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.