with his improved batting, is still leading off, with Pence in the two-spot. Then there's the BLT sandwich: Berkman, Lee, Tejada. So far so good, if it means that the Astros can beat the Red Sox!

Tomorrow: Welcome back, Jeff Kent! The LA Dodgers are coming to town.

GAMES 77 -79 - June 24:-26: Kick Up Those Silver Boots!

Tuesday, June 24: Houston 4, Texas 3
Wednesday, June 25: Texas 3, Houston 2
Thursday, June 26: Houston 7, Texas 2

Quote of the Day: "I told him that he needed to look at himself in the bleeping mirror. Up to that point, ... I did not raise my voice to the player, curse the player and had not made any defamatory remarks towards the player. Chacon responded with profane and threatening remarks and got up from his seat. He moved in front of me until we were chest to chest, and then he shoved me to the ground. When I attempted to get to my feet he shoved me a second time, at which point players and coaches intervened. After order was restored, I told him he was suspended..." (Ed Wade, on his confrontation with Shawn Chacon)

Finally, after suffering the indignity of back-to-back sweeps, the Astros have something to cheer about: They won a series from the Rangers. Not just a game - a series! And not just any series - it was the kicker series, the Silver Boot. Okay, the Astros didn't actual win the boot this year, but they did win this series when they really, really needed something good to happen.

Meanwhile, before I get to the games themselves, I have to note that the team has become a either a laughingstock or the source of righteous indignation, depending on whether you are more inclined to sympathize with players or management. Shawn Chacon, who was featured in my last blog posting's Quote of the Day ("expletive deleted") for expressing how pissed off he was at being taken out of the starting rotation, no longer has to be in the Astros bullpen. In fact, he no longer has to be an Astro at all. Evidently Chacon - with a history of problematic management relations - went too far in his squabble with the Astros team leadership. Refusing to meet with Cooper and Ed Wade, after telling some reporters that he wanted a trade, they came to talk to him in the player dining room. Voices were raised, words were said, and then Chacon crossed the line that moved him from "indefinitely suspended for insubordination" to worse - unconditional release waivers with no plans to pay him the rest of his salary for the season. He did something that everyone knows is a bad idea - he physically struck the boss. He knocked down Ed Wade, and then knocked him down again. (Many bloggers are jealous, as they've been wishing all year to punch out Wade for the mess he's made.) It's still unknown whether any team will pick up a guy that hit his boss. They probably would without a second thought if he were having a hot year, but with his mediocre record, he might be in the doghouse a while. The players union will no doubt argue that he should get his money, but I'm not sure that they have much of a case.

With all the attention that the Astros got from this sordid little event, the momentous nature of a series win to cap this totally crapolicious month may have flown below the radar. But it was big news to me. Here's what happened:

I watched Tuesday night's series opener with my sister Elizabeth from Denver, who was on a very short visit to Washington. She was here to see me, but unfortunately with this being the federal government proposal season, I couldn't take off work. We only had the evenings together, and she was kind enough to spend it sitting in my kitchen, watching an Astros ball game on my 12" laptop screen.

It got off to an ominous start: Moehler gave up a leadoff double, and two players later, a single knocked in the Ranger's first blood run. The first three Astros, in the bottom of the inning, went down like those three pins at the bowling alley that always fall if you miss your spot. But then things changed - the Astros took the lead in the bottom of the second. Berkman opened with a double, and scored on aggressive base running on Wiggy's single. Wiggington got to second while the Rangers were trying to throw out the Puma at the plate. Then Quintero doubled to score Wiggington. Astros lead, 2-1.

That's where things stood for a while, as Moehler was unhittable for the next few innings. He got into trouble in the sixth, loading up the bases, but wiggled out of it, leaving them all stranded. After Moehler gave up a leadoff double in the seventh, Coop replaced him with lefty Wright, who finished up the inning without any further damage. Brocail, pitching in the eighth, allowed runners to get into scoring position on a single, a walk, and a double steal, but he too wiggled out of it without giving up a run.

So it went to the bottom of the eighth, with the Astros up by one lousy run. Hey! That's definitely better than being behind 13-0, but it's still a bit nerve-rattling for a fan in exile. In the bottom of the eighth, things took a decidedly brighter turn. Tejada led off with a walk, and Berkman whacked a homer to right, giving the Astros a nice fat 4-1 lead.

Ninth inning, save situation. In comes the drama queen, who just doesn't seem to concentrate well with more than a one-run lead. Up by 3, he gave up a walk and a homer. Boom - back to a one run lead with only one away. Now, down to more serious business. Valverde whiffed the next two batters to save the game.

Wednesday night's game was equally nerve-wracking, but with a less happy ending. Oswalt pitched a quality start - 7 innings, 3 ERs on 7 hits, no walks, and 5 strikeouts. He even hit two singles himself, in an effort to help his cause. But he got little run support. Berkman hit two doubles, and was stranded both times. Bourn turned out to be the offensive leader for the Astros - he hit a single and stole second, but was stranded; then he hit a 2-run homer in the second, scoring Oswalt. But that was it for Astros fire power. They ended the game with the bases loaded, down by one lousy run, 3-2. A mousy loss isn't worth more than a paragraph. On to Thursday's game...

It was a rare event - the odd case where Houston takes a substantive early lead, and holds on to it to the end. With the Astros racking up game after game decided by a single run, Thursday night's 7-2 win was a nice break. It was definitely Wandy's lucky night: The Astros scored all 7 runs in the first two innings. Although they didn't do much else offensively for the rest of the game, that early lead was a great confidence builder for Wandy. I've been thinking all season that, if he can stay healthy, this could finally be a great year for Wandy. Last year he was great at home, sucked on the road. This year, he's doing quite well at both. This may have been his best so far - 8 innings, one ER (scored in the eighth), on just 5 hits, no walks, fanning 9 (his season record for Ks).

But those 7 runs at the beginning of the game were just great. The Astros loaded the bases in the first inning on Bourn's single, and Berkman and Lee's walks. Pence came up with 2 outs, and hit the first pitch over the center fielders head, up the hill, to clear the bases. Astros lead after one inning, 3-0. The fun continued in the second inning. Quintero bunt-singled his way on, and Wandy got a hit to move him up. Bourn's sac bunt moved them into scoring position, and Newhan's double scored them both. Newhan scored on Berkman's single. Berkman moved to second on a balk, and scored on agressive running when Lee singled to shallow center.

After that, no more runs were plated. The Astros loaded the bases with one away in the fourth, but couldn't score. That was about it for scoring fun. Wandy gave up one run in the eighth inning. With a six-run lead, Coop brought in Villareal to pitch the ninth. He got off to a shaky start, with a single followed by a triple, making it 7-2, before getting the next three batters to end the game.

Berkman went 3 for 3 with 3 singles and a walk, scoring twice on gutsy running. Newhan was 3 for 5 with 2 RBI; he's batting .500 so far on his short visit from Round Rock, while Matsui's on the DL. Bourn and Q each got a pair of hits; Bourn also got his 30th steal of the season. Very nice work, everybody. But it was Wandy's night - 105 pitches, 72 for strikes, no walks. Coop went to bed happy for a change.

GAME 76 - June 22: Astros Send Rays to the Devil

Houston 3, Tampa Bay 2

Quote of the Day: "I think it's horse (expletive)." (Shawn Chacon, on his reaction to being moved to the bullpen)

Warning: I am going to make an embarrassing admission. Before this game, I told my husband that I don't get emotional about the outcomes of the Astros games now; they've lost so many games in the past few weeks that I've just gotten kind of philosophical about it. Really, what's the difference if they lose one or two or five or ten more games, if it turns out to be a losing season anyway? (Not that I seriously believe that it will be a losing season...) So now, having said all that, I have to admit that when Carlos Lee hit that two-out home run in the sixth inning of today's game, putting the Astros ahead, I grinned ear to ear.

Actually, here's what happened: I burst into tears, clapped my hands, jumped up and down in front of the computer like a lunatic, and scared my poor dog. I am not joking: Even my Labrador thinks I'm psycho.

Then I spent the next hour, until Valverde safely tucked it away, gritting my teeth, pacing the kitchen, and worrying that they'd lose the lead, the game, and yet another series.

Not to worry. It might have been a bit more relaxing if the Astros could have put another few runs on the board, but they did manage to have just enough. The Astros have to feel fantastic about this accomplishment: They just won a series from the team that is but a hair behind the AL East leading Red Sox, the team that had just swept the Cubbies. But for a teensy little meltdown in the ninth last night, the Astros might have even swept the Rays this weekend.

The offensive stats in this game weren't much to look at: All of the runs were scored on home runs. The only serious damage that the Rays managed against Backe today was Longoria's two-run homer in the third, giving Tampa an early lead. Meanwhile, for the Astros, it was just Under Pants' - I mean Hunter Pence's - solo homer in the fifth, followed by El Caballo's two-run shot in the sixth.

Despite being lifted in the seventh in favor of a lefty arm, Backe pitched a terrific game, with a low pitch total - only 85 over 6 2/3 innings. He allowed just the two runs from that third-inning homer, on 6 hits, 4 walks, and 5 strikeouts. Once he pulled Backe, Cooper ran through a revolving door of relievers to get to his closer: His lefty Wright struck out his only batter in the seventh to end the inning with Rays runners stranded on second and third. After Wright walked the first batter in the eighth inning, Coop replaced him with Sampson, who quickly induced a ground-ball double play to empty the bases. Then, when Sampson walked the next batter on 4 pitches, it was Brocail's turn to defend the Astros' tiny lead. Happily, Brocail was much more effective than last night, ending the inning harmlessly with two pitches. In the ninth, Valverde didn't bother with drama. Ground out, one gone. Fly ball, that's two. Valverde struck out the third batter on three devilish pitches, turned his back to the plate, and allowed himself a small but emphatic emotional display. As the players were in line to high-five each other on the field, Coop ran up behind Carlos Lee and jumped onto his back.

And me? I burst into tears again, clapped my hands, and danced around the kitchen chanting "They won! They won!" The poor dog hid under the kitchen table.

In Other News: Matsui left the game after straining his right hamstring; he's day to day. Chacon has been moved from the rotation to the bullpen, due to inconsistency in the starting role. After Oswalt distributed copies of an excerpt from a book that claimed that the team's St Pete hotel was haunted, no ghost sitings were reported during this series.

GAME 75 - June 21: Ugly Shirt Loss

Tampa Bay 4, Houston 3

Quote of the Day: "No excuses -- I stunk up the place. " (Brocail on his blown save)

I hate it when the Astros wear those ugly Rainbow Retro uniforms. Why would anyone want to see his favorite baseball team dressed to coordinate with Southwest Airlines planes? And it's got to be more embarrassing to lose when you're wearing a clown costume. The Astros were wearing those jerseys when they lost 18-3 against the Rangers on July 4, 2004. This loss wasn't quite as memorably embarrassing, but it was perhaps more painful for a team that really, really needs a break.

In short, they blew it. The Astros had managed to eke out a few runs, just enough for a very precarious lead. After the win on Friday night, they were so close to ensuring a winning series. Leading 3-2, heading into the bottom of the ninth, they just needed three more outs. But Brocail, pitching in the save situation instead of Valverde, couldn't manage even one out. Two singles and a hit batsman loaded the bases, and the third single gave away the game.

After Lee's solo homer in the fourth inning, the Astros really had to work for the other two runs they managed to manufacture. In the seventh inning, they loaded the bases with one out on Lee's single, Blum's double and an intentional pass for Erstad. Loretta walked on a full count to force in the run. But they could not manage to score another run, and stranded a full house. The run that scored in the eighth was totally manufactured: Berkman struck out on three pitches, but the catcher dropped the ball. Berkman took off for first, and ended up on second when the catcher threw wildly. He then stole third, and scored on a fielders choice. For a guy who still gets called Fat Elvis (mostly by opposing teams' TV broadcasters) and who is nursing a sore leg, Berkman has been incredibly active on the base paths this season. The stolen base was his 12th of the year - his previous season high was 9!

Wandy pitched well - he threw 5 2/3 innings giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, 2 walks, and 6 strikeouts. He did not give up a hit until the fourth inning. Geary came in to relieve him in the sixth, with two outs and the bases loaded; he got the ground ball to end the inning. Geary then pitched two scoreless innings to get the Astros to the ninth with their one-run lead intact.

The Astros old friend Dan Wheeler, now pitching for the Rays, got the win. He's having a great year, with a 1.89 ERA over 33 appearances. Good for Wheels - but sorry that it's at the Astros expense!

The Astros still have a chance to win the series Sunday, with Backe on the mound. After 7 straight series losses, that would be very sweet. Between the Sabbath games and MLB.TV blackouts of the Baltimore series, I haven't seen a live game in a week. I'm not sure that I have the stamina for it!

Something Funny: To end this with a humorous postscript: My cousin Jon from Tampa sent me an email on Sunday, saying that he had been at this game and had enjoyed watching his team's amazing win over my team. He attached a photo he took of one of the players, wearing the horrid Rainbow Retro, with this note:

"We were sitting in the right field bleachers right behind everybody's favorite Astro...Under Pants. I've never seen an outfielder spend so much time turning around and looking up into the stands. We were half expecting him to get hit in the back of the head by a fly ball."

In case you don't recognize the player from the picture or the nickname, it's Hunter Pence. Under Pants? Back in March, when we went to a Spring Training game with Jon and his wife Heather, I was chatting about one of my favorite young Astros players. Jon misheard the player's name - I said "Hunter Pence," but he heard "underpants." He'll always be Under Pants to Jon. Which just goes to show that there are definitely worse nicknames than "Fat Elvis."

Photo courtesy of Jon Rosenfeld.

GAME 74 - June 20: Red Letter Day: W!

Houston 4, Tampa Bay 3

Quote of the Day: "It's nice to hear loud voices in the clubhouse. It's nice to smile, for crying out loud." (Brocail, on finally winning a game)

While I knew that the Astros were not really going to lose all the rest of the games of the season, I had stopped expecting them to win. So it was a halfway nice surprise, when I turned on my computer after the Sabbath ended, to see that they had actually won a game on Friday night. I say "halfway" because I also saw that they had lost the Saturday game - but that's for the next entry. So I watched the winning game on the archive late that night.

It was the Good Oswalt this time, pitching his usual game, which is not so common this season. He pitched into the eighth, giving up 2 runs on 7 hits and 2 walks, striking out 5. Happily, neither of the runs were homers - Oswalt has returned to his old style of pitching, which is not as conducive to home runs as his new game.

The Astros offense scored just enough runs to squeak through, with half of them coming in the first inning. After 2 quick outs to start the game, Tejada got on with an infield single. (Cooper's admonitions to quit sliding head-first must have some effect; Tejada came in feet-first.) Berkman moved him over with a walk. Then Lee's double past the center fielder scored them both, as Berkman hustled to cross the plate before the throw. Pence hit another infield single to put runners on the corners, but Erstad flied out to end the fun.

In the bottom of the inning, Oswalt gave back one of the runs on three consecutive singles, which would have given me kind of a stomach ache if I hadn't already read the box score before watching the game. Then he settled in to stymie the Rays for the next 6 innings.

The Astros picked up their other two runs in the fifth inning. Bourn started it off with a 1-out single and scored on Matsui's double. Tejada's infield single put runners on the corners. Berkman survived a terrific 11-pitch battle with the pitcher, finally connecting for a long fly ball to the left-field corner; Matsui tagged and jogged home to make it 4-1.

Despite the cloud of depression that seems to be hovering over the team, the Astros did put some energy into this game. They were aggressive on the base paths. Sometimes it worked out - like Berkman's first-inning dash from first to third to score on Lee's double. Other times it didn't: Tejada was thrown out trying to stretch a single into a double in the third inning, and Pence was caught stealing in the fourth. They were also helped out defensively by using Lee as a DH in this inter-league game. Erstad, a superior fielder, made a tremendous leaping catch to end the second inning, saving what would have surely been extra bases.

It was Classic Roy O up until the eighth, when he gave up a bunt single to the lead-off batter. He struck out the next batter, and then he got the ground ball, but the Astros could only get the runner at first, advancing the runner. The next batter blooped the ball into shallow center; Bourn managed to glove it on a diving catch, but couldn't hold the ball, and the runner scored from second. After Oswalt walked the next batter, Cooper called it a night. Brocail came in with 2 on and 2 outs; he threw exactly one pitch to end the inning with a ground out.

Valverde came in with a two-run lead to pitch the ninth. After two poor outings in Baltimore, resulting in a blown save and a tenth-inning walk-off home run loss, he needed a good showing. He got the first out on a fly ball. But - perhaps to add a bit of drama - he gave up a home run to the second batter. Now, with a one-run lead to protect, he was apparently revved up enough to pitch. He got the next two batters out with 7 very nasty pitches, 6 of them strikes topping out at 98 MPH.

Game over. Finally, a win! It would have been nice to see some jumping for joy, ritual helmet bashing, ecstatic high-fives, but all that I saw on the Rays' TV coverage was a momentary shot of some relieved-looking guys in the Astros dugout. Perhaps they were in shock that they didn't manage to lose another one in the last inning.

They saved that for Saturday night.

GAMES 71-73 - June 17-19: Going on Strike

Tuesday, June 17: Baltimore 6, Houston 5
Wednesday, June 18: Baltimore 2, Houston 1
Thursday, June 19: Baltimore 7, Houston 5

Quote of the Day: "The last two days are the way we should play. We play aggressive, we play solid defense, guys pitch real well. We just have to get some timely hits now. That's all we need." (Cooper, Wednesday night, after losing the second one-run game)

With all due respect to Coop, here's the thing about close games and win-loss records in baseball: At the end of the season, these Astros' one- or two-run losses in Baltimore don't buy you any more than that 13-0 Fathers Day Fiasco against the Yankees. They're just losses on the slippery slope to the Astros players' spending this coming October on fabulous vacations. Yeah, it's a lot less embarrassing to lose by a single run, but in the scheme of things close losses are just more losses.

With seven straight blown series. and eight straight losses this is getting to be kind of an ugly habit. I think I'm going on a temporary strike - it's just not that fun to write up the losses night after night. I'll leave that to Alyson, who does tough love angst so much better than I do. So if you want the gory details of the Astros being swept in back to back series, go to astros.com and read all about it.

Despite the fact that these games were in my neck of the woods - Baltimore isn't that far from where I live - I didn't make it to any of these games. It is pretty far from where I work in Virginia, and I couldn't really get off of work in time to make it to the game. I suspect that I might have put a little more effort into it, though, if the Astros weren't playing so miserably. Due to the mlb.tv blockage of "local" games, I couldn't even watch the games - I just listened to them on the live audio stream, while playing Text Twist.

It might be good not being able to watch. A month ago, it was awesome watching the guys grinning and high-fiving, looking relaxed in the dugout, having fun on the field. Now, they all look a bit shell-shocked, depressed, or angry. Brocail, who figured in Tuesday's loss, is reportedly icing a swollen hand that might have been injured in a run in with a wall or water cooler. I keep reminding myself - as they surely keep reminding themselves - that they can't lose ALL the rest of the games of the season. But it's getting to be hard to remember what is was like to win one.

GAME 70 - June 15: Gone Fishin'

NY Yankees 13, Houston 0

Quote of the Day: "Today we didn't play hard, we didn't even show up. Didn't even compete. Total embarrassment. Forty thousand people, and we don't even show up." (Cooper, on the Fathers Day Flunkout)

If the Astros didn't bother to really play today, as their frustrated manager claimed afterwards, then I don't need to bother writing up this debacle. For the first time since Opening Day, the Astros were shut out, and it was a doozy. I always say that there's something to like about every game, but I'd have to stretch to find anything at all to like about this one. When the high point of a team's performance is the starting pitcher's two singles, on a day when he gives up 7 ER in less than 6 innings, that's a pretty sad game. But I said I wasn't going to write this one up, and I'm not. I'm taking the night off.

GAMES 68-69 - June 13-14: The Spiral of Doom, Continued...

Friday, June 13: Yankees 2, Houston 1
Saturday, June 14: Yankees 8, Houston 4

Quote of the Day: "I have no concern with stealing and running bases. That's not why we lost. We lost because we didn't hit." (Cooper, on the 3 CS in Friday night's game)

The Yankees picked a great time for their first trip to Minute Maid Park. With the Astros continuing their seemingly endless June descent from the giddy days of May, it was a great opportunity for them to please the ubiquitous Yankee fans-in-exile who packed the stadium. For the poor Astros fans who managed to win the lottery for the opportunity to buy over-priced tickets to these games, it was a bum deal.

It was a bum deal for Shawn Chacon Friday night too. After waiting so long for his first decision this season, he was robbed of a chance to earn a "W" in this game. Rare for the Astros rotation these days, he pitched a terrific start: 6 1/3 innings, giving up only 1 run on 6 hits, 3 walks, and 2 strikeouts. The only run he gave up came in the first inning, when Abreu reached first on a fielders choice, stole second, advanced to third on Ausmus' throwing error, and scored on a single. But once again, it wasn't Chacon's night for a decision. He left a 1-1 tie game with one out in the seventh and two runners on, his pitch count over 100. Wright came in and promptly set down the next two batters to end the inning.

Unfortunately, Brocail gave up a lead off homer to Jeter to open the eighth. That was all the damage that the Yankees could do against Astros pitchers. Brocail finished off the inning without any trouble. Valverde, pitching in yet another non-save situation, gave up an infield single to start the ninth, advance the runner on a balk, but kept the Yankees scoreless to give the Astros a chance.

They had a lot of chances, despite only getting 6 hits. The Astros had runners in scoring position stranded in numerous innings; they left the bases loaded in the fourth. The defining statistic was the running game, however: Cooper tried to make the most of his base runners, having them attempt to steal and steal again. The strategy worked in some cases, as Berkman, Bourn, Wiggington, and Matsui all succeeded in stealing second base. But it failed in three tries also - most damagingly when Berkman and Bourn unsuccessfully attempted steals of third base after successfully stealing second. In Berkman's case, the batter at the plate got a base hit, so the failed attempt cost the Astros a precious run in such a tight game.

At least Friday night's game was close. Saturday's game was another matter: Spotted to a nice lead in the first inning, on Carlos Lee's 3-run homer, there were a few moments of hope for the sell-out crowd of Yankees fans-in-exile, and at least one evil (or at least badly behaved) Astros fan in the right field bleachers. The Yankees scored their first run on a Jeter homer to lead off the second. But the slo-mo replays showed Hunter Pence making a terrific leap right on target to catch the ball, until a fan in a red Astros jersey decided to try for the play instead. He knocked Pence's glove out of the way and Jeter got the home run.

After that bit of just plain bad luck, it was Wandy's pitching that hurt them. When he's on he's on, when he's not... This was one of those games where his control escaped him: Five innings, five ER, on 6 hits, 3 walks, and just one strikeout. Although the Astros managed to add on another run in the seventh, on Ausmus' RBI double, the damage was done on Wandy's watch, and he earned the loss.

Cooper looked to have a short hook for the bullpen. Byrdak walked his first two batters in the sixth, and was promptly replaced by Sampson, who ended the inning without any problem. Wright interspersed a couple of singles with a couple of strikeouts in the seventh, but escaped without any runs scoring. But Cooper had more patience for Geary, who gave up runs in both of his two innings. Not that it mattered; the game was lost back on Wandy's watch.

With this loss, the Astros have now dropped six series in a row, with a record of 4-13 since May 27, when the spiral of death began. From a brief flirtation with the top of the NL Central division (they were only a game or two out a few weeks ago), they have plummeted to within half a game of the bottom. With the team now 3 games under .500, and 11 games behind the Cubs, the Chronicle staff is asking whether they should run The Tombstone again? My opinion: Definitely yes! Look what it did for the Astros in 2005!!! They kicked butt after that!

There have been a couple of interesting bright spots, offensively, over the course of Houston's tailspin. Since Towles was sent down to Round Rock ten days ago, Ausmus has added 40 points to his batting average. It's still only .235, but that's a big improvement over his buck-and-change numbers. Bourn has added on about 20 points in the same timeframe. Lee has put some padding on his BA, and has had some nice power hits too. Unfortunately, Berkman - who always said that his heydays in May were fun while they lasted - has dropped nearly 40 points from his loftiest BA, when it hovered around .400. The loss of his power in the middle of the order has been a killer. Pence too has seen a reduction in his hitting, but not as steep.

Standard disclaimer: I saw the scores and stats for these games after the Sabbath ended, and once again, did not have the heart to watch much of the reruns. I read the pitch by pitch, the box score, and the various game write-ups. Alas, in these tough times for the Astros, Alyson is not writing the daily game reports on Astros.com. I miss her perfect balance of angst and tough love.

One more chance on Sunday (Miriam's birthday and Father's Day) to squeeze a win out of this horrible home stand before the Astros hit the road.

GAME 67 - June 12: Back to Being Official LOSERS

Milwaukee 9, Houston 6

Quote of the Day: "It's too early to worry until it's not, and then it's too late. Worry is not something that ever comes into the mind of a ballplayer about the team.We play 162 games. You play them, and if you stink, you stink. If you're good, you're good." (Berkman, being philosophical)

The Astros continued their downward slide, losing their fifth consecutive series, and finally becoming official losers, as the loss put their record below .500.

It was another game characterized by the Big Inning - for the other guys. As in the previous game, a trio of home runs kicked off the run spree: Three in the second inning put the Astros behind early, and they never recovered. This time it was Moehler who was beat up, as the whole starting rotation has been infected with this bug.

This was an afternoon game, which I kept an eye on through one of the online pitch-by-pitch programs. As the outcome got worse over the afternoon, my fantasy of going home, pouring a nice glass of wine, and watching the video of the ball game diminished. Believe it or not, there is a limit to my enthusiasm for watching baseball games, and the current skid - now in its third week - is not much fun to view. So I did not watch this game, after work, not even the high points.

Yeah, there were high points - the Astros did, after all, score six runs, three on homers. None by Berkman, who went 0 for 5. Two of the three came from players who normally watch the game from the bench - Erstad (who started in right field) and Loretta (pinch hitting). Perhaps as their luck is spiraling out of control, Cooper should consider giving these guys a little more playing time. Erstad went 3 for 5; Matsui, Lee, and Bourn each had 2 hits.

But six runs doesn't go far enough when the pitching gets beat up. Moehler, who has been quite good, was trashed. In 4 2/3 innings, he gave up 7 ER on 7 hits, 3 BBs, and just one K. Geary got the bullpen off to a bad start. He came in with the bases loaded and two outs, and promptly hit the batter with a pitch, forcing in a run. He had a 1-2-3 sixth inning; Byrdak and Villareal followed with perfect relief innings. Valverde came in to pitch in yet-another non-save situation (when was the last time there was a save situation?), and got beat up. A leadoff home run, a double, and a single put two more Brewers runs on the board. Well, better that he get it out of his system in a game that wasn't a save situation!

Enough said about a game that I only read about. Yankees coming to town this weekend...

GAME 66 - June 11: All Pissed Off

Milwaukee 10, Houston 6

Quote of the Day: "I would have loved it... I'm not saying I would have done well or anything." (Wiggington, on the possibility that he might have had to catch)

If Tuesday's win was an example of how the Astros should do everything right, Wednesday's loss was the counter-example. Even good things in this game seemed to have their tarnished silver lining.

I got home from work just as the third inning was ending, with the Astros having just taken a 3-2 lead on solo homers by Tejada and Lee. But the trouble started right away. Not to be outdone, the Brewers hit three home runs in the next inning. Backe only lasted four innings, leaving the game with the Astros behind 5-3; he gave up the five runs on just 7 hits, 2 walks, and a pair of strikeouts. Byrdak didn't do much better - he gave up a 2-run homer in the fifth, putting Milwaukee ahead 7-3.

But the game wasn't over: For about ten minutes in the sixth inning, the Astros set up the poor fan-in-exile to hope that they were returning to their can-do cowboy spirit. Berkman, leading off, was hit by a pitch. Lee doubled to score Berkman on a mad dash home. But there was that tarnished silver lining: Lee blundered in his base-running and was caught in a run down at second for the first out. The loss of that base runner and gain of that out would come back to haunt the Astros on the very next play - WIggington hit what could have been a two-run homer, but was only a solo. Then Abercrombie (in his first start as an Astro) and Ausmus hit back to back doubles to bring in another run. The score was 7-6 when Erstad and Pence grounded out to end the inning. That extra base runner at second base with no outs could have made the inning look quite different; it would have been a tie game, or with an extra out, perhaps the Astros could have taken the lead.

Coulda, woulda... No matter. They didn't take the lead, and instead of being pumped up, the team just seemed stressed out. In the seventh inning, Wright came in to pitch, striking out the first two batters. Then Cooper brought in Sampson to face Mike Cameron . On a 2-2 count. Cameron appeared to swing - or did he? The first base umpire said he checked his swing, full count, but Ausmus disagreed - very strongly. The first base ump threw him out of the game. Quintero took his place behind the plate just in time for ball 4, and Cameron walked.

Things got worse from there. Sampson tried a couple of times to pick him off. The first time the umpire called the runner safe got boos from the crowd. But the second time, Berkman jumped up and down in anger, and Cooper ran out to intercede. He threw his hat to the ground. The first base ump said that Coop hit him with the hat, and threw him out too. The batter flied out to end the inning, but by now the crowd was beyond restless and the Astros were looking furious. Sampson left the mound screaming at the umpire. He wasn't ejected, but maybe he should have been: He gave up three more runs in the next inning, and that was too much for the Astros to overcome.

That wasn't the end of the drama though. While the Brewers were in the midst of that run spree, a foul ball bounced off of Quintero, knocking him to the ground in pain, where he remained for several minutes. (While the reporters were discrete about the nature of his injury, in the slo-mo replay, the ball appeared to hit Q right in the cup. YEEEOOOWWwww!) Well, great - Ausmus ejected, and Quintero on his back. Now what? Wiggington and Blum are the emergency catchers, but neither have ever caught in a major league game. Blum was getting his never-used emergency catchers gear together when Q staggered to his feet and went back to work.

Nothing else worth writing about happened. The Astros went down in order for the rest of the game. Back to .500.

GAME 65 - June 10: Back on Track

Houston 6, Milwaukee 1

Word for the Day: Harmony. A pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts.

Ahhhhhh, the world is back in a harmonic balance. The Astros won with a great start from Roy O, lights-out work from the bullpen, and plenty of runs - 5 of them credited to the Puma. What could be more perfect, from a baseball perspective at least?

It didn't look quite so easy when I turned on my computer after the Shavuot holiday ended tonight. After six innings, the Astros had a fragile 2-1 lead, thanks to Berkman's 2-run homer in the first inning. But that was it for Houston hitting through six. Meanwhile, it was the old Classic Oswalt on the mound - a few scattered hits, lots of strikeouts, great control. By the seventh inning stretch, he had only given up one ER on a solo home run in the third, on 5 hit, no walks, and 10 strikeouts. WIth Oswalt coming up third in the bottom of the inning, he was likely to be lifted for a pinch hitter - would a one-run lead be enough to get him a win?

This time it was Houston's turn for a Big Inning, as the Astros beat up on their old rival Julian Tavares. (Remember the time he smashed his pitching hand on a water cooler in the playoffs? That Tavares.) Bourn led off the inning with his new trick: The bunt single. Even if the Brewers' pitcher and catcher had managed to field the ball, there was no way to catch Bourn. Then Ausmus followed with a sac bunt, but was safe on first on Taveres' throwing error; Bourn went to third. Erstad, pinch hitting for Oswalt, singled to score Bourn. The Astros lead was doubled to two runs, 3-1. Pence struck out for the first out. Matsui singled to left to load up the bases. Tejada popped a foul ball to first, bringing up the Big Puma with a full house - two out and three on. Two pretty ugly swings later, it wasn't looking too good. But the next pitch went right over the leaping center fielder, and rolled up Tal's Hill for a base-clearing triple. Lee flied out to the right field warning track. Five runs scored in the seventh, Astros lead 6-1. I would guess that Roy O was feeling a little better about his chances right about then.

No problem. The bullpen came in and did what it's been doing pretty consistently lately - Brocail took down the side in the eighth on 9 pitches, then Wright finished them off 1-2-3 in the ninth.

Heroes of the game: Berkman looked a lot like he did a month ago - he went 3 for 4, with a home run, triple, and single, and 5 RBIs. Oswalt looked a lot like he did in his previous seasons. It was his first W in a month.

I read that Ed Wade came in the clubhouse to have a little chat with the players today. It was a private conversation - as he said, if he wanted the press to hear what was said, he would have invited them. At any rate, the team played a very fine game, absent the clunky moves that have cost them some of their recent games. Back to a game over .500 - back to being a winning team. Keep up the good work!

GAME 64 - June 8: Back Down to .500

St Louis 5, Houston 4

Quote of the Day: "S*** happens."

Right up until the weird stuff started to happen in the seventh inning, this looked like a carbon copy of Wandy's last start: Great control, few base runners, a win in the making. And his buddies gave him a few runs to work with. Not a lot - all were scored on Berkman's third inning monster of a home run - but enough for a 3-0 lead. With a line like this, it looked like another nice start for Wandy: 6 2/3 innings, 0 ER, 4 hits (all singles), 1 BB, and 7 K.

But the wheels fell off in the seventh inning: By the time they got to "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," Houston trailed 5-3, and all five of the runs were unearned. The Cards more than batted around, and their only hits were a pair of singles. Everything else was just trash defensive and bad luck.

Here's how it went down: Wandy hit the first batter on a 1-2 count. The next batter hit what appeared to be a double play ground ball, but Wiggington bobbled it, and everyone was safe. The first single loaded the bases with nobody out. A sac fly scored the first run, leaving runners at first and third with one out. Still very achievable to get out of the inning on a double play. But with a 1-2 count, Wandy hit the next batter to load the bases again. One might be wondering why Cooper didn't pull him already, but he wasn't really pitching badly - the HBPs came on inside pitches that the batter didn't really get out of the way of, and Wandy was throwing strikes. He struck out the next batter - his seventh K of the game. A wild pitch scored the runner from third, and then a single (again on a 1-2 pitch) scored two more to give the Cards a 4-3 lead. At that point, Cooper made a move - he brought in Brocail to pitch. A simple fly ball to center field appeared to end the inning, but Bourn and Pence crossed wires and no one caught the ball - scoring the 5th unearned run of the inning. Brocail finished off the inning without any further damage.

This bad turn seemed to energize the Astros a bit. Bourn led off the bottom of the inning with a bunt single, and Ausmus whacked a double to score him. But then he was left stranded as Loretta, Pence, and Matsui failed to advance him. Again in the eighth inning, the Astros had their chance to tie it: With 2 outs, Lee hit a long single. Cooper replaced him with Abercrombie, a very fast runner just up from Round Rock. Erstad hit a pinch double to right, but Romero put up the stop sign on Abercrombie, holding him at third, although it looked like he could have scored. Not the kind of aggressive base running that characterized the team when they were hot. Bourn flied out to end the inning. Valverde pitched a scoreless ninth, to keep them in the game. But Franklin, the Cards closer, struck out the side in the ninth to end it as the poet said, "not with a bang but a whimper."

Not the kind of come-from-behind, can't-loss mood that characterized the team when they were hot.

Stupid ugly loss that shouldn't have happened. Sign of a down team, continuing their slide from hottest-team-in-baseball, just a game or so from the top of the division, now back down to fourth place with a .500 record after losing 8 of their last 10.

I'm off for the next two days to celebrate the holiday of Shavuot. Happily, the Astros have the day off tomorrow, so I won't have to worry about what trouble they are getting in until their next game on Tuesday night. The fun resumes with the Brewers, followed by the Yankees, in their first appearance at Minute Maid Park.

GAME 63 - June 7: Aside from That Second Inning...

St Louis 8, Houston 4

Quote of the Day: "Aside from that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you like the play?" (Traditional quip)

So, if you could just erase that second inning, this wasn't really a bad game. Starting the inning by giving up a home run wasn't a great sign for Shawn Chacon, with a walk and a single close behind. But he got the first two outs without any further damage, and for a moment, it looked manageable. Then BAM! Triple, double, walk (IBB to Pujols), and homer - and the next thing you know, it's 7-0. After two, Chacon looked well positioned to avoid the dreaded no-decision.

(Uneducated fan commentary: This early-inning IBB to Pujols thing is just not working out. They tried that in Wandy's welcome-back game, also, with an intentional pass to Pujols to load the bases in the first inning - and three runs came in that time too. I wish they'd just pitch to the guy. They can get him out: He was 0 for 3 in this game!)

Surprisingly, Cooper did not pull Chacon after this mess. He stuck with him through five innings, and though Chacon gave up leadoff hits in each of the succeeding innings, no further runs scored on his watch. At least all that was hurt was his ego. His opponent, Adam Wainwright, had to leave the game in the sixth with a sprained finger. Although the finger was clearly bothering him throughout the game, he still largely shut down the Astros. Pence's solo home run in the fifth was the only run to cross the plate while he was on the mound.

Houston had better luck against the bullpen, after Wainwright was gone. In fact, despite the game's outcome, the hit count tied for the most of the year: 15. There were plenty of chances to score, and the Astros capitalized on some - but not enough - of them. In the sixth, Berkman led off with a double, advanced to third on Wiggington's 1-out single, and scored on Bourn's single. Ausmus singled to load the bases. Blum popped it for the second out. But Pence beat out an infield single to score Wiggington. Matsui struck out to end the inning with the bases loaded. That made it 7-3.

Tejada homered to start the seventh inning, narrowing the deficit to three runs. But despite putting two runners on base in each of the last two innings, the Astros were unable to plate another run. The Cards picked up a gratuitous extra run in the ninth, making the final score 8-4. By the time I was watching the game after the Sabbath, it was in the late innings and the Astros were looking like the better team. Except for that 7-run second inning, of course.

The Astros bullpen did a good job with the long-relief situation. Wright had a 1-2-3 sixth, striking out two. Despite walking two in the seventh, Villareal escaped without allowing a run. Byrdak also walked two in the eighth, but Sampson came in to face Pujols with two outs - and got him out on a long fly ball. Sampson finished off the game, allowing one run to score on a double and a pair of sac flies to move him around. But that was just gravy for the Cards, as the winning run had crossed the plate back in the second inning.

It was a crummy loss, but the resurgence in hitting is good to see. Pence was 3 for 5 with a homer, Matsui was 2 for 5 with a homer too. Bourn and Ausmus - two notable weak spots in the lineup where help is needed - were both 3 for 4. Cooper has Bourn hitting seventh, with Pence leading off - being moved down in the order may take some of the pressure off of Bourn and give him a chance to improve his hitting.

Wandy will be on the mound for the rubber game - let's hope it's a classic Minute Maid Park game for him!

GAME 62 - June 6: Welcome Home!

Houston 6, St Louis 1

Word for the Day: Bargain. Something offered or acquired at a price advantageous to the buyer.

Brian Moehler came to Spring Training as a non-roster invitee, hoping for a chance to play for the Astros again. They liked his stuff, and gave him a $500K contract and a chance. He more than earned his salary and his place in the rotation in this welcome-home game against the Cards. In his best start of the season, the veteran righty pitched 7 shutout innings, giving up only 2 hits and 2 walks, while striking out 5. It was nice to see the other team experiencing what the Astros have been through for more than the past week: A starting pitcher that they just couldn't figure out. Unfortunately for the Astros, the other teams seemed to have plenty of those pitchers, while the Astros haven't been able to make that that claim this year. But now and then, we've seen a few "gems," as Alyson would say, and this performance was right up there with Wandy's last start.

The Astros managed to generate a whole series worth of run production in this game; Six. That is, a whole series for this new light-scoring incarnation of the 2008 team. It might be time for a rebirth in that department as well. The Cardinals didn't really make it very hard for them - half the runs were scored in the 4th inning on a pair of errors. But there were some nice offensive stats too: Loretta, subbing for Tejada in a rare start at short, was 4 for 4. Blum, playing third, was 2 for 4 with an 8th inning solo homer. Matsui also went 2 for 4. Berkman didn't have a hit or even a walk, but still managed to score a run - he got on base after being hit by a pitch.

Geary pitched the eighth, giving up a rare run - the Cards' only chance of the game. Cooper brought in Valverde in the nonsave situation to pitch the ninth - the big guy needed some exercise. He faced the heart of the St Louis order, starting with Pujols, and mowed them down 1-2-3, striking out the side. His ERA is now at a season low 3.60 - he has only given up runs in one game since April 17, when Bad Papa made his last appearance and was replaced by Good Papa.

I watched this Friday night game late Saturday night after the Sabbath.

Sad for Dad: In other Astros news, Cruz Jr finally ran out of chances as the Astros released him. His dollar-and-change batting average was simply untenable with the current offensive slump. The Astros brought up Richie Abercrombie to fill the roster spot.

GAME 61 - June 5: Let's Just Go Home...

Pittsburgh 4, Houston 3

Quote of the Day: "There's no place like home. There's no place like home." (Dorothy, in the Wizard of Oz)

I'll start with the good news: The Astros broke through their self-imposed Two Run Limit, and put three runs on the scoreboard in the first two innings!

Unfortunately, that's it for good news, as the Astros managed to drop their 7th game out of the last 8, sliding precipitously close to the .500 mark, and finishing the road trip with a third blown series. It's definitely time to go home.

Backe had a lousy first inning, giving up a single and a walk before allowing a 2-out home run. The Astros scored for him in the top of the first, when Pence (hitting leadoff) doubled, and Berkman knocked him in with a single. Backe helped to tie it up in the top of the second, when Wigginton and Ausmus singled, and then Backe hit an RBI single to score one run. Pence followed with a sac fly to score the second one. But having expended all that offensive effort, the Astros were done for the night. Backe did manage to hold on to the tie until the fifth inning. He got the first two quick outs, before allowing an infield single. Then a long fly ball to center - which probably should have been caught - got away from Cruz Jr, and ended up an RBI triple. Backe made it through the sixth, and Sampson and Brocail followed with perfect innings. But the game ended in the ninth with two Astros on base. Close, but no cigar.

After the game, the Astros announced that Towles was going to Round Rock to work out the kinks in his batting game, and that Quintero would be joining the team on their return home to Houston. The plan is for Ausmus - who signed on this year to be kind of a player/coach for his replacement - to be the everyday catcher, with Q backing him up.

In related news, the Astros first round draft pick today was Stanford University catcher Jason Castro. I'm guessing that pitchers will be high on the list for other picks, since they have gutted the farm in trades. Meanwhile, let's see how well they do at actually signing these guys.

GAME 60 - June 4: Lights Out

Pittsburgh 5, Houston 2

Quote of the Day: "Call this loss uninspired." (Alyson Footer, convincing me not to bother watching this game)

The lights were out for this game, all right, but it wasn't from Roy O's pitching. It was the huge vicious storm that raced through the Washington Metro area around 3 PM, which knocked out the power to a good part of the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. My whole neighborhood was dark, as a couple of follow-up squalls dumped more rain on us. I spent the evening on the living room couch, playing Twist It on my computer by candle light, instead of watching the ballgame, since we lost our Internet connection along with everything else. Every few minutes I refreshed the browser screen on my Blackberry to get an update on the game, so I could track the progress as Roy O had another short and unproductive start, and the batting order failed to back him up with any support.

Old friend Chammo did the damage in this game, hitting in 3 of the Pirates' 5 runs. The Astros first run scored on Wiggington's solo homer to lead off the third inning. The second came in the sixth, when Tejada walked, stole second, and scored on Lee's single.

Alyson Footer described the Astros' play in this game as "uninspired," kind of like the very small crowd that came to see it on a night when the hockey finals were being played in town. She used the word "sluggish," too, describing not only the paltry offense, but also sloppy defensive play including a pair of errors by Berkman and Wiggington. Oswalt only lasted 6 innings in his 6th loss of the season, giving up 3 runs on 9 hits, a walk, and 4 strikeouts. Not lights out - like the Washington area - but not terrible. And not unsurmountable either - unless of course, your team cannot score more than 2 runs. And that seems to be the recent rule: In the last week, the Astros have scored 2 runs in 3 of the games, and only 1 run in 4 of them, losing 6 of 7 in the process.

Words like "uninspired" and "sluggish" didn't exactly make me want to run home from work to watch this game on the MLB.tv archive. I'm writing it up from the stats and recaps, and let's just leave it at that.

GAME 59 - June 3: Wandy Pitches a Gem

Houston 2, Pittsburgh 0

Word for the Day: Gem. Something that is valued for its beauty or perfection.

I always wanted to say that: Wandy pitched a gem. It's such an Alyson Footer line! Derivative or not, it's true. Wandy pitched his best game of the season, and - breaking tradition - he did it on the road, no less. If the Astros can seem to figure out how to score more than a run or two, there's only way to win - don't let the other guys score. That's just what Wandy did, with a little help from his friends in the bullpen: Six innings, 5 hits, 1 walk, and 3 strikeouts for Wandy, followed by perfect innings from Sampson, Brocail, and Valverde.

I could try to put a nice spin on the Astros' 2 run total. Hey, it's twice what they scored in any of their preceding three games! Check out Matsui - he went 4 for 4 and scored both of the Astros' runs! The first run scored in the first inning, when Matsui singled, and Berkman hit a double to score him. Tejada did the honors in the 6th, scoring Matsui with his double. But that was all that they managed off their 10 hits and 6 walks. The runners were spaced out over the innings, and two were lost on failed attepts to steal (Matsui and Pence), thanks to the good arms of the Pirates' substitute catcher - our good ol' friend "Chammo" Chavez.

I'm not going to dwell on the continuing offensive slump, when it's really a night to celebrate Wandy's terrific return from the DL - much better than his first game back. Hopefully, that performance will be reproduced many times over the rest of the season - the Astros can use all the help they can get in the starting rotation! But the batting order needs to double their run production a couple more times to be back in contention.

GAMES 56-58 - May 30 - June 1: Can You Count to One?

Friday, May 30: Milwaukee 5, Houston 1
Saturday, May 31: Milwaukee 4, Houston 1
Sunday, June 1: Milwaukee 10, Houston 1

Word for the Day: Free fall. Rapid uncontrolled decline.

After spending most of the month of May as the hottest team in baseball, the Astros suddenly and precipitously changed direction. Just a week or so ago, the Astros were easily scoring 6 or 7 runs in a game, but suddenly anything more than 1 seems like a challenge. Home runs galore - now a thing of the past. That style of run production does not go well with this season's Astros starting rotation. It just adds up to a lot of losses - 5 in a row, with a grand total of 6 Astros runs between them. From second place and just a game or so out of the NL Central lead, losing a series to the Cards and a sweep by the Brewers has sunk the Astros to 6 1/2 games out. It doesn't help at all that the Cubbies are on a 7-game winning streak.

All the games in this series in Milwaukee were pretty much one-size-fits-all: The Brewers got some runs early off the Astros starter, while the Astros got 1 run - and lost. The only really distinguishing game was the last one: The Brewers got a lot of runs.

Friday night, Backe had a poor start. Two Milwaukee home runs in the first inning were a harbinger of what was to come; he gave up all 5 of the Brewers' runs in his 5 innings. Villareal, Sampson (now in the bullpen), and Wright combined for 3 scoreless innings in relief. But the Astros only scored one run - when Pence doubled in the second inning, and scored on Towles' single. The Astros got 7 hits, including 2 by Berkman, but couldn't piece together another run.

Saturday night, Moehler kept the Brewers off the board for the first 4 innings, before giving up 3 runs in the fifth, including a 2-run homer to Prince Fielder. Villareal gave up a lead-off home run in the sixth, but after that, he combined with Brocail and Valverde for 3 shutout innings. But again, the Astros only scored a single run, in the third, when Wiggington doubled and scored on Erstad's single. Brewers starter Ben Sheets just shut them down; he came within one batter of a complete game. To add insult to injury, Houston runners were caught stealing three times. (Bourn had the night off.)

On the bright side, the Astros pitchers only gave up one walk in each of these games - that at least should have made Cooper happy.

It was a very different situation on Sunday, when a bit of a bad umpiring snowballed into a major mess. The Astros got their 1 run in this game right away in the first inning, when Loretta (subbing for Matsui) hit a home run. Chacon - the Astros most reliable pitcher, despite his string of no-decisions - started out fine. He quickly struck out the first two Brewers hitters. But then things started to fall apart: Chacon hit Ryan Braun with a pitch; his subsequent throwing error on a pickoff attempt put Braun on second. He walked Fielder. Then on a 3-2 count, Corey Hart hit what appeared to be a simple ground ball, which was thrown to Berkman for the third out. That's what Berkman thought, as he turned to walk to the dugout, and that's what the replays looked like too. (Even the Brewers' TV guys agreed.) But the ump called the runner at first safe, and with no throw to the plate, Braun scored easily from second to tie the game. Chacon went 3-2 on the next batter before walking him to load the bases. He hit the next batter with a pitch, forcing in what would turn out to be the winning run of the game. Then Craig Counsel hit a 2-RBI double, giving the Brewers a 4-1 lead after one inning.

Chacon didn't make it back into the game; Cooper took him out after that first inning. With 8 innings of long relief to go, Cooper went to a non-rotation starter, Jack Cassell, to continue the game. Cassell looked fine for an inning or two, before he too had a melt-down: He started the fourth by hitting the first batter, then gave up 3 more runs on a triple and a home run. Perhaps he was over-anxious with Fielder at the plate - he misplayed his ground ball and gave away the base. He struck out the next batter, but then gave up another home run. One single later, Cooper pulled him out. Wright came in and gave up a single and a pair of walks, scoring a runner, before getting out of the inning. Six more runs scored - all charged to Cassell. Astros down, 10-1, after 5. Byrdak and Sampson each pitched 2 very nice - and scoreless - innings to staunch the bleeding and end the game without any further embarrassment.

Oh, did I mention, that the Brewers gave 4 of their starters the day off, and were playing their bench?

Well, I always try to find something to like about the Astros - a bit of a challenge when your team just got swept, and is 1-5 on the current road trip. How about this: They weren't shut out in any of the losses. (I should probably not even mention that - I'll probably jinx them for tomorrow!) Seriously, the one bright spot in this dismal road trip has been the relief pitching - the bullpen has been excellent in the last three innings of these games. That includes Chris Sampson, who seems to have made the transition from the rotation to the bullpen pretty well.

But what about the hitting, which has suddenly gone AWOL? "Fickle," says Lance Berkman, who managed to get on base - and be stranded - in each of these games. Fickle indeed.

The Astros get a day off tomorrow to recover their former offensive glory, then they are off to Pittsburgh. Cassell won't be going with them; after the game he was sent down to Round Rock. This wasn't punishment for his performance - they were just making room for Geary to come back off the DL.

The Cubs and the Cards are off to play San Diego and Washington respectively - two of the three worst teams in the National League. So don't look for any help there.