GAMES 10-11: Roy O and Wandy Deliver

April 17: Reds 2, Astros 1
April 18: Astros 7, Reds 0

Nice work from the starting rotation, as Roy Oswalt and Wandy Rodriguez both delivered quality performances to kick off the series with the Reds. I managed to catch the tail end of Saturday evening's game after the Sabbath, then watched both games on the mlb.tv archive on Sunday morning.

Friday night Roy O finally had a start that should have earned him his first "W" of the season. With his crazy 23-1 record against the Reds, this should have been his night, and he gave it a good battle. It really was a battle - it took him 108 pitches to get through 6 scoreless innings, giving up 5 hits and 3 walks and striking out 4. For the first four innings, Oswalt had base runners in every frame, working his way out of trouble to keep the shutout intact. His easiest innings were the fifth and sixth, nice quick 1-2-3 innings. Geary and Hawkins kept the shutout going in the seventh and eighth innings.

With all the hard work from the pitching staff, the Astros lineup squandered the chance to pull off an easy win. This was not another Cy Young quality performance they were up against: Reds starter Johnny Cueto walked six in less than five innings. But the Astros only managed to get 2 actual hits off of him, eking out only a single run. They had their chances: They had runners on second and third with one out in the fourth inning, but failed to score. Then, with 2 outs in the fifth, Oswalt and Bourn walked, and Tejada singled to load the bases. Berkman, who has terrorized the Reds over the course of his career, walked to score Oswalt. Bases still loaded, El Caballo grounded out to end the opportunity.

The weak offense put the game in the hands of the closers, as the Astros took a 1-0 lead into the ninth. Valverde lost his end of the duel, giving up a walk, followed by a 1-out home run to Ramon Hernandez. With the Reds ahead 2-1, Reds closer Francisco Cordero gave the Astros one last chance, allowing one-out singles by Blum and Pudge. But Jason Smith, starting at second for the still-ailing Matsui, grounded into a double play to end the game in a bitter loss. Hard luck for Oswalt, who battled hard from the mound and even scored the Astros' only run. It was his best start of the season, but his first win still eludes him.

Saturday night, the Astros won their first shutout of the year, behind another excellent start for Wandy. His teammates provided plenty of the run support that they denied Roy O the night before, starting with a pair of runs on 4 singles in the first inning. But the extra fire power wasn't needed, as Wandy mystified the Reds over 7 innings, holding them to 2 hits and 2 walks, and striking out 10. In his first trip throught the Reds' lineup, Wandy struck out 6 of 9, with 5 Ks in a row in the second/third innings. His only hint of trouble came in a 28-pitch seventh, with a pair of two-out walks, but he managed to strike out the next batter to end the inning. This game is just another example of why I am beating the drum for Wandy this year - if he can just keep off the DL, I am looking to him for a career year. His stuff really looks sharp.

The Astros' have had their share of batting and scoring woes this season - making many opposing pitchers look like CY winners. But against Aaron Harang, who was coming off of a 3-hit shutout in his last outing, they did just fine on Saturday. The fun started in the first inning, when Tejada, Lee, Pence, and Blum combined for a pair of runs on 4 singles. They got the running game going also, with successful steals by Tejada (first) and Pence (third).

In the fifth, Bourn led off with a single and promptly stole second. From there it was an easy trip home on Lee's two-out double, giving the Astros a 3-0 lead. The Astros threatened again in the sixth, getting runners on second and third with no outs, but failed to score. That's where things stood as I tuned in after the Sabbath ended, in the top of the seventh inning with two Reds on base and two outs. Facing the potential tying run at the plate, Wandy struck out Laynce Nix to end the threat, allowing himself an emphatic bilateral pumping of fists as he left the mound.

With Wandy's pitch count over 100, his teammates apparently decided not to leave the outcome of the game to Valverde again. They batted around in the bottom of the inning, plating 4 more runs. The action started when Harang plunked leadoff hitter Tejada in the back. A wild pitch later, Tejada was standing on second. Harang then walked Berkman on 4 pitches, prompting a pitching change. Reliever Jared Burton, noting that El Caballo already had 3 hits in the game, didn't want to take any chances - he loaded the bases on a 4-pitch walk. I was jumping up and down, wanting to see Pence hit a grandslam, but he stuck out on three pitches for the first out. The Reds were hoping to see a double play, but back-to-back 2-run doubles by Blum and Pudge instead gave the Astros a rare Big Inning.

With a 7-run lead, Wandy got the rest of the night off, Chris Sampson pitched a hitless eighth. He made the third out of the inning with an athletic play at first, then rolled to the ground and stayed there for a few moments. Hopefully he didn't twist or turn anything. Fulchino threw a perfect ninth inning for a very nice Astros' debut.

Besides the great pitching, it was great to see some offense in this game. In particular, Carlos Lee had a big game, going 3 for 3, with an RBI and a pair of runs. Lee had a dreadful spring, and had come into this game hitting .189. Blum also had a great game, going 3 for 4 with 3 RBIs. Pence and Pudge each contributed a pair of hits.

Nice to See: The Bushes were in their customary spots behind home plate on Saturday. It was nice to see Barbara looking good after her recent heart surgery, keeping up on her scorecard. It was also nice to see Willie T, who's now playing for the Reds.

Fashion Statements: The Astros wore the home whites for the Saturday game. In an unfortunate equipment failure, Washington's Dunn and Zimmerman appeared for several innings in jerseys with "NATINALS" emblazoned across their chests. Perhaps a comment on the quality of the DC Public Schools?

In Other MLB News: The Astros big 4-run sixth on Saturday night was a big deal for a team who has had little offensive punch this year. But it was puny next to the Indians' 14-run second inning against the Yankees Saturday, on their way to a 22-4 win. The Tribe was one batter short of batting around twice. Chien-Ming Wang was the starting goat, although he had plenty of help from a hapless bullpen. Although I don't normally have time to watch the other teams' games, I had to watch that inning just to enjoy hearing the Yankee's announcers' angst. The NY crowd began booing after the 4th run. Wang is now 0-3 with an ERA over 34. Poor reliever Anthony Claggett, gave up 8 runs (including a grand slam) in his Yankee's debut. The crowds were begging for center fielder Swisher to pitch by the end of the inning. Total damage in the 37- minute half inning: 14 runs on 13 hits (just one shy of the AL record) on 89 pitches. Sorry, Josh (my Yankee-loving son) - your team sucks.

Exile Experiences: I think I finally figured out how to avoid the constant freezes in the streaming on mlb.tv. After consulting the help FAQ and users groups, and trying various options for the Flash settings, I finally considered the possibility that my 5-year-old laptop might be part of the problem. Deciding that continuous action is more important than good video quality, I tried knocking down the video quality a notch. That worked - I now get good streaming of a somewhat less than excellent video.