GAME 12: Wrong Outcome

April 19: Reds 4, Astros 2

This game just came out upside down. The Astros should have won it. They should have scored at least 6 runs. There's just no way that this came out right. Tilt. Does not compute... With all the holidays and day games, I've gotten so used to watching games after the fact, knowing the outcome, that watching a live game just seems weird. I kept thinking that there was supposed to be a happy ending, but there wasn't.

So let's just recap the good, the bad, and the ugly.

The good: Felipe Paulino. Shunted up to the big leagues straight from Round Rock to fill in for Moehler, Paulino pitched six shutout innings. After a kind of shaky start - a leadoff single to Willie T, followed by a hit batter - he settled in and threw a terrific start. He gave up only 3 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6. And just for good measure, he got his first major league hit, a two-out single in the fourth inning.

The bad: The RISP. The Astros stranded runners right and left, many of them in scoring position. This was not one of those games where the opposing pitchers were lights out: The Reds allowed 7 hits and 8 walks, not to mention 3 errors. Reds starter Volquez may have been an All Star last year, but he gave the Astros plenty of chances today - they just failed to captialize on them. The Astros left runners on the corners in the first inning. They loaded the bases with one out in the third and fifth (see "ugly," below), and didn't score. They left runners on second and third in the eighth, and on first and second in the ninth. And it wasn't the bottom of the lineup (three guys who came into the game with a cumulative 0.00 batting average) - Berkman, Lee, Pence, and Blum all had ample opportunities for heroism, and missed the chance.

The ugly: It wasn't all their fault though. The Astros had a little help from second base ump Joe West, who flat out blew a call, costing the Astros at least one run. With the bases loaded and one out in the fifth inning, the second baseman appeared to "tag" Pence as he ran by, then threw to first to complete the double play, ending the inning. However, in the replays, it wasn't even close; the "tag" didn't come within a couple of feet of Pence, who should have been safe at second, while Berkman scored, with two outs. Nor did Pence appear to have run outside the baseline to avoid the tag. The Astros may or may not have been able to score any additional runs in the inning, but that run was just stolen by a sloppy call. These things happen in baseball, but with a close game like this one, it's a shame that the umpire might have affected the outcome.

A bit more good: Tejada. People love to beat up on Tejada - the drug thing, the cost of the trade to get him, the fact that he's past his prime. But it's not his fault that the Astros gave up five young players to get him. And even if he's past his prime, he's been performing this month. Batting second, he went 3 for 5 today, with his first RBI of the season. He may not be a Golden Glove contender this year, but he's made some pretty slick plays at short, today included.

More not-too-good: After such a nice performance by Paulino, the bullpen looked sloppy. Byrdak walked his one batter in the seventh on a full count, before Geary came in and let things fall apart. He allowed a single, then made a throwing error that scored a runner and left two in scoring position. The Reds then brought in pitcher Micah Owings to pinch hit for their starter. Owings, a very good batter, promptly smacked a double to give the Reds a 3-1 lead. Geary then hit Taveras with a pitch before retiring the side on a strikeout and double play. Fulchino pitched a harmless eighth. Sampson, who apparently is fine following his tumble making a play at first last night, gave up a run on a triple, followed by a sac fly.

Faces in the crowd: Quintero made a rare start behind the plate. Getting so little playing time is not helping him as a batter: He went 0 for 3 in this game to maintain his perfect 0.00 average. Jason Smith started again at second, covering for Matsui. Despite his hot time in Spring Training, he's now 0 for 17 for the season, after going 0 for 3 with a sac bunt today. Matsui, who's been out for several days with a sore back, came in to pinch run and stayed in at second. That put him in the lineup in the ninth, when he ended the game with a fly ball to right, leaving the tying runners stranded. The only guy left on the bench today was Keppinger, who's also got a sore back. It seems to be contagious. The Senior Bushes were in the stands, in their customary spot behind home plate.