Arizona 8, Houston 7
Quote of the Day: "We can't get the stinking pitcher out, we're in trouble." (Cecil Cooper, on the D-back's pitcher's game-tying home run)
Coop was steamed for good reason. This was a really crappy loss. When I checked the scoreboard from my office this afternoon, I saw that the Astros already had six runs in the second inning -- off of Randy Johnson, no less! I was already anticipating coming home tonight and watching the Astros' big blowout series-winning game against the best team in the National League. Instead, Houston managed to give up a run here and a run there, finally losing the lead on a two-run home run hit by -- you guessed it -- the opposing pitcher. To be fair, this pitcher - Micah Owings - is hitting over .400. But it's not like that was a surprise to the Astros. Ausmus went over the plan for how to pitch to him before the game. It just didn't quite work out according to plan - Borkowski's first pitch to him in the sixth inning was a hanging slider that ended up in the stands in right field. Oh yeah, it was an opposite field home run. Geez.
There were, of course, some good things in the game. Ausmus went 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles. Lee hit a 3-run homer (#6). Tejada got two more hits. Pence was back in right field after a short stay on the bench - he had a pair of hits. Hopefully, he'll go back on a batting tear now that he's had a little time to patch up his swing. Qualls pitched a perfect 7th inning, maintaining his 0.00 season ERA. Whoops! Forgot for a moment that he's not one of ours anymore. (Wah!)
Good things notwithstanding, I'm not going to watch this game on the mlb.tv archive. Not even the first two glorious innings, when it looked like the Astros were headed for a big win. It's too much of a bummer. I'm with Coop - this was "by far, by far" the worst loss of the season. The Astros have lost games by much bigger scores, but they just plain shouldn't have lost this one at all.
In other news, Cassel was sent back down to Round Rock to make room for the return of Wiggington and Wandy from DL in the next day or two. And yesterday's D-back rookie sensation, Max Scherzer, is now in the Arizona rotation.
April is over. After the first sixth of the season, the Astros have a 13-16 record, three games under .500. They are in 4th place (better than two other teams!) in the NL Central, 5 games behind the Cards. The Astros spent exactly one day of the first month of the season at .500, before dipping back into a losing record. Oh well, April showers. I am predicting big improvements to come, along with the flowers, in May.
Coming up: A home stand! Milwaukee is coming to Houston for a weekend series.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
GAME 28 - April 29: Rattlesnake - Tastes Just Like Chicken
Houston 6, Arizona 4
Quote of the Day: "In the bullpen they told me, 'You have to focus on these guys and strike out everybody.' I was just doing my job." (Valverde, on beating his old team by striking out the side)
Happily the Astros did not lose this game by one run. Otherwise, the ump's bad call on JR Towles' home run in the third inning might have hurt more than the young catc
her's stats. The ball hit over the yellow line and then bounced back on the field, where the umpire called it in play; Towles got a double for his efforts.
Even more happily, it didn't matter because the Astros won the game. After getting used to success in their six-game winning streak, the Astros must have found three consecutive losses to be a serious bummer. Beating the D-Backs - the team with the best record in the league - was a nice turn.
So many things to like in this game, starting with timely hitting. The Astros got off to a fast start, scoring their first two runs in the first inning on Tejada's RBI double, followed by Lee's single. Cassel (still subbing for Wandy) gave it back in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer, to tie the game 2-2. The big inning for the Astros came in the third: With one out, Tejada singled, then Berkman hit a ground ball that was misplayed - everybody safe. Lee walked to load the bases, which Blum cleared with a double to left. Cruz struck out for the second out. And then came Towles' ill-fated home run, which went into the scorecard as an RBI double. Cassel struck out, leaving Towles stranded. Still, it was a four-run inning, giving the Astros a 6-2 lead.
I rarely get excited about anything wonderful that the opposing team does, but this game was an exception. There was something quite notable about Cassel's strikeout in the third: He was the first batter thrown to by a just-hatched rookie pitcher named Max Scherzer. Never heard of him? He just came up from Triple A and this was his Major League debut, in long relief for starting pitcher Edgar Gonzales, who couldn't make it through the third inning. When the announcers said that the new pitcher was a rookie, my first thought was: Oh good, Astros have a chance for a big blowout. That thought didn't last long, as Scherzer stayed in the game another four innings, and did not allow a single Astro to reach base. Thirteen up, thirteen down - seven of them on strikeouts, as Scherzer threw 96-to-99 MPH fastballs right past them. This could turn out to be a fluke, but on the other hand - who knows? - we might have been watching a historic debut of a future star.
Back to more traditional things to like about this game. Has anyone noticed that Valverde has stopped being
a complete loser and is looking more like a closer? He was certainly psyched for this game - against the team that he played for last year, when he led the league in saves. Coming in with a 2-run lead to protect, he actually looked ferocious out on the mound - and his pitching was awesome. It wasn't 1-2-3; he allowed a one-out double just to make it interesting. But the other three batters in the ninth didn't find anything hittable as Valverde followed orders from his fellow relievers - he struck out the side. This was the rare case where I actually enjoyed the opposing team's broadcast of the game: The Arizona broadcast team, who know Valverde so well from previous years, went on and on about what a wonderful kid he is. After the vicious skewering that Valverde received in the Houston Chronicle - from both the writing staff and the so-called fans ranting on the blogs - it was really nice to hear someone talk about what a great guy Valverde is. Meanwhile, after his truly gruesome start to the season, Valverde has an ERA of 0.00 in his last 5 appearances - not lights out but certainly closerly. His ERA has dropped from over 12 to under 7. Still a way to go, but definitely in the right direction.
More good fielding -- Cassel can thank the infielders for saving him from worse than the 5 ERs he gave up. Two more double plays, no errors. Houston still only has 9 errors for the whole season. (Compare that to Pittsburgh's league leading 29!) Meanwhile, the Astros 29 season double plays is third in the league.
What's not to like: Pence, who has returned to struggling at the plate, was benched for this game. Cruz Jr played in his place - but his BA is the worst on the team for a position player - well under .100! Towles and Bourn are both hovering around .200. While the big guys have turned around much of their early-season batting woes, some of the younger players are still struggling at the plate. I am still thinking that with the pitching better than expected, plus the phenomenal fielding, when these guys start to add some hits and runs, this team is going to be good.
Fashion Statement: The Astros wore the rarely-used grey road unis for this game. They had to, since the D-backs wear red jerseys on Tuesday home games. It was very confusing; I kept getting confused about who was batting, seeing those red shirts at the plate. A couple of times I accidentally cheered for the wrong team.
Quote of the Day: "In the bullpen they told me, 'You have to focus on these guys and strike out everybody.' I was just doing my job." (Valverde, on beating his old team by striking out the side)
Happily the Astros did not lose this game by one run. Otherwise, the ump's bad call on JR Towles' home run in the third inning might have hurt more than the young catc
her's stats. The ball hit over the yellow line and then bounced back on the field, where the umpire called it in play; Towles got a double for his efforts.Even more happily, it didn't matter because the Astros won the game. After getting used to success in their six-game winning streak, the Astros must have found three consecutive losses to be a serious bummer. Beating the D-Backs - the team with the best record in the league - was a nice turn.
So many things to like in this game, starting with timely hitting. The Astros got off to a fast start, scoring their first two runs in the first inning on Tejada's RBI double, followed by Lee's single. Cassel (still subbing for Wandy) gave it back in the bottom of the inning on a two-run homer, to tie the game 2-2. The big inning for the Astros came in the third: With one out, Tejada singled, then Berkman hit a ground ball that was misplayed - everybody safe. Lee walked to load the bases, which Blum cleared with a double to left. Cruz struck out for the second out. And then came Towles' ill-fated home run, which went into the scorecard as an RBI double. Cassel struck out, leaving Towles stranded. Still, it was a four-run inning, giving the Astros a 6-2 lead.
I rarely get excited about anything wonderful that the opposing team does, but this game was an exception. There was something quite notable about Cassel's strikeout in the third: He was the first batter thrown to by a just-hatched rookie pitcher named Max Scherzer. Never heard of him? He just came up from Triple A and this was his Major League debut, in long relief for starting pitcher Edgar Gonzales, who couldn't make it through the third inning. When the announcers said that the new pitcher was a rookie, my first thought was: Oh good, Astros have a chance for a big blowout. That thought didn't last long, as Scherzer stayed in the game another four innings, and did not allow a single Astro to reach base. Thirteen up, thirteen down - seven of them on strikeouts, as Scherzer threw 96-to-99 MPH fastballs right past them. This could turn out to be a fluke, but on the other hand - who knows? - we might have been watching a historic debut of a future star.
Back to more traditional things to like about this game. Has anyone noticed that Valverde has stopped being
a complete loser and is looking more like a closer? He was certainly psyched for this game - against the team that he played for last year, when he led the league in saves. Coming in with a 2-run lead to protect, he actually looked ferocious out on the mound - and his pitching was awesome. It wasn't 1-2-3; he allowed a one-out double just to make it interesting. But the other three batters in the ninth didn't find anything hittable as Valverde followed orders from his fellow relievers - he struck out the side. This was the rare case where I actually enjoyed the opposing team's broadcast of the game: The Arizona broadcast team, who know Valverde so well from previous years, went on and on about what a wonderful kid he is. After the vicious skewering that Valverde received in the Houston Chronicle - from both the writing staff and the so-called fans ranting on the blogs - it was really nice to hear someone talk about what a great guy Valverde is. Meanwhile, after his truly gruesome start to the season, Valverde has an ERA of 0.00 in his last 5 appearances - not lights out but certainly closerly. His ERA has dropped from over 12 to under 7. Still a way to go, but definitely in the right direction.More good fielding -- Cassel can thank the infielders for saving him from worse than the 5 ERs he gave up. Two more double plays, no errors. Houston still only has 9 errors for the whole season. (Compare that to Pittsburgh's league leading 29!) Meanwhile, the Astros 29 season double plays is third in the league.
What's not to like: Pence, who has returned to struggling at the plate, was benched for this game. Cruz Jr played in his place - but his BA is the worst on the team for a position player - well under .100! Towles and Bourn are both hovering around .200. While the big guys have turned around much of their early-season batting woes, some of the younger players are still struggling at the plate. I am still thinking that with the pitching better than expected, plus the phenomenal fielding, when these guys start to add some hits and runs, this team is going to be good.
Fashion Statement: The Astros wore the rarely-used grey road unis for this game. They had to, since the D-backs wear red jerseys on Tuesday home games. It was very confusing; I kept getting confused about who was batting, seeing those red shirts at the plate. A couple of times I accidentally cheered for the wrong team.
GAME 27 - April 28: Well, it was nice to see Qualls again...
Arizona 5, Houston 3
Quote of the Day: "I think they have a real good team over there [in Houston]. They've got some good players. Hopefully, they start playing well again after they leave here." (Diamondback player, Chris Burke, on rooting for the Astros)
After a break of three days without baseball, it was good to come home to a ballgame. It would have been better without the D-backs' Dan Haren setting down batter after batter. The Astros didn't even get their first baserunner until the 5th inning, as Haren set down the first 12 batters. Meanwhile, the Snakes put up 4 runs off of Chris Sampson.
It actually looked kind of hopeful in the 5th. Berkman walked, and Lee doubled. Pence grounded out, but Berkman scored on the play. Loretta singled to score Lee, making it 4-2. Then Towles was hit by a pitch and Sampson reached on a bunt single to load the bases with one out and the top of the lineup coming up. But Matsui popped out and Bourn struck out, and the inning was over.
The Astros had another good opportunity for a comeback in the 8th - with 2 outs, back to back doubles by Bourn and Tejada brought in another run, making it 5-3. At that point, the D-Backs went with a very familiar reliever to pitch to Berkman -- Chad Qualls. I always liked Qualls and was sorry that the Astros traded him, but under the circumstances, I was hoping for one of those whoops! moments when Qualls gives up a home run. Who better than Berkman - just names as last week's NL Player of the Week? He struck out. The 'Stros went down 1-2-3 without a peep in the 9th, for their third loss in a row.
I can't claim to have really enjoyed the loss, but like I've said before, there's always something to like. In this game it was the Astros relief pitching. Sampson only lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits, 2 BBs, and no Ks. Borkowski came in with one out and runners on first and second, and quickly finished off the next two batters to end the inning. He then pitched a perfect sixth.In 1 2/3 innings, he faced 5 batters and struck out 4 of them. Villareal pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Geary got in trouble in the eighth - he walked the first three batters. Cooper pulled him and brought in the Wright Lefty with the bases loaded and no outs. Wright struck out the next batter, then induced a double play to end the threat. Cool. Nervy kid.
It was nice to see Qualls, and Burke was in the dugout too. I guess this will be a recurring theme this year as the Astros face the teams that have their ex-players.
The Arizona FSN broadcasters called Berkman "Fat Elvis," and said he liked being called that.
Quote of the Day: "I think they have a real good team over there [in Houston]. They've got some good players. Hopefully, they start playing well again after they leave here." (Diamondback player, Chris Burke, on rooting for the Astros)
After a break of three days without baseball, it was good to come home to a ballgame. It would have been better without the D-backs' Dan Haren setting down batter after batter. The Astros didn't even get their first baserunner until the 5th inning, as Haren set down the first 12 batters. Meanwhile, the Snakes put up 4 runs off of Chris Sampson.
It actually looked kind of hopeful in the 5th. Berkman walked, and Lee doubled. Pence grounded out, but Berkman scored on the play. Loretta singled to score Lee, making it 4-2. Then Towles was hit by a pitch and Sampson reached on a bunt single to load the bases with one out and the top of the lineup coming up. But Matsui popped out and Bourn struck out, and the inning was over.
The Astros had another good opportunity for a comeback in the 8th - with 2 outs, back to back doubles by Bourn and Tejada brought in another run, making it 5-3. At that point, the D-Backs went with a very familiar reliever to pitch to Berkman -- Chad Qualls. I always liked Qualls and was sorry that the Astros traded him, but under the circumstances, I was hoping for one of those whoops! moments when Qualls gives up a home run. Who better than Berkman - just names as last week's NL Player of the Week? He struck out. The 'Stros went down 1-2-3 without a peep in the 9th, for their third loss in a row.
I can't claim to have really enjoyed the loss, but like I've said before, there's always something to like. In this game it was the Astros relief pitching. Sampson only lasted 4 1/3 innings, giving up 5 runs on 7 hits, 2 BBs, and no Ks. Borkowski came in with one out and runners on first and second, and quickly finished off the next two batters to end the inning. He then pitched a perfect sixth.In 1 2/3 innings, he faced 5 batters and struck out 4 of them. Villareal pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Geary got in trouble in the eighth - he walked the first three batters. Cooper pulled him and brought in the Wright Lefty with the bases loaded and no outs. Wright struck out the next batter, then induced a double play to end the threat. Cool. Nervy kid.
It was nice to see Qualls, and Burke was in the dugout too. I guess this will be a recurring theme this year as the Astros face the teams that have their ex-players.
The Arizona FSN broadcasters called Berkman "Fat Elvis," and said he liked being called that.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
GAMES 24-26 - April 25-27: Passed Over, Again...
GAME 24: Houston 3, St Louis 2
GAME 25: St Louis 4, Houston 3
GAME 26: St Louis 5, Houston 1
Word for the Day: "WAH!"
After spending the weekend celebrating the end of Passover with even more cooking and eating and drinking and guests, I was really looking forward to going online tonight to find that the Astros had a big juicy win today. Something fun to watch on the mlb.tv archive while packing up all of my Passover stuff for another year. Unfortunately, it was a crummy loss; even after three baseball-free days I wasn't in the mood to watch it.
When I last saw the Astros, they were in the throes of a big scoring bonanza. Meanwhile, in my absence, they have gone back to their low-scoring ways - only managing 7 runs over the weekend. That was good for one win on Friday night - maybe I'll watch that one tonight at midnight.
One odd thing about these games: In previous years there has always been a very strong rivalry between the Astros and the Cards, but it's always been characterized by what appeared to be a respectful sportsmanship. That doesn't seem to be the case this season: Pujols roughed up Towles in the earlier series, and Backe exchanged some loud words with him as a result. Then in this series, there were two pitching incidents that caused the benches to clear, although nothing came to blows. Maybe it's just the new Astros, it's a very different team this year.
The Astros are off to Arizona for their next series. That means games that start at 9:40 PM my time, so I'll have won't have any excuses for not going to the gym on the way home from work. Time to pay the price for all that Passover food and wine.
GAME 25: St Louis 4, Houston 3
GAME 26: St Louis 5, Houston 1
Word for the Day: "WAH!"
After spending the weekend celebrating the end of Passover with even more cooking and eating and drinking and guests, I was really looking forward to going online tonight to find that the Astros had a big juicy win today. Something fun to watch on the mlb.tv archive while packing up all of my Passover stuff for another year. Unfortunately, it was a crummy loss; even after three baseball-free days I wasn't in the mood to watch it.
When I last saw the Astros, they were in the throes of a big scoring bonanza. Meanwhile, in my absence, they have gone back to their low-scoring ways - only managing 7 runs over the weekend. That was good for one win on Friday night - maybe I'll watch that one tonight at midnight.
One odd thing about these games: In previous years there has always been a very strong rivalry between the Astros and the Cards, but it's always been characterized by what appeared to be a respectful sportsmanship. That doesn't seem to be the case this season: Pujols roughed up Towles in the earlier series, and Backe exchanged some loud words with him as a result. Then in this series, there were two pitching incidents that caused the benches to clear, although nothing came to blows. Maybe it's just the new Astros, it's a very different team this year.
The Astros are off to Arizona for their next series. That means games that start at 9:40 PM my time, so I'll have won't have any excuses for not going to the gym on the way home from work. Time to pay the price for all that Passover food and wine.
Thursday, April 24, 2008
GAME 23 - April 24: Another Sweep!
Houston 5, Cincinnati 3
Quote of the Day: "Somebody's got to have the most. It might as well be me." (Berkman, on being the visiting player who has hit the most home runs in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park - 18)
It wasn't a double-digit blowout, but just half of that was enough to beat the Reds today to sweep the two-game series. That makes two swept series in a row for the Astros, as they logged their 5th consecutive win. With an 11-12 record, Houston is just one game away from .500 - and then on from there!
The star of the show was Lance Berkman, who has a long history of bedeviling the Reds in their own stadium. He went 3 for 3, walked, and stole a base, adding another 3 RBIs to his season total (20, tied for 3rd in the league). The fun began in the first inning, with a two-run homer, and continued with an RBI double in the fifth.
Jack Cassel, who we last saw back in Kissimmee, got his Astros pitching debut. He pitched a pretty nice game, th
rowing 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits, no walks, and a strikeout. I always like a pitcher who helps himself: His single in the second inning scored Towles. It was his first career RBI, and the first RBI by an Astros pitcher this season. The Reds runs were all scored in the first two innings, after that Cassel settled down and froze them out. The Astros hitters were kind - they scored 2 runs in the top of the fifth, so Cassel left the game with a 5-3 lead. Then the poor maligned bullpen came in - and rocked! Byrdak pitched a scoreless 7th, picking off the only runner who got aboard. Brocail, coming back from his dreadful relief appearance on Tuesday, pitched a perfect eighth. Valverde - usually a pretty scary proposition with a close game on the line - knocked down the heart of the Reds' order 1-2-3, finishing up the game with a pair of strikeouts.
Pence is coming back from his horrible start in a big way. He was 2 for 4 in this game, with a double (#7). He extended his hitting streak to 7 games, over which he has raised his batting average from .161 to .268.
I watched this day game late Thursday night. It's going to be a baseball-free weekend for me, as I will be shutting down my computer for the Sabbath and the end of the Passover holiday. We don't subscribe to a newspaper, so I won't even find out how the Astros did until I get back online Sunday night, after the holiday ends. I wonder if I can stay up and watch all three missed games Sunday night?
Quote of the Day: "Somebody's got to have the most. It might as well be me." (Berkman, on being the visiting player who has hit the most home runs in Cincinnati's Great American Ball Park - 18)
It wasn't a double-digit blowout, but just half of that was enough to beat the Reds today to sweep the two-game series. That makes two swept series in a row for the Astros, as they logged their 5th consecutive win. With an 11-12 record, Houston is just one game away from .500 - and then on from there!
The star of the show was Lance Berkman, who has a long history of bedeviling the Reds in their own stadium. He went 3 for 3, walked, and stole a base, adding another 3 RBIs to his season total (20, tied for 3rd in the league). The fun began in the first inning, with a two-run homer, and continued with an RBI double in the fifth.
Jack Cassel, who we last saw back in Kissimmee, got his Astros pitching debut. He pitched a pretty nice game, th
rowing 5 innings, giving up 3 runs on 7 hits, no walks, and a strikeout. I always like a pitcher who helps himself: His single in the second inning scored Towles. It was his first career RBI, and the first RBI by an Astros pitcher this season. The Reds runs were all scored in the first two innings, after that Cassel settled down and froze them out. The Astros hitters were kind - they scored 2 runs in the top of the fifth, so Cassel left the game with a 5-3 lead. Then the poor maligned bullpen came in - and rocked! Byrdak pitched a scoreless 7th, picking off the only runner who got aboard. Brocail, coming back from his dreadful relief appearance on Tuesday, pitched a perfect eighth. Valverde - usually a pretty scary proposition with a close game on the line - knocked down the heart of the Reds' order 1-2-3, finishing up the game with a pair of strikeouts.Pence is coming back from his horrible start in a big way. He was 2 for 4 in this game, with a double (#7). He extended his hitting streak to 7 games, over which he has raised his batting average from .161 to .268.
I watched this day game late Thursday night. It's going to be a baseball-free weekend for me, as I will be shutting down my computer for the Sabbath and the end of the Passover holiday. We don't subscribe to a newspaper, so I won't even find out how the Astros did until I get back online Sunday night, after the holiday ends. I wonder if I can stay up and watch all three missed games Sunday night?
Wednesday, April 23, 2008
GAME 22 - April 23: The Slugfest Continues...
Houston 9, Cincinnati 3
Word for the Day: Contagious. Exciting similar emotions or conduct in others.
"Right now, it's contagious," said Cecil Cooper after the the Astros' fourth win in a row, referring to the sudden spate of hitting and scoring. It seems like nearly every guy in the lineup has suddenly gone from batting two-something to three-something, or close. Multi-hit games are the norm for players that were going oh-fer just a week ago. Pence has added about 100 points to his BA, and nobody wants to hear about Tejada's birthday hijinks.
The Reds got off to an early lead on Ken Griffey Jr's first-inning home run. But there they sat for most of the game, while the Astros came back in the top of the second to take a 2-1 lead on back-to-back doubles by Lee and Pence, followed by Loretta's RBI single.
But it was the 4th inning that did in the Reds. Bronson Arroyo - who historically has bad luck against the Astros - got in and out of trouble to start the inning. He walked Pence, then gave up a double to Loretta to put runners on second and third with no outs. Then, he struck out Towles and Sampson, and looked to be getting out of trouble. The Old Astros (last week) would have just folded at that point. But the New Astros came back with a vengeance: six consecutive 2-out hits, scoring 7 runs. Matsui singled, scoring Pence and Loretta. Erstad singled, moving Matsui around. Tejada singled, scoring Matsui; then Berkman singled to score Erstad. That was it for Arroyo, but his replacement gave up a double to Lee and an infield single to Pence, allowing 3 more runs to come in. At 9-1, things were looking good for Sampson to get his first win of the season.
Sampson pitched through seven innings, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits, 1 BB, and 6 Ks. Quite an improvement over the two-thirds of an inning that he lasted in his previous start. Wright pitched a scoreless eighth, and Geary - after a leadoff solo homer to Encarnacion - ended the game without further Reds runs. Final score: 9-3. While not quite double-digits, a very respectable offensive display from a bunch of guys who couldn't seem to score a run in the first couple of weeks of the season.
Every one of the starters, except for Sampson, got at least one hit. Pence went 3 for 4 with a double, two singles, a walk, and a pair of RBIs. Erstad was 3 for 5. Lee got a pair of doubles, scoring twice. On the fielding side, there were two more double plays. Matsui misplayed a grounder for an error - but the Astros still have the fewest in the league.
Hey, take a look at the standings: The Astros moved up a notch. There are now two teams below the Astros in the NL Central. This is not a bad team, no matter what those yahoos (who pretend to be fans) rant and rave on the Chron.com blogs.
Word for the Day: Contagious. Exciting similar emotions or conduct in others.
"Right now, it's contagious," said Cecil Cooper after the the Astros' fourth win in a row, referring to the sudden spate of hitting and scoring. It seems like nearly every guy in the lineup has suddenly gone from batting two-something to three-something, or close. Multi-hit games are the norm for players that were going oh-fer just a week ago. Pence has added about 100 points to his BA, and nobody wants to hear about Tejada's birthday hijinks.
The Reds got off to an early lead on Ken Griffey Jr's first-inning home run. But there they sat for most of the game, while the Astros came back in the top of the second to take a 2-1 lead on back-to-back doubles by Lee and Pence, followed by Loretta's RBI single.
But it was the 4th inning that did in the Reds. Bronson Arroyo - who historically has bad luck against the Astros - got in and out of trouble to start the inning. He walked Pence, then gave up a double to Loretta to put runners on second and third with no outs. Then, he struck out Towles and Sampson, and looked to be getting out of trouble. The Old Astros (last week) would have just folded at that point. But the New Astros came back with a vengeance: six consecutive 2-out hits, scoring 7 runs. Matsui singled, scoring Pence and Loretta. Erstad singled, moving Matsui around. Tejada singled, scoring Matsui; then Berkman singled to score Erstad. That was it for Arroyo, but his replacement gave up a double to Lee and an infield single to Pence, allowing 3 more runs to come in. At 9-1, things were looking good for Sampson to get his first win of the season.
Sampson pitched through seven innings, giving up 2 runs on 8 hits, 1 BB, and 6 Ks. Quite an improvement over the two-thirds of an inning that he lasted in his previous start. Wright pitched a scoreless eighth, and Geary - after a leadoff solo homer to Encarnacion - ended the game without further Reds runs. Final score: 9-3. While not quite double-digits, a very respectable offensive display from a bunch of guys who couldn't seem to score a run in the first couple of weeks of the season.
Every one of the starters, except for Sampson, got at least one hit. Pence went 3 for 4 with a double, two singles, a walk, and a pair of RBIs. Erstad was 3 for 5. Lee got a pair of doubles, scoring twice. On the fielding side, there were two more double plays. Matsui misplayed a grounder for an error - but the Astros still have the fewest in the league.
Hey, take a look at the standings: The Astros moved up a notch. There are now two teams below the Astros in the NL Central. This is not a bad team, no matter what those yahoos (who pretend to be fans) rant and rave on the Chron.com blogs.
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
GAME 21 - April 22: Three in a Row
Houston 11, San Diego 7
Quote of the Day: "Count this one as one of those "ugly" wins." (Alyson Footer, Astros.com)
With all due respect to Alyson - who is probably my favorite non-fiction writer - this was not an "ugly" game. Granted, there were a few minutes of bona fide ugliness, as Brocail threw away Backe's nice start in the 8th. Backe had pitched 5 shutout innings before giving the Padres a 3-2 lead on a 3-run home run in the 6th. But he finished the inning, and went on to knock out the side in the 7th on 10 pitches. Meanwhile, the Astros scored 2 in the bottom of the 6th to regain the lead, and 3 more runs in the 7th to give Backe a comfortable 7-3 lead. With Brocail, who had been nearly lights out in his earlier relief appearances, coming in to pitch, it looked like a likely W for Backe. But Brocail allowed the first 4 Padres to hit for the cycle in the 8th - a single, double, homer, and triple, to make it a 1-run game.
I had to groan when I saw Valverde take the field, given his bad luck so far this season. He gave up a walk and then a sac fly that scored the runner on third to tie the game. Sorry, Backe.
But then the Astros came back in the bottom of the inning to earn all the runs back, and Valverde pitched a perfect ninth to get the win - his third of the season. He actually did look like a closer.
What did I say yesterday - if the big guys could all get hot at the plate at the same time, last night's double-digit game would not be an aberration? Tonight's game was a perfect illustration: Another 4 for 5 game for Tejada, pulling his BA up to .370. Berkman was on base 4 times, with a triple, a single, and two walks, breaking .300. Pence hit his first home run of the season, and Matsui, Erstad, and Blum all had multi-hit games. In all, a season-high 11 runs on a season-high 15 hits. All in all, it's hard to really say that was "ugly," especially when the Astros got their third win in a row.
Fashion Statement: The Astros wore green caps for Earth Day. Not a really great look; they kind of disappeared into the turf.
Quote of the Day: "Count this one as one of those "ugly" wins." (Alyson Footer, Astros.com)
With all due respect to Alyson - who is probably my favorite non-fiction writer - this was not an "ugly" game. Granted, there were a few minutes of bona fide ugliness, as Brocail threw away Backe's nice start in the 8th. Backe had pitched 5 shutout innings before giving the Padres a 3-2 lead on a 3-run home run in the 6th. But he finished the inning, and went on to knock out the side in the 7th on 10 pitches. Meanwhile, the Astros scored 2 in the bottom of the 6th to regain the lead, and 3 more runs in the 7th to give Backe a comfortable 7-3 lead. With Brocail, who had been nearly lights out in his earlier relief appearances, coming in to pitch, it looked like a likely W for Backe. But Brocail allowed the first 4 Padres to hit for the cycle in the 8th - a single, double, homer, and triple, to make it a 1-run game.
I had to groan when I saw Valverde take the field, given his bad luck so far this season. He gave up a walk and then a sac fly that scored the runner on third to tie the game. Sorry, Backe.
But then the Astros came back in the bottom of the inning to earn all the runs back, and Valverde pitched a perfect ninth to get the win - his third of the season. He actually did look like a closer.
What did I say yesterday - if the big guys could all get hot at the plate at the same time, last night's double-digit game would not be an aberration? Tonight's game was a perfect illustration: Another 4 for 5 game for Tejada, pulling his BA up to .370. Berkman was on base 4 times, with a triple, a single, and two walks, breaking .300. Pence hit his first home run of the season, and Matsui, Erstad, and Blum all had multi-hit games. In all, a season-high 11 runs on a season-high 15 hits. All in all, it's hard to really say that was "ugly," especially when the Astros got their third win in a row.
Fashion Statement: The Astros wore green caps for Earth Day. Not a really great look; they kind of disappeared into the turf.
GAME 20 - April 21: KAAAA-BOOOOOM!
Houston 10, San Diego 3
Word for the Day: Blowout: A lopsided victory or thorough defeat.
Finally the game we have all been waiting to see all season - the Astros' first double-digit blowout win! What's not to like about a game with ten Houston runs, thirteen hits, homers for Berkman and Tejada, two Bourn steals, and another Oswalt "W"?! The only possible complaint was missing the first inning, when the Astros scored half their runs; I couldn't turn on the computer until the second day of Passover ended at dark. Hey, really, I am not complaining!
The offense was the shining star of this game, with Tejada the brightest of all. Continuing his very hot home stand, he went 4 for 5, with a home run, a double, and a pair of singles, good for 3 RBI. Berkman hit a 3-run homer (#5) in the first inning, and Pence followed with an RBI double for his first of 2 hits of the game. Matsui also got 2 hits, and scored twice.
Staked to an early 5-0 lead, Oswalt pitched like the real Roy O, not like The Alien from the start of the season. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 BBs, and 6 Ks. The bullpen backed him up well: Tim Byrdak, just up from Round Rock, pitched a scoreless 8th, and Villareal followed to shut down the Padres in the 9th. All and all, a good game for the pitching staff.
At the same time, the team continued to do the other little things that are shaping this season: another game, another double play. No errors in this game; only 7 for the season, fewest in the league. Two more stolen bases for Bourn - he's leading the league now with 13. Lots of little things to like about this team.
But the best part of all was the hitting and scoring! It was so nice not to have to see a nailbiter for a change. A blowout! Finally a chance to see the Astros as the slugger team that they were predicted to be this season. (Even Oswalt got a hit!) Things are really starting to come around in the offense department. Tejada has been a monster this home stand. Pence, after a horrible season start, has gone 7 for 14 in the past 4 games. If Tejada, Berkman, Lee, and Pence can all get hot at the same time, this double-digit game won't be an aberration!
Meanwhile, guess who is not in last place in the NL Central!
Word for the Day: Blowout: A lopsided victory or thorough defeat.
Finally the game we have all been waiting to see all season - the Astros' first double-digit blowout win! What's not to like about a game with ten Houston runs, thirteen hits, homers for Berkman and Tejada, two Bourn steals, and another Oswalt "W"?! The only possible complaint was missing the first inning, when the Astros scored half their runs; I couldn't turn on the computer until the second day of Passover ended at dark. Hey, really, I am not complaining!
The offense was the shining star of this game, with Tejada the brightest of all. Continuing his very hot home stand, he went 4 for 5, with a home run, a double, and a pair of singles, good for 3 RBI. Berkman hit a 3-run homer (#5) in the first inning, and Pence followed with an RBI double for his first of 2 hits of the game. Matsui also got 2 hits, and scored twice.
Staked to an early 5-0 lead, Oswalt pitched like the real Roy O, not like The Alien from the start of the season. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 BBs, and 6 Ks. The bullpen backed him up well: Tim Byrdak, just up from Round Rock, pitched a scoreless 8th, and Villareal followed to shut down the Padres in the 9th. All and all, a good game for the pitching staff.
At the same time, the team continued to do the other little things that are shaping this season: another game, another double play. No errors in this game; only 7 for the season, fewest in the league. Two more stolen bases for Bourn - he's leading the league now with 13. Lots of little things to like about this team.
But the best part of all was the hitting and scoring! It was so nice not to have to see a nailbiter for a change. A blowout! Finally a chance to see the Astros as the slugger team that they were predicted to be this season. (Even Oswalt got a hit!) Things are really starting to come around in the offense department. Tejada has been a monster this home stand. Pence, after a horrible season start, has gone 7 for 14 in the past 4 games. If Tejada, Berkman, Lee, and Pence can all get hot at the same time, this double-digit game won't be an aberration!
Meanwhile, guess who is not in last place in the NL Central!
GAMES 17-19 - April 18-20: Passed Over...
GAME 17: Colorado 11, Houston 5
GAME 18: Colorado 3, Houston 2
GAME 19: Houston 6, Colorado 4
Word for the Day: Seder: Hebrew for "order," ceremonial dinner held on the first and second evenings of Passover in commemoration of the exodus from Egypt.
As is my custom, I passed over watching these Passover weekend games. And according to the box scores, I didn't miss much fun for the first two. I'll be back to update this blog entry after I've had a chance to take a look at the games on the mlb.tv archive.
GAME 18: Colorado 3, Houston 2
GAME 19: Houston 6, Colorado 4
Word for the Day: Seder: Hebrew for "order," ceremonial dinner held on the first and second evenings of Passover in commemoration of the exodus from Egypt.
As is my custom, I passed over watching these Passover weekend games. And according to the box scores, I didn't miss much fun for the first two. I'll be back to update this blog entry after I've had a chance to take a look at the games on the mlb.tv archive.
Friday, April 18, 2008
GAME 16 - April 17: Peeeeeeyooooo!
Philadelphia 10, Houston 2
Word for the Day: Stinker: Something of very low standard or quality.
Yup, it was a stinker all right. Houston pitchers gave up 10 runs, including 4 homers. Backe had his first really bad start, and Villareal and Valverde just did their usual. Blum made 2 errors - only one less than the whole team had coming into this game. Astros' batters forgot how to score, aside from solo home runs by Tejada and Lee.
While the Houston sportswriters are jumping all over the team, bemoaning impending gloom and doom, I'm going to just consider this game to be an anomaly. Backe is not going to pitch a gem every time he takes the mound, but he could very well have a really good year. Blum probably won't flub in the field in every game. Well, it may not be an anomaly for V & V, who are pretty consistently pitching poorly. But as for the rest, sometimes teams have a bad day, or a bad series - or even a bad start to the season (remember the 2005 Astros?).
There's still stuff to like. Today it was Bourn's 9th steal.
Since I will miss the next 4 games for Passover observance, I had gone into this game hoping for a big double-digit blowout. That's what it turned out to be - but for the wrong team. Unfortunately, I won't even be able to see the outcome of the next 4 games until Monday night, due to religious observance and a canceled subscription to the Washington Post. Let's hope for a really nice surprise, as the Astros go back to Houston for series against the Rockies and Padres.
Word for the Day: Stinker: Something of very low standard or quality.
Yup, it was a stinker all right. Houston pitchers gave up 10 runs, including 4 homers. Backe had his first really bad start, and Villareal and Valverde just did their usual. Blum made 2 errors - only one less than the whole team had coming into this game. Astros' batters forgot how to score, aside from solo home runs by Tejada and Lee.
While the Houston sportswriters are jumping all over the team, bemoaning impending gloom and doom, I'm going to just consider this game to be an anomaly. Backe is not going to pitch a gem every time he takes the mound, but he could very well have a really good year. Blum probably won't flub in the field in every game. Well, it may not be an anomaly for V & V, who are pretty consistently pitching poorly. But as for the rest, sometimes teams have a bad day, or a bad series - or even a bad start to the season (remember the 2005 Astros?).
There's still stuff to like. Today it was Bourn's 9th steal.
Since I will miss the next 4 games for Passover observance, I had gone into this game hoping for a big double-digit blowout. That's what it turned out to be - but for the wrong team. Unfortunately, I won't even be able to see the outcome of the next 4 games until Monday night, due to religious observance and a canceled subscription to the Washington Post. Let's hope for a really nice surprise, as the Astros go back to Houston for series against the Rockies and Padres.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
GAME 15 - April 16: Oswalt Rocks, Valverde Sits
Houston 2, Philadelphia 1
Quote of the Day: "We've got to get him on the horse as soon as the situation presents itself." (Cecil Cooper, on Valverde, the day after)
It was a nice of Coop to build up his beleaguered closer, after yet another perfectly dreadful blown save. "He's the man...He's the guy. I have a lot of confidence in him. I just told him, as soon as an opportunity presents itself, you'll get back out there." But when the opportunity presented itself on Wednesday night, with Roy Oswalt's start on the line in a one-r
un game, it was not Valverde on the mound in the bottom of the ninth. Valverde had had a bullpen session before the game, so Cooper brought in Doug Brocail to save the game for Oswalt's first W.
In a 2-1 game, it's all about the pitching. The best news of the night: Oswalt looked like himself again, not the weird alien who had taken over his body in the first three games of the season (and the last couple of games of Spring Training, too). His curve ball is back and it had the Phillies bamboozled. (Of course, Oswalt always has the Phillies bamboozled - he's won 6 consecutive games against them, since 2004.) He pitched 7 innings, giving up only a single run and 3 hits in the first inning. He threw 92 pitches, and only gave up another 2 hits after the first inning, with 2 BBs and 4 Ks. The second best news of the night: Wright came in to face the 2-3-4 batters in the Phillies lineup. He struck out the side on 12 pitches. The third best news of the night: Brocail pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save.
Of course, the Astros didn't win without scoring runs, meager as they were. The offensive hero for this game was Bourn, the off-season trade for Lidge, who scored both of the Astros runs. Nothing like showing off for the team who traded you. He reached base on an infield single to lead off the game, stole second, then scored on Lee's 2-out double. Then, in the 5th inning, he bounced a ball off the outfield foul pole, for his second home run in a week. That run turned out to be the decisive one, as the score held at 2-1 for the rest of the game. With 8 SBs in 8 tries, Bourn leads the Major Leagues - double the next runner up (so to speak).
This was the fourth straight game in which the Astros' pitchers (aside from Valverde) have been virtually lights-out. Not including Valverde's 4-run fiasco on Tuesday, Houston pitchers have given up a grand total of 2 runs in the past 4 games. This early in the season, with such a small sample of innings, games like these have made a huge dent in their ERAs. Backe and Chacon's ERAs are 2.25; Wandy's is only 2.33.
Some of the relievers have also been terrific. Brocail has had a stellar start to the season, with only 1 ER in 7+ innings, an ERA of 1.17. Ya know, that's kinda like what one would expect, say, from a closer... Wright's ERA is 2.70; Borkowski and Geary are both in the 3's. The main disappointment, besides Valverde, has been Villareal, with 2 losses and an ERA of 6.00. But overall, this improvement in mound performance, on top of the fantastic defense we've seen so far this season, bodes very well for the team.
In less cheerful news, Pence was 0 for 3, with 2 Ks; his batting average is down to .161.
Now if we could just have one of those double-digit run games, with Pence going for the cycle, and Bourn stealing 3 bases, and Berkman hitting homers from both sides of the plate... I am SO ready to see that!
Quote of the Day: "We've got to get him on the horse as soon as the situation presents itself." (Cecil Cooper, on Valverde, the day after)
It was a nice of Coop to build up his beleaguered closer, after yet another perfectly dreadful blown save. "He's the man...He's the guy. I have a lot of confidence in him. I just told him, as soon as an opportunity presents itself, you'll get back out there." But when the opportunity presented itself on Wednesday night, with Roy Oswalt's start on the line in a one-r
un game, it was not Valverde on the mound in the bottom of the ninth. Valverde had had a bullpen session before the game, so Cooper brought in Doug Brocail to save the game for Oswalt's first W.In a 2-1 game, it's all about the pitching. The best news of the night: Oswalt looked like himself again, not the weird alien who had taken over his body in the first three games of the season (and the last couple of games of Spring Training, too). His curve ball is back and it had the Phillies bamboozled. (Of course, Oswalt always has the Phillies bamboozled - he's won 6 consecutive games against them, since 2004.) He pitched 7 innings, giving up only a single run and 3 hits in the first inning. He threw 92 pitches, and only gave up another 2 hits after the first inning, with 2 BBs and 4 Ks. The second best news of the night: Wright came in to face the 2-3-4 batters in the Phillies lineup. He struck out the side on 12 pitches. The third best news of the night: Brocail pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save.
Of course, the Astros didn't win without scoring runs, meager as they were. The offensive hero for this game was Bourn, the off-season trade for Lidge, who scored both of the Astros runs. Nothing like showing off for the team who traded you. He reached base on an infield single to lead off the game, stole second, then scored on Lee's 2-out double. Then, in the 5th inning, he bounced a ball off the outfield foul pole, for his second home run in a week. That run turned out to be the decisive one, as the score held at 2-1 for the rest of the game. With 8 SBs in 8 tries, Bourn leads the Major Leagues - double the next runner up (so to speak).
This was the fourth straight game in which the Astros' pitchers (aside from Valverde) have been virtually lights-out. Not including Valverde's 4-run fiasco on Tuesday, Houston pitchers have given up a grand total of 2 runs in the past 4 games. This early in the season, with such a small sample of innings, games like these have made a huge dent in their ERAs. Backe and Chacon's ERAs are 2.25; Wandy's is only 2.33.
Some of the relievers have also been terrific. Brocail has had a stellar start to the season, with only 1 ER in 7+ innings, an ERA of 1.17. Ya know, that's kinda like what one would expect, say, from a closer... Wright's ERA is 2.70; Borkowski and Geary are both in the 3's. The main disappointment, besides Valverde, has been Villareal, with 2 losses and an ERA of 6.00. But overall, this improvement in mound performance, on top of the fantastic defense we've seen so far this season, bodes very well for the team.
In less cheerful news, Pence was 0 for 3, with 2 Ks; his batting average is down to .161.
Now if we could just have one of those double-digit run games, with Pence going for the cycle, and Bourn stealing 3 bases, and Berkman hitting homers from both sides of the plate... I am SO ready to see that!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
GAME 14 - April 15: Cheated!
Philadelphia 4, Houston 3
Quote of the Day: "I made a good pitch." (Valverde)
Unfortunately Valverde made 19 other pitches, and they were not all good.
Perhaps Wandy Rodriguez and Shawn Chacon can start a new club for Astros' pitchers whose best start of
the season was literally thrown away by struggling closer Jose Valverde. Chacon was beautiful - he pitched 8 shutout innings, giving up only 4 singles and 2 walks, while striking out 5. Fans and sportswriters will likely argue over whether Cooper should have left him in for the 9th. With a 3-0 lead, and Chacon at 109 pitches and coming up to bat in the 9th, Coop made the same decision that most manager would probably make: He pinch-batted for Chacon and went to his closer.
It's ironic that the Astros were playing in Philadelphia, where Brad Lidge sat watching the game with his Phillies' teammates in the bullpen. From there, Lidge had a good view of his replacement screwing up. The mood was set on Valverde's first pitch to pinch-hitter Chris Snelling: BOOM! Right over the right field wall. The mood was reinforced on the second pitch: Chase
Utley was hit by the pitch. Then for the poetic interlude: Howard struck out on 3 pitches. There was a moment to hope that the Astros could pull this out with a third double play of the game... and then Burrell hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3.
At this point I was thinking that recent history would repeat, that the Astros would come back in the next inning to win the tied game and Valverde would get another unfairly earned "W." A repeat of the game the week before, when he stole Wandy's second start. But then when Valverde struck out Jenkins, and the ball got past Ausmus to put a runner on first, a darker thought crept in: They are going to lose this one. Pedro Feliz doubled to the left field corner, and Jenkins dashed for home, ignoring the third base coach with the stop sign on. He barely beat the tag, and the game was lost.
Some game notes: Berkman and Lee each got a pair of hits, and scored all of the Astros runs. Bourn got another stolen base (#7). Hunter Pence, still batting 7th, got an RBI for his 6th inning sac fly; otherwise, he continued his hitting slump. His BA is higher than Ausmus' - but just barely. It was nice to see Eric Bruntlett on the field, after his off-season trade to the Phillies - at least he's getting some playing time.
Fashion News: Each team had designated one player to wear Jackie Robinson's otherwise-retired jersey number. For Houston, it was Bourn wearing #42. Cooper wore Robinson's number also.
Quote of the Day: "I made a good pitch." (Valverde)
Unfortunately Valverde made 19 other pitches, and they were not all good.
Perhaps Wandy Rodriguez and Shawn Chacon can start a new club for Astros' pitchers whose best start of
the season was literally thrown away by struggling closer Jose Valverde. Chacon was beautiful - he pitched 8 shutout innings, giving up only 4 singles and 2 walks, while striking out 5. Fans and sportswriters will likely argue over whether Cooper should have left him in for the 9th. With a 3-0 lead, and Chacon at 109 pitches and coming up to bat in the 9th, Coop made the same decision that most manager would probably make: He pinch-batted for Chacon and went to his closer.It's ironic that the Astros were playing in Philadelphia, where Brad Lidge sat watching the game with his Phillies' teammates in the bullpen. From there, Lidge had a good view of his replacement screwing up. The mood was set on Valverde's first pitch to pinch-hitter Chris Snelling: BOOM! Right over the right field wall. The mood was reinforced on the second pitch: Chase
Utley was hit by the pitch. Then for the poetic interlude: Howard struck out on 3 pitches. There was a moment to hope that the Astros could pull this out with a third double play of the game... and then Burrell hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3.At this point I was thinking that recent history would repeat, that the Astros would come back in the next inning to win the tied game and Valverde would get another unfairly earned "W." A repeat of the game the week before, when he stole Wandy's second start. But then when Valverde struck out Jenkins, and the ball got past Ausmus to put a runner on first, a darker thought crept in: They are going to lose this one. Pedro Feliz doubled to the left field corner, and Jenkins dashed for home, ignoring the third base coach with the stop sign on. He barely beat the tag, and the game was lost.
Some game notes: Berkman and Lee each got a pair of hits, and scored all of the Astros runs. Bourn got another stolen base (#7). Hunter Pence, still batting 7th, got an RBI for his 6th inning sac fly; otherwise, he continued his hitting slump. His BA is higher than Ausmus' - but just barely. It was nice to see Eric Bruntlett on the field, after his off-season trade to the Phillies - at least he's getting some playing time.
Fashion News: Each team had designated one player to wear Jackie Robinson's otherwise-retired jersey number. For Houston, it was Bourn wearing #42. Cooper wore Robinson's number also.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
GAME 13 - April 13: Wandy's Ruby Slippers
Houston 5, Florida 1
Quote of the Day: "There's no place like home... There's no place like home..." (Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; Wandy in Minute Maid Park)
Wandy Rodriguez continued his domination of Minute Maid Park with his second terrific start of this homestand. Six days after what was arguably his best start ever, he came back and did almost as well - 7 innings, giving up only one run (on a solo homer) on 5 hits, 1
BB, and 7 Ks. His ERA for his first 3 starts is just 2.33. He might look like a little kid standing next to some of his more traditionally built colleagues, but he sure looked like a real pitcher on the mound this week. And this time, unlike the last start, the relievers held on and let him get his first W of the season. Brocail pitched a scoreless eighth and Valverde did the same in the ninth in another non-save situation. Valverde has yet to pitch a 1-2-3 inning; like last night, he put a couple of runners on before ending the game without giving up a run.
The Astros started collecting runs in the second inning, with JR Towles' 2-run homer. Towles is a funny hitter - he's only batting .207, with 6 hits - but half of them are home runs. Bourn led off the third with a solo homer of his own - his first as an Astro - to make it 3-0. The Astros managed to add on one run in the sixth and one in the seventh inning, but missed the opportunity to turn it into a blowout - they left the bases loaded in both innings.
Okay, let's not get greedy - the Astros won consecutive games for the first time this season, and took the series from the NL East division-leading Marlins.
Towles had an eventful day. In addition to his home run, he walked in a run when he came to bat with two outs in the 6th. Then in the 8th, he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist, and was taken out of the game to get it xrayed. Happily, It appears to just be a bruise, but I don't suspect that he'll be doing handstands on home plate for the next few days. With both Wiggington and Matsui on the DL, the Astros don't want to lose any more position players in the infield.
Pence got the day off today - Erstad and Cruz Jr split the game in RF.
Did I mention that the Astros won TWO games in a row?
The Astros have a day off tomorrow, before moving up to my part of the country - more or less. They will play 3 games in Philadelphia this week. Hopefully they will not have to face Brad Lidge, because they will be so far ahead that his services as the closer won't be necessary. (Lidge has pitched in 5 games so far this year, 1 inning each, and has not given up any earned runs, with 1 hit, 5 Ks and 4 BBs.)
I'll miss Minute Maid Park though. It's been nice seeing the Astros home announcers on mlb.tv; so far this year it has appeared that the home game broadcasters are picked up. It's always nice to see that big poof of white hair in the stands right behind the batter -- Barbara Bush and that guy who used to be President, sitting behind home plate. And of course, there's always Wandy, clicking his ruby cleats and saying "There's no place like home" as he strikes out another batter on that curve ball of his.
Quote of the Day: "There's no place like home... There's no place like home..." (Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; Wandy in Minute Maid Park)
Wandy Rodriguez continued his domination of Minute Maid Park with his second terrific start of this homestand. Six days after what was arguably his best start ever, he came back and did almost as well - 7 innings, giving up only one run (on a solo homer) on 5 hits, 1
BB, and 7 Ks. His ERA for his first 3 starts is just 2.33. He might look like a little kid standing next to some of his more traditionally built colleagues, but he sure looked like a real pitcher on the mound this week. And this time, unlike the last start, the relievers held on and let him get his first W of the season. Brocail pitched a scoreless eighth and Valverde did the same in the ninth in another non-save situation. Valverde has yet to pitch a 1-2-3 inning; like last night, he put a couple of runners on before ending the game without giving up a run.The Astros started collecting runs in the second inning, with JR Towles' 2-run homer. Towles is a funny hitter - he's only batting .207, with 6 hits - but half of them are home runs. Bourn led off the third with a solo homer of his own - his first as an Astro - to make it 3-0. The Astros managed to add on one run in the sixth and one in the seventh inning, but missed the opportunity to turn it into a blowout - they left the bases loaded in both innings.
Okay, let's not get greedy - the Astros won consecutive games for the first time this season, and took the series from the NL East division-leading Marlins.
Towles had an eventful day. In addition to his home run, he walked in a run when he came to bat with two outs in the 6th. Then in the 8th, he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist, and was taken out of the game to get it xrayed. Happily, It appears to just be a bruise, but I don't suspect that he'll be doing handstands on home plate for the next few days. With both Wiggington and Matsui on the DL, the Astros don't want to lose any more position players in the infield.
Pence got the day off today - Erstad and Cruz Jr split the game in RF.
Did I mention that the Astros won TWO games in a row?
The Astros have a day off tomorrow, before moving up to my part of the country - more or less. They will play 3 games in Philadelphia this week. Hopefully they will not have to face Brad Lidge, because they will be so far ahead that his services as the closer won't be necessary. (Lidge has pitched in 5 games so far this year, 1 inning each, and has not given up any earned runs, with 1 hit, 5 Ks and 4 BBs.)
I'll miss Minute Maid Park though. It's been nice seeing the Astros home announcers on mlb.tv; so far this year it has appeared that the home game broadcasters are picked up. It's always nice to see that big poof of white hair in the stands right behind the batter -- Barbara Bush and that guy who used to be President, sitting behind home plate. And of course, there's always Wandy, clicking his ruby cleats and saying "There's no place like home" as he strikes out another batter on that curve ball of his.
GAME 12 - April 12: Return of the Killer Bs?
Houston 5, Florida 0
Quote of the Day: "Thank goodness I have a good defense behind me." (Backe)
Is it the Return of the Killer Bs? The Astros won their first shutout of the season on "I can get out of this" pitching performances by Backe and the Bullpen and another big night at the plate by Berkman.
The long line of 0s on the scoreboard for the Marlins doesn't totally reflect the pitching story. Backe was 5 cubed - he gave up 5 hits and 5 walks in his 5 innings on the mound, not exactly a lights-out performance. He had runners on base in every inning; in fact he had 2 ru
nners on base in 4 of his 5 innings - and a runner on third base in 3 of the 5 innings. But in each case he got himself out of trouble, to keep the shutout alive.
Geary likewise allowed runners in each of his 2 innings, but kept the shutout going. Brocail logged the only 1-2-3 inning of the night in the eighth inning, dropping his ERA to 1.59. Then came Valverde: WIth the score 5-0, it was not a save situation, but he hadn't pitched in 5 days. After he gave up singles to the first two batters, I wondered if he was headed for another cheat win (see Game 8 - April 7, when he stole Wandy's best start ever). But then he retired the next three on a pair of ground balls and a strikeout, for his first scoreless inning of the season. (Alas, not a record to inspire much of his famous on-field histrionics.)
Berkman is a changed man - changed from last April, that is. He has started 2008 looking like his old self. Berkman went 2 for 4, with his first right-handed homer of the season (#4). He has a noticeable bump in hustle too - while he didn't get another stolen base in this game, he scored the first run on a headfirst dive to the plate. Several of the other players also had multi-hit games: Loretta went 3 for 5, with an RBI double. Lee had a pair of singles. And despite his vilification by the (other) bloggers, Ausmus looked good at the plate: He went 2 for 4, with an RBI double. He did fly out to end the 5th with the bases loaded - but the ball was caught on the warning track.
The defense continues to be a positive factor, as the Astros position players helped the Marlins leave 14 runners stranded. Defense starts with "D," not "B." But to stay with the B theme, we can give some of the credit to Blum, who's covering third while Wiggington is on the DL. Cruz Jr made a terrific catch on a long fly ball by the Marlin's leadoff batter, to set the defensive tone of the game. The Astros infield also logged another double play, kicked off by excellent fielding from Tejada. (He looks so different than Spring Training!) It was their 15th DP of the year, tied to lead the league. The defense also holds another nice league record: Fewest errors - only 3 so far this season.
For the second game in a row, Coop shuffled the lineup, starting Cruz in CF instead of Bourn and moving Pence up to the leadoff spot instead of 7th. That did not solve the big kid's batting woes - he went 0 for 4, getting on base only once on a walk in the 4th. That was actually the exact point in the game where I tuned in when the Sabbath ended - to the sight of Pence being caught stealing. Happily, the Astros were leading 5-0 at that point, and I had brief hopes of the big double-digit blowout that we're all looking forward to. Less happily, although I saw plenty of Astros base runners - including runners on third base in 3 innings, not one of them managed to score. The RISP situation is seriously painful. But hey - the Astros won this game: Let's just think happy thoughts and move on.
In other team news: Newhan was called up from Triple A, to replace Wiggington - now on the DL for his thumb injury.
Quote of the Day: "Thank goodness I have a good defense behind me." (Backe)
Is it the Return of the Killer Bs? The Astros won their first shutout of the season on "I can get out of this" pitching performances by Backe and the Bullpen and another big night at the plate by Berkman.
The long line of 0s on the scoreboard for the Marlins doesn't totally reflect the pitching story. Backe was 5 cubed - he gave up 5 hits and 5 walks in his 5 innings on the mound, not exactly a lights-out performance. He had runners on base in every inning; in fact he had 2 ru
nners on base in 4 of his 5 innings - and a runner on third base in 3 of the 5 innings. But in each case he got himself out of trouble, to keep the shutout alive.Geary likewise allowed runners in each of his 2 innings, but kept the shutout going. Brocail logged the only 1-2-3 inning of the night in the eighth inning, dropping his ERA to 1.59. Then came Valverde: WIth the score 5-0, it was not a save situation, but he hadn't pitched in 5 days. After he gave up singles to the first two batters, I wondered if he was headed for another cheat win (see Game 8 - April 7, when he stole Wandy's best start ever). But then he retired the next three on a pair of ground balls and a strikeout, for his first scoreless inning of the season. (Alas, not a record to inspire much of his famous on-field histrionics.)
Berkman is a changed man - changed from last April, that is. He has started 2008 looking like his old self. Berkman went 2 for 4, with his first right-handed homer of the season (#4). He has a noticeable bump in hustle too - while he didn't get another stolen base in this game, he scored the first run on a headfirst dive to the plate. Several of the other players also had multi-hit games: Loretta went 3 for 5, with an RBI double. Lee had a pair of singles. And despite his vilification by the (other) bloggers, Ausmus looked good at the plate: He went 2 for 4, with an RBI double. He did fly out to end the 5th with the bases loaded - but the ball was caught on the warning track.
The defense continues to be a positive factor, as the Astros position players helped the Marlins leave 14 runners stranded. Defense starts with "D," not "B." But to stay with the B theme, we can give some of the credit to Blum, who's covering third while Wiggington is on the DL. Cruz Jr made a terrific catch on a long fly ball by the Marlin's leadoff batter, to set the defensive tone of the game. The Astros infield also logged another double play, kicked off by excellent fielding from Tejada. (He looks so different than Spring Training!) It was their 15th DP of the year, tied to lead the league. The defense also holds another nice league record: Fewest errors - only 3 so far this season.
For the second game in a row, Coop shuffled the lineup, starting Cruz in CF instead of Bourn and moving Pence up to the leadoff spot instead of 7th. That did not solve the big kid's batting woes - he went 0 for 4, getting on base only once on a walk in the 4th. That was actually the exact point in the game where I tuned in when the Sabbath ended - to the sight of Pence being caught stealing. Happily, the Astros were leading 5-0 at that point, and I had brief hopes of the big double-digit blowout that we're all looking forward to. Less happily, although I saw plenty of Astros base runners - including runners on third base in 3 innings, not one of them managed to score. The RISP situation is seriously painful. But hey - the Astros won this game: Let's just think happy thoughts and move on.
In other team news: Newhan was called up from Triple A, to replace Wiggington - now on the DL for his thumb injury.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
GAME 11 - April 11: Concerned
Florida 10, Houston 6
Quote of the Day: "I have never went through this before." (Oswalt, on his 3rd bad start)
Oswalt is concerned. He and Cooper say he's healthy, not injured as the (other) bloggers suspect. They say he's throwing good stuff, that maybe he's tipping his pitches. Is he injured? In declin
e? Tipping pitches?
Whatever it is, Houston's one "sure thing" pitcher is getting clobbered this year. His third start - and third loss - of the season was the worst so far. Oswalt only lasted 4 innings, giving up 8 runs on 9 hits, include 4 home runs - a personal record.
The Astros scored 3 in the first inning - enough runs in previous years to practically give the game to Oswalt. He gave up a triple in the first inning, but the runner was stranded, and he pitched a 1-2-3 second. In the third inning, he allowed a lead-off single, but quickly retired the next two batters. It was all downhill from there, he gave up 5 runs on a pair of singles and a pair of home runs. A couple more home runs in the fourth inning, and Cooper called it a night.
I didn't see this game, as it was on the Sabbath. (See entry for April 5 for more on that.) I'm not planning on watching it, despite some good things: Berkman and Blum's home runs, Moehler and Brocail combining for 3 scoreless innings. Too much not to like, especially Villareal giving up a pair of homers in the 9th.
Of all the upside-down aspects of this season so far, Oswalt's performance has got to be the most worrisome. The fielding has been excellent. The team batting sucks - but I just cannot believe that this lineup won't come around after an anemic start. The relief pitching hasn't been a total mess - although it's scary that Valverde hasn't pitched a scoreless inning yet. But if Oswalt doesn't win games, that's really scary. After 12 games, the Astros starters have a total win record of ZERO.
Items of Note in this Game: Cooper used Towles with Oswalt, instead of Ausmus. And he moved Pence from 2nd to 7th in the lineup, in an effort to take some of the pressure off of him. Pence was 1 for 3 with a single and a walk; he didn't strike out in this game.
Old Friends: Some of the players that the Astros got rid of are doing well with their new teams. Lidge has 2 saves and an ERA of 0.00 for the Phillies. And Luke Scott, now in Baltimore, is leading the American League in batting with a .433 BA, .714 SLG, and 1.229 OPS. In less happy news, Adam Everett is only batting .095 for Minneapolis, and has 2 errors in 7 games. Chris Burke is only batting .167 out in Arizona. Meanwhile, Morgan Ensberg made the Yankees team out of Spring Training, but is not seeing much playing time - he's batting .375 in the 3 games he's appeared in.
Quote of the Day: "I have never went through this before." (Oswalt, on his 3rd bad start)
Oswalt is concerned. He and Cooper say he's healthy, not injured as the (other) bloggers suspect. They say he's throwing good stuff, that maybe he's tipping his pitches. Is he injured? In declin
e? Tipping pitches?Whatever it is, Houston's one "sure thing" pitcher is getting clobbered this year. His third start - and third loss - of the season was the worst so far. Oswalt only lasted 4 innings, giving up 8 runs on 9 hits, include 4 home runs - a personal record.
The Astros scored 3 in the first inning - enough runs in previous years to practically give the game to Oswalt. He gave up a triple in the first inning, but the runner was stranded, and he pitched a 1-2-3 second. In the third inning, he allowed a lead-off single, but quickly retired the next two batters. It was all downhill from there, he gave up 5 runs on a pair of singles and a pair of home runs. A couple more home runs in the fourth inning, and Cooper called it a night.
I didn't see this game, as it was on the Sabbath. (See entry for April 5 for more on that.) I'm not planning on watching it, despite some good things: Berkman and Blum's home runs, Moehler and Brocail combining for 3 scoreless innings. Too much not to like, especially Villareal giving up a pair of homers in the 9th.
Of all the upside-down aspects of this season so far, Oswalt's performance has got to be the most worrisome. The fielding has been excellent. The team batting sucks - but I just cannot believe that this lineup won't come around after an anemic start. The relief pitching hasn't been a total mess - although it's scary that Valverde hasn't pitched a scoreless inning yet. But if Oswalt doesn't win games, that's really scary. After 12 games, the Astros starters have a total win record of ZERO.
Items of Note in this Game: Cooper used Towles with Oswalt, instead of Ausmus. And he moved Pence from 2nd to 7th in the lineup, in an effort to take some of the pressure off of him. Pence was 1 for 3 with a single and a walk; he didn't strike out in this game.
Old Friends: Some of the players that the Astros got rid of are doing well with their new teams. Lidge has 2 saves and an ERA of 0.00 for the Phillies. And Luke Scott, now in Baltimore, is leading the American League in batting with a .433 BA, .714 SLG, and 1.229 OPS. In less happy news, Adam Everett is only batting .095 for Minneapolis, and has 2 errors in 7 games. Chris Burke is only batting .167 out in Arizona. Meanwhile, Morgan Ensberg made the Yankees team out of Spring Training, but is not seeing much playing time - he's batting .375 in the 3 games he's appeared in.
Thursday, April 10, 2008
GAME 10 - April 9: Yawn...
St Louis 6, Houston 4
Words for the Day: Predictable. Certain to occur; destined or inevitable.
Before the game, every time I read that Chris Sampson was going to pitch, despite being sick with the flu all week, I kept wondering why anyone would think that this would be a good idea. It just seemed pretty obvious that he wasn't exactly going to shine. It could have been worse: He didn't barf on the mound. He made it, gasping, through 4 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, a walk and a strikeout. Moehler, Borkowski, and Villareal each gave up a run, to make 6 for the Cards.
Meanwhile, in keeping with 2008 tradition, the Astros paced themselves to stay just a run or two behind them. With a win-loss record of 3-7, the majority of losses (and wins for that matter) are 1 or 2 run deals. While I always find something to like (in this game it was another terrific fielding play by Tejada), I have to admit that it's getting just a teensy bit tedious.
Actually, the Astros' play kind of reminds me of the 2005 World Series - and the first month of the 2005 season too. Which should be a reminder that all is not lost, and they have not yet been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. But in the meantime, I'd bet that the Astros are very glad to have a day off on Thursday - and so am I.
Astros Team Stats for the Season So Far
Batting Average: .221 (29th of 30 in the Major Leagues)
On Base Percent: .275 (29th)
Slugging: .402 (14th)
Batting Average (Opponents against): .299 (29th)
Home Runs: 11 (7th)
Doubles: 21 (1st)
Stolen Bases: 10 (1st)
Stolen Bases Allowed (by opponent): 1 (best)
Strikeouts: 60 (10th)
On Base Percent: .275 (29th)
Double Plays (fielded): 11 (tied for 1st)
Errors: 2 (tied for 2nd best)
ERA: .455 (22nd)
HBP (Astros pitchers): 0 (tied for best)
Wild Pitches: 0 (tied for best)
Hits Given up by Astros Pitchers: 101 (most)
What story do these numbers tell? Pitching isn't too hot - the pitchers are giving up a lot of hits, which accounts for the large number of losses. But the Astros fielding has been quite good, and has saved a number of runs from scoring, which accounts for the close games. Meanwhile, a lineup that was anticipated to be one of the best has been pretty sucky. The team batting average and on base percent are nearly the worst in baseball. But they do have power hitters; when the Astros manage to hit, they are getting lots of extra base hits. And when they get on base, they are running. But then they leave those runners stranded - I couldn't find the team RISP number, but it has to be among the worst.
Oswalt is pitching Friday. Matsui is coming back on Sunday. Let's see how things shape up over the weekend...
Words for the Day: Predictable. Certain to occur; destined or inevitable.
Before the game, every time I read that Chris Sampson was going to pitch, despite being sick with the flu all week, I kept wondering why anyone would think that this would be a good idea. It just seemed pretty obvious that he wasn't exactly going to shine. It could have been worse: He didn't barf on the mound. He made it, gasping, through 4 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, a walk and a strikeout. Moehler, Borkowski, and Villareal each gave up a run, to make 6 for the Cards.
Meanwhile, in keeping with 2008 tradition, the Astros paced themselves to stay just a run or two behind them. With a win-loss record of 3-7, the majority of losses (and wins for that matter) are 1 or 2 run deals. While I always find something to like (in this game it was another terrific fielding play by Tejada), I have to admit that it's getting just a teensy bit tedious.
Actually, the Astros' play kind of reminds me of the 2005 World Series - and the first month of the 2005 season too. Which should be a reminder that all is not lost, and they have not yet been mathematically eliminated from the playoffs. But in the meantime, I'd bet that the Astros are very glad to have a day off on Thursday - and so am I.
Astros Team Stats for the Season So Far
Batting Average: .221 (29th of 30 in the Major Leagues)
On Base Percent: .275 (29th)
Slugging: .402 (14th)
Batting Average (Opponents against): .299 (29th)
Home Runs: 11 (7th)
Doubles: 21 (1st)
Stolen Bases: 10 (1st)
Stolen Bases Allowed (by opponent): 1 (best)
Strikeouts: 60 (10th)
On Base Percent: .275 (29th)
Double Plays (fielded): 11 (tied for 1st)
Errors: 2 (tied for 2nd best)
ERA: .455 (22nd)
HBP (Astros pitchers): 0 (tied for best)
Wild Pitches: 0 (tied for best)
Hits Given up by Astros Pitchers: 101 (most)
What story do these numbers tell? Pitching isn't too hot - the pitchers are giving up a lot of hits, which accounts for the large number of losses. But the Astros fielding has been quite good, and has saved a number of runs from scoring, which accounts for the close games. Meanwhile, a lineup that was anticipated to be one of the best has been pretty sucky. The team batting average and on base percent are nearly the worst in baseball. But they do have power hitters; when the Astros manage to hit, they are getting lots of extra base hits. And when they get on base, they are running. But then they leave those runners stranded - I couldn't find the team RISP number, but it has to be among the worst.
Oswalt is pitching Friday. Matsui is coming back on Sunday. Let's see how things shape up over the weekend...
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
GAME 9 - April 8: Ugh...
St Louis 5, Houston 3
Words for the Day: Groundhog Day. The movie, not the holiday.
As exciting as last night's walk-off home run was, you know what I really wanted to see tonight? A big blow out, with double-digit runs, some of which were not scored on solo homers. Lots of base-running and fist-pumping, fun without nail-biting, and a line of grinning Astros high-fiving each other at the end. And being the ever-optimistic Fan in Exile, I would write it up afterwards as the game that would spark the offensive juggernaut that drove the Astros to their second pennant.
Unfortunately I'll have to wait. Tonight's game was just more of the same. A not-too-bad start by Chacon (although a little heavy on the walks), with flawless performances by two of the three relievers. Unfortunately the other relief pitcher gave up the Card runs that won the game. Meanwhile, the offensive juggernaut has yet to materialize. The Astros continue to leave runners stranded in scoring position - partly because they wait to get anyone on base until there are two outs in the inning. Tonight they left the bases loaded in the 2nd, left Pence stranded on third in the 7th, and Blum on second in the 8th. (Perhaps some juggling of the lineup is in order?)
The Astros scored all of their runs in the 3rd inning. Berkman started the fun with a two-out double. Lee walked, and Tejada knocked them both in with a double. He advanced to third on the attempt to make a play at home, and then scored on a wild pitch. At that point it looked like the Astros were going to do some damage, but POOF! That was it for scoring.
Meanwhile, the Cards just nibbled away until they overtook the Astros. Chacon had some problems in the early innings - he walked three batters in the second, before allowing the first Cardinal run on a sacrifice. After that he settled down, and lasted 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, 4 BBs, and 2 Ks. Both Wright and Villareal pitched perfect relief innings in the 7th and 9th. In between Geary gave up a pair of runs on a 2-out double, earning the loss.
All in all, not an impossible situation for a win - with even a hint of the run support that is expected from this lineup. Still waiting. The person who must be the most frustrated is Pence, who struck out twice tonight (after 3 K's yesterday!). He whacked the ball hard for a triple in the 7th - maybe that will be the turnaround to get him out of his batting lull.
Nice defensive play tonight, by Towles and Loretta: With Cards on the corners, and the runner going from first, Towles threw to second. Loretta immediately shot the ball back to home to catch the runner who was dashing in. Towles tagged him to end the inning.
So, if I can put in my order for tomorrow night, I'd like a big helping of hits and no stranded RISPs. And as long as I'm asking, a great start for Sampson. And, if it's not too greedy to ask, let it be the start of a nice long winning streak.
Words for the Day: Groundhog Day. The movie, not the holiday.
As exciting as last night's walk-off home run was, you know what I really wanted to see tonight? A big blow out, with double-digit runs, some of which were not scored on solo homers. Lots of base-running and fist-pumping, fun without nail-biting, and a line of grinning Astros high-fiving each other at the end. And being the ever-optimistic Fan in Exile, I would write it up afterwards as the game that would spark the offensive juggernaut that drove the Astros to their second pennant.
Unfortunately I'll have to wait. Tonight's game was just more of the same. A not-too-bad start by Chacon (although a little heavy on the walks), with flawless performances by two of the three relievers. Unfortunately the other relief pitcher gave up the Card runs that won the game. Meanwhile, the offensive juggernaut has yet to materialize. The Astros continue to leave runners stranded in scoring position - partly because they wait to get anyone on base until there are two outs in the inning. Tonight they left the bases loaded in the 2nd, left Pence stranded on third in the 7th, and Blum on second in the 8th. (Perhaps some juggling of the lineup is in order?)
The Astros scored all of their runs in the 3rd inning. Berkman started the fun with a two-out double. Lee walked, and Tejada knocked them both in with a double. He advanced to third on the attempt to make a play at home, and then scored on a wild pitch. At that point it looked like the Astros were going to do some damage, but POOF! That was it for scoring.
Meanwhile, the Cards just nibbled away until they overtook the Astros. Chacon had some problems in the early innings - he walked three batters in the second, before allowing the first Cardinal run on a sacrifice. After that he settled down, and lasted 6 innings, giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, 4 BBs, and 2 Ks. Both Wright and Villareal pitched perfect relief innings in the 7th and 9th. In between Geary gave up a pair of runs on a 2-out double, earning the loss.
All in all, not an impossible situation for a win - with even a hint of the run support that is expected from this lineup. Still waiting. The person who must be the most frustrated is Pence, who struck out twice tonight (after 3 K's yesterday!). He whacked the ball hard for a triple in the 7th - maybe that will be the turnaround to get him out of his batting lull.
Nice defensive play tonight, by Towles and Loretta: With Cards on the corners, and the runner going from first, Towles threw to second. Loretta immediately shot the ball back to home to catch the runner who was dashing in. Towles tagged him to end the inning.
So, if I can put in my order for tomorrow night, I'd like a big helping of hits and no stranded RISPs. And as long as I'm asking, a great start for Sampson. And, if it's not too greedy to ask, let it be the start of a nice long winning streak.
GAME 8 - April 7: Miguel Tejada, Welcome to Houston!
Houston 5, St Louis 3
Word for the Day: Vindication. The act of defending against criticism or censure.
With Miguel Tejada's acquisition by the Astros just one day ahead of his outing in the Mitchell Report, one had to wonder about how he'd be received by the Houston fans. I'm sure that there are many fans who are ready to boo Tejada - and to boo Ed Wade for tra
ding so many players to get him. But they weren't booing tonight when Tejada hit a walk-off 2-run homer to give the Astros a big fat W in their home season opener. Tejada practically frolicked on his way around the bases, before arriving at home plate for the Ritual Brainbashing by the rest of the team. It was Miggy's second hit of the night, and second home run in two days.
Meanwhile, he was in good company, in the slugging department - all of the Astros runs were scored on home runs. Berkman and Lee hit back-to-back homers in the 7th to break the 0-0 tie, then Towles led off the 8th with one more to make it 3-0. That should have been plenty for Valverde to work with in the top of the 9th for the save, but Big Papa hasn't exactly been lights out this season. He promptly gave back the whole shebang - 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 BBs. Happily, Tejada poked the ball over the right field wall to win it - for Valverde.
Argh. The assignment of wins to pitchers is one of those things in the baseball scoring rules that sometimes leads to really bizarre outcomes. Valverde came in to save the game and instead gave back all of the runs. But because the Astros came back to win it before there was an opportunity for anyone else to pitch, he was the pitcher of record at the end. So the Astros pitchers have a very odd win record this year. No starting pitcher has a win. Valverde, with a 12+ ERA, has 2 wins, and Wright has one - based on a game in which he faced only one batter.
The guy who got cheated in this game was Wandy Rodriguez. This may have been his best start ever - he pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings, only giving up 3 hit, walking none, and striking out 6. He had five 1-2-3 innings!
Another fine performance in this game by Ed Wade's other big acquisition, Michael Bourn. He hit two singles - and both times ended up on second with successful steals. That makes a league-leading 6 steals for him in the first 8 games of the season.
Health Update: Wiggington is still day to day. Berkman is back on the field. And Matsui is on his way to Corpus for rehab - and could be back with the big league team as early as Sunday. In other news, Lidge is back from his injury and logged his first save of the season for the Phillies tonight.
Fashion Statement: The photos on this blog are obviously not taken at this game. (Like most of my photos, they are from Spring Training). This was not a red-shirt day; it was the first home pinstripe game of the season. But speaking of my photos, I have updated the Astros Fan in Exile website with Photo Albums from Spring Training. Click here to take a look. Can you identify all the Astros players?
Word for the Day: Vindication. The act of defending against criticism or censure.
With Miguel Tejada's acquisition by the Astros just one day ahead of his outing in the Mitchell Report, one had to wonder about how he'd be received by the Houston fans. I'm sure that there are many fans who are ready to boo Tejada - and to boo Ed Wade for tra
ding so many players to get him. But they weren't booing tonight when Tejada hit a walk-off 2-run homer to give the Astros a big fat W in their home season opener. Tejada practically frolicked on his way around the bases, before arriving at home plate for the Ritual Brainbashing by the rest of the team. It was Miggy's second hit of the night, and second home run in two days.Meanwhile, he was in good company, in the slugging department - all of the Astros runs were scored on home runs. Berkman and Lee hit back-to-back homers in the 7th to break the 0-0 tie, then Towles led off the 8th with one more to make it 3-0. That should have been plenty for Valverde to work with in the top of the 9th for the save, but Big Papa hasn't exactly been lights out this season. He promptly gave back the whole shebang - 3 runs on 3 hits and 2 BBs. Happily, Tejada poked the ball over the right field wall to win it - for Valverde.
Argh. The assignment of wins to pitchers is one of those things in the baseball scoring rules that sometimes leads to really bizarre outcomes. Valverde came in to save the game and instead gave back all of the runs. But because the Astros came back to win it before there was an opportunity for anyone else to pitch, he was the pitcher of record at the end. So the Astros pitchers have a very odd win record this year. No starting pitcher has a win. Valverde, with a 12+ ERA, has 2 wins, and Wright has one - based on a game in which he faced only one batter.
The guy who got cheated in this game was Wandy Rodriguez. This may have been his best start ever - he pitched 7 1/3 shutout innings, only giving up 3 hit, walking none, and striking out 6. He had five 1-2-3 innings!
Another fine performance in this game by Ed Wade's other big acquisition, Michael Bourn. He hit two singles - and both times ended up on second with successful steals. That makes a league-leading 6 steals for him in the first 8 games of the season.
Health Update: Wiggington is still day to day. Berkman is back on the field. And Matsui is on his way to Corpus for rehab - and could be back with the big league team as early as Sunday. In other news, Lidge is back from his injury and logged his first save of the season for the Phillies tonight.
Fashion Statement: The photos on this blog are obviously not taken at this game. (Like most of my photos, they are from Spring Training). This was not a red-shirt day; it was the first home pinstripe game of the season. But speaking of my photos, I have updated the Astros Fan in Exile website with Photo Albums from Spring Training. Click here to take a look. Can you identify all the Astros players?
Monday, April 7, 2008
GAME 7 - April 6: Deja Vu All Over Again...
Chicago 3, Houston 2
Word for the Day: Deja Vu. See Game 5.
The pitching was excellent. The offense was positively 2005-ish.
Despite the Astros' very frustrating loss on Sunday, not to mention the dismal 2-5 record for their opening road trip, I'm starting to feel more and more optimistic about this season. Everyone knows that teams win on pitching and defense, not hitting. This team is supposed to have weak starting pitching (except for Oswalt), so-so defense, and big bats. That adds up to a losing season. Or does it?
So far we have the losing part mastered - but not on that recipe. Everything is upside down. What have we seen so far? Puny run production. A lot of batting averages in the 1s and 2s. Some awesome fielding. Off-kilter pitching from the CYA candidate - but terrific pitching from most of the other starters.
Could this be a recipe for a great year, despite the naysayers and blog blabbers?
Backe's star
t in this game is fairly representative of the season so far - he gave up only 2 ERs over 6 innings, on 6 hits, 3 BBs, and 7 Ks. Backe's run support was so bad that he had to do it himself - he doubled to lead off the third inning, and scored on Erstad's single. Besides that - nothing in his six innings. (Okay, the Cubs had Zambrano on the mound, but the Astros aren't going to play every game of the season against ace-type pitchers.)
This game got off to what looked like a strong offensive start. Bourn led off with a single, then took third on Pence's double. Erstad (hitting in place of Berkman who is still out with a stiff neck) struck out. Then Lee hit a fly ball to Soriano in left for the second out. Should Bourn have tried to tag up and score? The race was on: Bourn's speed vs Soriano's gun. Soriano fired a bullet to home plate and Bourn was tagged out to end the inning. It didn't work out - but I like that the Astros are taking chances on the bases.
Tejada hit his first homer of the season to tie the game 2-2 in the seventh. But Villareal gave up a home run to that pesky Derrek Lee in the bottom of the inning, and posted his second loss of the season.
In other news, Matsui is headed for Corpus for rehab. Berkman and Wig are still day-to-day.
Word for the Day: Deja Vu. See Game 5.
The pitching was excellent. The offense was positively 2005-ish.
Despite the Astros' very frustrating loss on Sunday, not to mention the dismal 2-5 record for their opening road trip, I'm starting to feel more and more optimistic about this season. Everyone knows that teams win on pitching and defense, not hitting. This team is supposed to have weak starting pitching (except for Oswalt), so-so defense, and big bats. That adds up to a losing season. Or does it?
So far we have the losing part mastered - but not on that recipe. Everything is upside down. What have we seen so far? Puny run production. A lot of batting averages in the 1s and 2s. Some awesome fielding. Off-kilter pitching from the CYA candidate - but terrific pitching from most of the other starters.
Could this be a recipe for a great year, despite the naysayers and blog blabbers?
Backe's star
t in this game is fairly representative of the season so far - he gave up only 2 ERs over 6 innings, on 6 hits, 3 BBs, and 7 Ks. Backe's run support was so bad that he had to do it himself - he doubled to lead off the third inning, and scored on Erstad's single. Besides that - nothing in his six innings. (Okay, the Cubs had Zambrano on the mound, but the Astros aren't going to play every game of the season against ace-type pitchers.)This game got off to what looked like a strong offensive start. Bourn led off with a single, then took third on Pence's double. Erstad (hitting in place of Berkman who is still out with a stiff neck) struck out. Then Lee hit a fly ball to Soriano in left for the second out. Should Bourn have tried to tag up and score? The race was on: Bourn's speed vs Soriano's gun. Soriano fired a bullet to home plate and Bourn was tagged out to end the inning. It didn't work out - but I like that the Astros are taking chances on the bases.
Tejada hit his first homer of the season to tie the game 2-2 in the seventh. But Villareal gave up a home run to that pesky Derrek Lee in the bottom of the inning, and posted his second loss of the season.
In other news, Matsui is headed for Corpus for rehab. Berkman and Wig are still day-to-day.
Sunday, April 6, 2008
GAME 6 - April 5: On the Seventh Day...
Chicago 9, Houston 7
Word for the Day: Sabbath. A time of rest.
Although my family, friends, business colleagues, and acquaintances generally consider me to be over the top in my passion for the Houston ball club, I actually do have priorities. One of my priorities, which will soon be quite evident from this series of postings, is that I am Jewish and religiously observant. That means that I don't eat hotdogs at baseball games. More importantly for a Fan in Exile - who doesn't actually have much opportunity to consume stadium hotdogs - I don't use the computer to watch games on mlb.tv on the Sabbath, from Friday at sunset until Saturday at dark. I also do not watch the games on Jewish holidays - in a good year, that includes not only Passover (spring) and Shavuot (summer), but also the High Holidays, Succot, and Simchat Torah (fall/playoffs). I don't know the results until Saturday night, when I rush to Astros.com to find out what happened the moment the Sabbath ends. (With Rosh Hashanah starting September 29 this year -- the day after the Astros' regular season finale -- I'll be pretty much going crazy in October if (when!) Houston makes it to the playoffs.)
So I missed Saturday's afternoon loss to the Cubs, as I will miss one or two games a week for the rest of the season. I like to brag that "I watch every game of the season," but that's not totally true. Every week, after the Sabbath, I have to make the hard decision: Should I spend time watching the archived game(s) on mlb.tv, or should I just read Footer and McTaggert's game reports and move on?
Generally, it depends on what happened in the game. If the Astros won, I always watch a good part of the game - the first inning to see the starting pitchers, innings with runs or interesting defensive plays, the end of the game. If the Astros lost, I might watch the interesting parts (but maybe not the end of the game). It was an especially hard decision this week: I never want to miss watching Oswalt pitch; on the other hand, I didn't have the heart to watch him lose his second start of the season. In the end, I passed on it.
Here's what I missed, courtesy of Footer, McTaggert, the box score, and the play-by-play:
Oswalt got another loss, after giving up 6 runs (5 ER) on 10 hits, 1 BB, and no strikeouts(!) in 6 2/3 innings. Four of the hits were for extra bases, including an RBI double by Jason Marquis - Oswalt seems to have a particular problem getting out the opposing pitcher this year. As in his first game, his curve ball doesn't seem to be there. He was peppered with hits, including infield/bunt hits. The relief pitchers didn't do much to help him out of the 7th inning; Villareal, Wright, and Geary combined to give up a walk, a balk, and two doubles, allowing 3 more runs to score before making that elusive third out. Brocail also gave up a run in his inning of relief.
With 7 runs on 12 hits, the Astros offense was good - just not good enough to overcome the Cubbies. Carlos Lee was the hitting leader for the Astros, going 3 for 4 with two doubles and a home run. (Unfortunately, the Cubs' Derek Lee was 4 for 4, with a home run, double, and pair of singles, 3 runs, 2 RBIs.)
Bourn continues to make Ed Wade look like a genius - he was 2 for 5 with a triple, another stolen base (#4), and an outfield assist.
On the bad news side, Berkman and Wiggington left the game with injuries. Berkman has a stiff neck, hurt in Friday's game; he's day to day. Wiggington has a broken thumb, apparently spiked through his glove by Marquis' attempted slide into third.
Pence had a disappointing day at the plate - he was 1 for 5 with an infield single. He's off to a pretty slow start, just batting .185. Unfortunately, he's in good company in that regard.
An observation: Although Cooper has stated that there are no "personal catchers," he's still having Ausmus catch for Oswalt. I'd expect that Oswalt, as the ace, can have whoever he wants as a catcher. However, with Ausmus not hitting (and allowing a run on a rare passed ball in this game), perhaps Oswalt will be amenable to considering having the blond kid catch for his next start? Just a thought...
Just one more game of the opening road trip, and then back to Houston. I'll write up my season prediction after the Sunday game.
Word for the Day: Sabbath. A time of rest.
Although my family, friends, business colleagues, and acquaintances generally consider me to be over the top in my passion for the Houston ball club, I actually do have priorities. One of my priorities, which will soon be quite evident from this series of postings, is that I am Jewish and religiously observant. That means that I don't eat hotdogs at baseball games. More importantly for a Fan in Exile - who doesn't actually have much opportunity to consume stadium hotdogs - I don't use the computer to watch games on mlb.tv on the Sabbath, from Friday at sunset until Saturday at dark. I also do not watch the games on Jewish holidays - in a good year, that includes not only Passover (spring) and Shavuot (summer), but also the High Holidays, Succot, and Simchat Torah (fall/playoffs). I don't know the results until Saturday night, when I rush to Astros.com to find out what happened the moment the Sabbath ends. (With Rosh Hashanah starting September 29 this year -- the day after the Astros' regular season finale -- I'll be pretty much going crazy in October if (when!) Houston makes it to the playoffs.)
So I missed Saturday's afternoon loss to the Cubs, as I will miss one or two games a week for the rest of the season. I like to brag that "I watch every game of the season," but that's not totally true. Every week, after the Sabbath, I have to make the hard decision: Should I spend time watching the archived game(s) on mlb.tv, or should I just read Footer and McTaggert's game reports and move on?
Generally, it depends on what happened in the game. If the Astros won, I always watch a good part of the game - the first inning to see the starting pitchers, innings with runs or interesting defensive plays, the end of the game. If the Astros lost, I might watch the interesting parts (but maybe not the end of the game). It was an especially hard decision this week: I never want to miss watching Oswalt pitch; on the other hand, I didn't have the heart to watch him lose his second start of the season. In the end, I passed on it.
Here's what I missed, courtesy of Footer, McTaggert, the box score, and the play-by-play:
Oswalt got another loss, after giving up 6 runs (5 ER) on 10 hits, 1 BB, and no strikeouts(!) in 6 2/3 innings. Four of the hits were for extra bases, including an RBI double by Jason Marquis - Oswalt seems to have a particular problem getting out the opposing pitcher this year. As in his first game, his curve ball doesn't seem to be there. He was peppered with hits, including infield/bunt hits. The relief pitchers didn't do much to help him out of the 7th inning; Villareal, Wright, and Geary combined to give up a walk, a balk, and two doubles, allowing 3 more runs to score before making that elusive third out. Brocail also gave up a run in his inning of relief.
With 7 runs on 12 hits, the Astros offense was good - just not good enough to overcome the Cubbies. Carlos Lee was the hitting leader for the Astros, going 3 for 4 with two doubles and a home run. (Unfortunately, the Cubs' Derek Lee was 4 for 4, with a home run, double, and pair of singles, 3 runs, 2 RBIs.)
Bourn continues to make Ed Wade look like a genius - he was 2 for 5 with a triple, another stolen base (#4), and an outfield assist.
On the bad news side, Berkman and Wiggington left the game with injuries. Berkman has a stiff neck, hurt in Friday's game; he's day to day. Wiggington has a broken thumb, apparently spiked through his glove by Marquis' attempted slide into third.
Pence had a disappointing day at the plate - he was 1 for 5 with an infield single. He's off to a pretty slow start, just batting .185. Unfortunately, he's in good company in that regard.
An observation: Although Cooper has stated that there are no "personal catchers," he's still having Ausmus catch for Oswalt. I'd expect that Oswalt, as the ace, can have whoever he wants as a catcher. However, with Ausmus not hitting (and allowing a run on a rare passed ball in this game), perhaps Oswalt will be amenable to considering having the blond kid catch for his next start? Just a thought...
Just one more game of the opening road trip, and then back to Houston. I'll write up my season prediction after the Sunday game.
Saturday, April 5, 2008
GAME 5 - April 4: Handstand Grandstand
Houston 4, Chicago 3
Quote of the Day: "Hopefully that will make ESPN." (Astros catcher, JR Towles)
One of the best things about baseball is that you just never know, going into a game, what you might see. Maybe a triple play, maybe a perfect game? Those are rare, but they do occur now and then. How about something more exotic - like a batter doing a handstand on home plate?
JR Towles' first at bat provided the chance to see this unique move. Hit on the knee by the pitch, he fell down and forward. Towles broke his fall by with his hands; his momentum carried him up and over, and he ended up in a handstand at the plate. That was de
finitely one of the most acrobatic ways (besides actually hitting) that the Astros have found to get on base so far this season. (Unfortunately for the Astros, Sampson followed with a strikeout to end the inning with the bases loaded.)
Note: Due to copyright considerations, I only use my own photographs on this blog. Click here if you want to see a picture of Towles upside down on the Houston Chronicle site.
Towles followed up on his next at bat with a more valuable offensive move - a 2-run homer to put the Astros on the scoreboard. The lead held up until the 7th inning, when Sampson - who had been terrific for the first 6 - gave up a pair of runs to tie it up. Cooper brought in Wesley Wright, the new lefty kid, with 2 outs; he retired the one batter he faced.
The Astros came back in the top of the 8th to regain the lead. Berkman got to first on an error; then scored on Tejada's "triple" (looked more like a double that the left fielder mishandled). Then Wiggington sacrificed Tejada in, to make it 4-2. Although Valverde gave up a home run in the 9th to make it a scary ending, the one-run lead held up, and the Astros beat the Cubbies 4-3 in the series opener.
Wright, the pitcher of record when the go ahead runs were scored, earned his first major league win - after facing just a single batter. Sampson must have been disappointed not to have been able to finish the 7th to get the win, but he can't have been unhappy with his pitching performance. He gave up only 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, on 6 hits, no BBs, and one K.
Other notable stuff in this game: Bourn made a stupendous catch, on what appeared to be a multiple-base hit to the gap in left center. Noting that this was Bourn's third such amazing catch so far this season, the Cubs announcer called him a "human highlight reel." On the other end of the highlight reel plays, Berkman dove head-first into second base on Carlos Lee's single in the fifth inning, only to find that there wasn't even a play there. He looked pretty sheepish -- the second baseman apparently deked him into sliding to keep him from taking third on the hit.
Happily this game was played in Chicago, so it was an afternoon game. I got to watch it before the Sabbath started. No such luck next game - Oswalt's start will be in a Sabbath afternoon game, so I will miss it. WAH!
Quote of the Day: "Hopefully that will make ESPN." (Astros catcher, JR Towles)
One of the best things about baseball is that you just never know, going into a game, what you might see. Maybe a triple play, maybe a perfect game? Those are rare, but they do occur now and then. How about something more exotic - like a batter doing a handstand on home plate?
JR Towles' first at bat provided the chance to see this unique move. Hit on the knee by the pitch, he fell down and forward. Towles broke his fall by with his hands; his momentum carried him up and over, and he ended up in a handstand at the plate. That was de
finitely one of the most acrobatic ways (besides actually hitting) that the Astros have found to get on base so far this season. (Unfortunately for the Astros, Sampson followed with a strikeout to end the inning with the bases loaded.)Note: Due to copyright considerations, I only use my own photographs on this blog. Click here if you want to see a picture of Towles upside down on the Houston Chronicle site.
Towles followed up on his next at bat with a more valuable offensive move - a 2-run homer to put the Astros on the scoreboard. The lead held up until the 7th inning, when Sampson - who had been terrific for the first 6 - gave up a pair of runs to tie it up. Cooper brought in Wesley Wright, the new lefty kid, with 2 outs; he retired the one batter he faced.
The Astros came back in the top of the 8th to regain the lead. Berkman got to first on an error; then scored on Tejada's "triple" (looked more like a double that the left fielder mishandled). Then Wiggington sacrificed Tejada in, to make it 4-2. Although Valverde gave up a home run in the 9th to make it a scary ending, the one-run lead held up, and the Astros beat the Cubbies 4-3 in the series opener.
Wright, the pitcher of record when the go ahead runs were scored, earned his first major league win - after facing just a single batter. Sampson must have been disappointed not to have been able to finish the 7th to get the win, but he can't have been unhappy with his pitching performance. He gave up only 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, on 6 hits, no BBs, and one K.
Other notable stuff in this game: Bourn made a stupendous catch, on what appeared to be a multiple-base hit to the gap in left center. Noting that this was Bourn's third such amazing catch so far this season, the Cubs announcer called him a "human highlight reel." On the other end of the highlight reel plays, Berkman dove head-first into second base on Carlos Lee's single in the fifth inning, only to find that there wasn't even a play there. He looked pretty sheepish -- the second baseman apparently deked him into sliding to keep him from taking third on the hit.
Happily this game was played in Chicago, so it was an afternoon game. I got to watch it before the Sabbath started. No such luck next game - Oswalt's start will be in a Sabbath afternoon game, so I will miss it. WAH!
Friday, April 4, 2008
GAME 4 - April 3: Watching Reruns
San Diego 3, Houston 2
Word for the Day: Deja Vu. Impression of having seen or experienced something before.
It's not really worth spending much time writing up this game. Just go back a couple of days and read about the one-run loss.
Same good news: The much maligned pitching was excellent - Chacon gave up only 2 runs over 6 innings, on 5 hits, 4 BBs and 4 Ks. Then Villareal pitched two innings in relief; the 1 run he allowed earned him the loss.
Same bad news: Someone forgot to tell the rest of the guys to hit in a few runs. Pence, Berkman, Lee, and Tejada had exactly one hit (and 5 Ks) between them. The Astros' measly 2 runs were both scored on RBI doubles, one by Loretta and one by Towles, but neither of the scoring base runners had gotten on base with a hit. Of course, 2 runs is twice as many runs as the Astros scored in their first two games combined, so in that sense, this can be seen as offensive improvement. And give credit where it's due: The Padres have pretty awesome pitching.
Bottom Line: Although it's tough to lose the opening series, there's a lot that actually bodes well for the Astros' season. The pitching has been much better than anticipated. The worst game, in terms of opposition runs scored, was the classic Wandy Road Show - which the Astros ultimately won. The second worst game was Oswalt's Opening Night loss. I'm not really worried about Oswalt; the other two losses were despite the pitching, not because of it. I'm not really worried about the Astros' offense yet either - this lineup has just got to score a lot of runs this season. And the agressive baserunning adds energy to the game; everyone expects Bourn to run - but Berkman? He stole another base in this game. Bourn and Berkman lead the major leagues in SBs! I'm not going to make my season predictions until the Astros go back to Houston for their home opener - but despite the W-L record, I'm actually leaning in a very positive direction.
Word for the Day: Deja Vu. Impression of having seen or experienced something before.
It's not really worth spending much time writing up this game. Just go back a couple of days and read about the one-run loss.
Same good news: The much maligned pitching was excellent - Chacon gave up only 2 runs over 6 innings, on 5 hits, 4 BBs and 4 Ks. Then Villareal pitched two innings in relief; the 1 run he allowed earned him the loss.
Same bad news: Someone forgot to tell the rest of the guys to hit in a few runs. Pence, Berkman, Lee, and Tejada had exactly one hit (and 5 Ks) between them. The Astros' measly 2 runs were both scored on RBI doubles, one by Loretta and one by Towles, but neither of the scoring base runners had gotten on base with a hit. Of course, 2 runs is twice as many runs as the Astros scored in their first two games combined, so in that sense, this can be seen as offensive improvement. And give credit where it's due: The Padres have pretty awesome pitching.
Bottom Line: Although it's tough to lose the opening series, there's a lot that actually bodes well for the Astros' season. The pitching has been much better than anticipated. The worst game, in terms of opposition runs scored, was the classic Wandy Road Show - which the Astros ultimately won. The second worst game was Oswalt's Opening Night loss. I'm not really worried about Oswalt; the other two losses were despite the pitching, not because of it. I'm not really worried about the Astros' offense yet either - this lineup has just got to score a lot of runs this season. And the agressive baserunning adds energy to the game; everyone expects Bourn to run - but Berkman? He stole another base in this game. Bourn and Berkman lead the major leagues in SBs! I'm not going to make my season predictions until the Astros go back to Houston for their home opener - but despite the W-L record, I'm actually leaning in a very positive direction.
Thursday, April 3, 2008
GAME 3 - April 2: Now That's More Like It!
Houston 9, San Diego 6
Word for the Day: Epitome. A typical or ideal example; embodiment.
Finally, the Astros played a game that epitomizes the predicted 2008 team: Roughed-up starting pitching, but enough big bats to offset at least some of the damage. Wandy's first start of the season continued his "road" pattern of 2007 - in 5 innings he gave up
4 runs on 8 hits, 1 BB, and 6 Ks. (Let's hope that his 2007 "home" pattern continues too!) But the big offense started early, and came back at the end to give the Astros their first win of 2008.
The first run came in the first inning, doubling their run count for the whole season. Like the other run the night before (on a bases loaded walk), it wasn't a very imposing offensive feat - Berkman scored on a 2-out throwing error. But in the second inning, the bottom of the lineup lit up against old nemesis Greg Maddux: Blum and Wiggington hit back-to-back home runs to give the Astros a 3-run lead. That didn't last long, as Wandy gave up a pair of runs in each of the next two innings.
From there on, it was a game of cat and mouse - the Astros would tie it up, only to have the Padres come back in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. Carlos Lee tied it up 4-4, in the 6th with his first home run of the season, but Borkowski gave it back in the bottom of the inning on 4 hits. Then Berkman showed a new side in the 8th: After hitting a leadoff double, he stole third base! BERKMAN!? The unexpectedness of it was probably a factor in the success. That put him on third when Tejada came up, with one out, and hit a sac fly to score him, tying it up at 5-5.
Unfortunately, the Padres regained the lead in the bottom of the 8th, scoring off Valverde on a sac fly. That put the Astros up in the 9th, trailing by a run, and facing the Closer of the Century Trever Hoffman. Wiggington ground out - one down. Towles flied out - two down. Cruz Jr came up to pinch hit. Soon there was a full count, and the Astros were on the verge of extending their season-long losing streak.
I think my favorite baseball expression is "They came back to win it." Really, is there anything better than to go into the 9th a run behind, and then with 2 outs and a full count on the batter, they rally?
Cruz was patient - he walked. Bourn singled, two on, two out. But it's hopeless, right? The Astros at that point were 0 for 20 with RISP!!! But my guy Hunter Pence was up - he hit a single to right, scoring Cruz to tie the game! Then Berkman, already with two doubles on the night, whacked the ball out over the center field wall, for a 3-run homer. Astros lead 9-6. Valverde came back out for the bottom of the ninth, and shut the Padres down fo
r the win.
There is so much to like in a game like this: Berkman hustles! Four dingers! Come from behind! ASTROS WIN!!!
Quirky Thing from this Game: Cooper really is going to try to use Ausmus as a backup infielder. He brought him in to play second base in the bottom of the ninth. He might have done fine (remember the double play he turned when Garner put him at SS in a reverse blowout last year?), but didn't get the chance. Valverde struck out two and the other guy flied out.
I'd like to see a lot more "epitome" games, and perhaps a few less "inauspicious" ones! Tomorrow: A day game to end the series - care to split it?
Word for the Day: Epitome. A typical or ideal example; embodiment.
Finally, the Astros played a game that epitomizes the predicted 2008 team: Roughed-up starting pitching, but enough big bats to offset at least some of the damage. Wandy's first start of the season continued his "road" pattern of 2007 - in 5 innings he gave up
4 runs on 8 hits, 1 BB, and 6 Ks. (Let's hope that his 2007 "home" pattern continues too!) But the big offense started early, and came back at the end to give the Astros their first win of 2008.The first run came in the first inning, doubling their run count for the whole season. Like the other run the night before (on a bases loaded walk), it wasn't a very imposing offensive feat - Berkman scored on a 2-out throwing error. But in the second inning, the bottom of the lineup lit up against old nemesis Greg Maddux: Blum and Wiggington hit back-to-back home runs to give the Astros a 3-run lead. That didn't last long, as Wandy gave up a pair of runs in each of the next two innings.
From there on, it was a game of cat and mouse - the Astros would tie it up, only to have the Padres come back in the bottom of the inning to regain the lead. Carlos Lee tied it up 4-4, in the 6th with his first home run of the season, but Borkowski gave it back in the bottom of the inning on 4 hits. Then Berkman showed a new side in the 8th: After hitting a leadoff double, he stole third base! BERKMAN!? The unexpectedness of it was probably a factor in the success. That put him on third when Tejada came up, with one out, and hit a sac fly to score him, tying it up at 5-5.
Unfortunately, the Padres regained the lead in the bottom of the 8th, scoring off Valverde on a sac fly. That put the Astros up in the 9th, trailing by a run, and facing the Closer of the Century Trever Hoffman. Wiggington ground out - one down. Towles flied out - two down. Cruz Jr came up to pinch hit. Soon there was a full count, and the Astros were on the verge of extending their season-long losing streak.
I think my favorite baseball expression is "They came back to win it." Really, is there anything better than to go into the 9th a run behind, and then with 2 outs and a full count on the batter, they rally?
Cruz was patient - he walked. Bourn singled, two on, two out. But it's hopeless, right? The Astros at that point were 0 for 20 with RISP!!! But my guy Hunter Pence was up - he hit a single to right, scoring Cruz to tie the game! Then Berkman, already with two doubles on the night, whacked the ball out over the center field wall, for a 3-run homer. Astros lead 9-6. Valverde came back out for the bottom of the ninth, and shut the Padres down fo
r the win.There is so much to like in a game like this: Berkman hustles! Four dingers! Come from behind! ASTROS WIN!!!
Quirky Thing from this Game: Cooper really is going to try to use Ausmus as a backup infielder. He brought him in to play second base in the bottom of the ninth. He might have done fine (remember the double play he turned when Garner put him at SS in a reverse blowout last year?), but didn't get the chance. Valverde struck out two and the other guy flied out.
I'd like to see a lot more "epitome" games, and perhaps a few less "inauspicious" ones! Tomorrow: A day game to end the series - care to split it?
Wednesday, April 2, 2008
GAME 2 - April 1: Close But No Cigar
San Diego 2, Houston 1
Word for the Day: Ironic. Poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended.
So things aren't quite what they seemed they would be. The Astros' highly touted offense remained silent for a second night. When at last they put a run on the board, it came on a walk with the bases loaded. Meanwhile, the much maligned pitching was excellent, holding the Padres to just two runs, both scored on a 4th inning homer. Oddly, these Astros looked more like the 2005 team than the new big-bat team that was predicted, as they flailed away to their second lo
ss of the season. (I won't complain if the outcome is more like 2005 that what is predicted.)
But there's always something to like...
The Pitching: Backe pitched 5 nice innings of baseball, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, 3 Ks, and 3 BBs. He was taken out after 5 innings when Coop brought Cruz Jr to pinch hit in a rare scoring opportunity. Villareal and Brocail finished up with 3 scoreless innings in relief.
Bourn Burns: For the second night, Bourn made Ed Wade look like a genius. Hitless, he walked twice - the first time stealing second (#3 for the year), and the second time pushing over the Astros' only run of the game (and the season, so far). He made another spectacular turned-around running catch deep in center field, as well as an outfield assist.
Pence Hits: After a hitless first game, Pence went 2 for 5, including a dribbler to first with 2 outs in the 9th. Many batters would have just accepted what appeared to be an easy out, but Pence went to the Biggio School of Baserunning and ran all out, beating the pitcher to the base.
But the bad news: Two games, two losses, and only one run to show for their trouble. Oh well, as Scarlett said, Tomorrow's another day...
Word for the Day: Ironic. Poignantly contrary to what was expected or intended.
So things aren't quite what they seemed they would be. The Astros' highly touted offense remained silent for a second night. When at last they put a run on the board, it came on a walk with the bases loaded. Meanwhile, the much maligned pitching was excellent, holding the Padres to just two runs, both scored on a 4th inning homer. Oddly, these Astros looked more like the 2005 team than the new big-bat team that was predicted, as they flailed away to their second lo
ss of the season. (I won't complain if the outcome is more like 2005 that what is predicted.)But there's always something to like...
The Pitching: Backe pitched 5 nice innings of baseball, giving up 2 runs on 5 hits, 3 Ks, and 3 BBs. He was taken out after 5 innings when Coop brought Cruz Jr to pinch hit in a rare scoring opportunity. Villareal and Brocail finished up with 3 scoreless innings in relief.
Bourn Burns: For the second night, Bourn made Ed Wade look like a genius. Hitless, he walked twice - the first time stealing second (#3 for the year), and the second time pushing over the Astros' only run of the game (and the season, so far). He made another spectacular turned-around running catch deep in center field, as well as an outfield assist.
Pence Hits: After a hitless first game, Pence went 2 for 5, including a dribbler to first with 2 outs in the 9th. Many batters would have just accepted what appeared to be an easy out, but Pence went to the Biggio School of Baserunning and ran all out, beating the pitcher to the base.
But the bad news: Two games, two losses, and only one run to show for their trouble. Oh well, as Scarlett said, Tomorrow's another day...
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