GAME 95 - July 13: And I Was There!

Houston 5, Washington 0

Quote of the Day: "I would just love be able to be the everyday player -- diving catches, running into the wall, getting dirty. I'm just sad I didn't get to slide today." (Backe)

If I am only going to get to see the Astros play one regular season game in person this year, this one was a good one to go to. My son Josh sent me a pair of terrific tickets, up the first base line, field level, as a birthday gift. Then - the best part of the birthday gift - he came down from New York for the day, just to go to the ball game with me. So before I say anything about the game itself, I have to say a huge

THANK YOU, JOSH!!!

On to the game. Cut to the chase: The Astros won, for a series win. Okay, it was over the Nationals, but hey, I'll take 2 out of 3 over the hapless Nats over being swept by the Yankees. The sight of Pence and Bourn in a flying high-five after the last out was irresistible. There hasn't been much opportunity to see the Astros looking like they are having a blast out there for long time - not since May.

The hero of the game was Brandon Backe, who pretty much did everything a pitcher can do to win a game: He threw seven full shutout innings giving up 5 hits, 4 walks, and striking out 5. And just to make sure that the Astros would get some runs, he did some nice work at the plate too: He went 2 for 3, wiht a double and a single, and scored both times. He finished the game with his batting average up to .345, second on the team behind Berkman.

The Astros got the offense going early. The first two batters, Erstad and Matsui, singled, but were not able to score. Houston got on the scoreboard in the second with Wiggington's solo homer (#8). Backe doubled to lead off the fourth, and scored on Berkman's two-out RBI single. Berkman stole second - he took the catcher totally by surprise, and there was no throw. He then scored on Lee's single, making it 3-0. The Astros threatened again in the fourth: Wiggington walked, and Pence doubled to put runners on second and third with no outs, but they were unable to score.

Backe was up first in the seventh inning, but with his game (and his batting) going so well, there wasn't any thought of pulling him. He led off the inning with a single. Erstad bunted him to second. (Now that's unusual - lead off batters doing sac bunts to move the pitcher over!) Matsui grounded out - two down. With first base open, there was no reason to pitch to Berkman - they intentionally walked him. Well, perhaps there's one reason not to walk Berkman: Lee - he's currently second in the league in RBIs. Backe and Berkman moved up a base on a wild pitch. That set them both up to score on Lee's single, giving him 3 RBIs for the game. Astros lead, 5-to-zip.

Coop pulled Backe after he walked the leadoff batter in the eighth. I was surprised to see Sampson brought in to relieve, since he had pitched 1 2/3 innings the night before. But he was lights out: He induced a ground ball for the double play, then facing Guzman, the Nats' All Star Game representative, got another ground ball to end the inning. He pitched a 1-2-3 ninth.

I was also surprised - happily so - to see Berkman and Tejada playing in this game. With both of them off to New York for the All Star Game, I would not have really been surprised if they had the day off. Perhaps Cooper just really, really wanted to end the first "half" of the season with a series win. Or, more likely, Berkman and Tejada didn't want a day off - Tejada never does.

The only thing that wasn't just about perfect about this game was the temperature - close to 90 degrees, and brutal sun for this afternoon game. That's not global warming; it's normal July in Washington. I hope the Astros come here in May in 2009! Anyway, being at the game with my son more than made up for the heat!

Next stop: Berkman and Tejada in the All Star Game. And then, on to the second half...