GAME 11: Roy O Gets his W

GAME 11 - April 17: Astros 4, Cubs 3

I read afterwards that Roy Oswalt hid in the bathroom during the ninth inning, he was so nervous that the Cubs would score and he'd lose his change for a win. He had his reasons. Remember his 2009 record-setting 16 no decisions? Remember Oswalt's first win last season - on May 10th? Remember his two solid starts this season - resulting in a pair of losses when his teammates didn't score even a single run on his watch? You can bet that Oswalt remembers. So there he was, according to the media reports, hiding in the bathroom when Matt Lindstrom got the last out of the game and the Wiz got his W.

Oswalt certainly earned the win - he pitched 7 shutout innings, gave up 5 hits (4 singles and a double), not a single walk, and struck out 6. He threw a lot of 92-94 MPH fastballs/sinkers and sliders in the early innings, adding in his wicked curveball (as low as 63 MPH) starting in the third inning. Oswalt's win put him at 138 career, taking over second place from Larry Dierker (137 from '64-'76) on the Astros all-time winningest pitcher list. Joe Niekro's first place position -- 144 ('75-'85) -- is definitely within range for Oswalt this year, assuming he stays healthy and the team backs him up. In this game, the Wiz looked like the classic Roy that we didn't get to see much of this time last year. This is one of the factors that makes me think that, despite the current standings, there's reason to hope for the Astros this season. Before the season started, people said that without a good year for Oswalt and Berkman, the Astros would be in trouble. So far Oswalt's pitched much better than his 1-2 record shows - and much, much better than last April. The jury's still out on Berkman, since he's on the DL.

The other hero of this game was the much-berated starting catcher wannabe, JR Towles. Coming into the game with a batting average in the fifties, he didn't seem to be much of a threat to the Cubs. But he turned into their biggest enemy, after Oswalt, going 3 for 4, to raise his batting average about .130 points. His first hit was a bloop RBI single in the second inning, which might not have even been a hit if Soriano didn't play left field quite so deep. His next hit was completely legit - a leadoff homer to left field in the fifth. His third hit, another soft single to Soriano, got him on base, setting him up to score the Astros fourth and final run of the game.

Not to nitpick, but there were also a few things not to like in this win. The first was Brandon Lyon, who nearly gave away Oswalt's great start, allowing the Cubs to earn back three runs in the eighth inning. I'm still trying to figure out why the Astros signed him to such a nice deal in the offseason - so far he hasn't been really impressive as a setup man, let alone a potential closer. His line for this game: two-thirds of an inning, giving up 3 runs on a single and then 3 doubles, before Sampson came in to rescue him.  I know it's early in the season, but so far he's not looking too good - with a ERA over 10 to back up that impression.

The second thing not to like was not seeing Bourn - he's out for a sore groin. With Bourn one of the few Astros who hasn't been in a slump, we can't afford to miss him. Hopefully, he'll be back after the day off.
In his absence, Keppinger got the leadoff spot in the lineup. Hitting over .350, Keppinger is making it hard for Mills to use Matsui (only 2 hits in his 21 at bats).

The third thing not to like were the infield fielding errors - one by Feliz and one by Manzella with 2 outs  in the ninth (which probably added to Oswalt's nervousness in his hideout). No one's perfect, but with the offense so miserable, we can't afford to give anything away.

On the subject of our miserable offense... I'm not going to run through a bunch of stats this week. Our place in the standings and win-loss record gives a good indication of how the Astros compare to everyone else. It's just depressing to talk about being worse than the Nationals. But here's one astounding statistic: Four of the six top batting averages on the team are held by pitchers: Paulino (.500), Wandy (.500), then after our one-two stars Kepp and Bourn, Norris (.333) and Myers (.250). I do like a pitcher who can help himself at the plate, but really - this is incredibly bad. Lee and Pence, two would-be offensive star players whose slumps are helping to doom the Astros, both went 1 for 4 in this game, improving their batting averages to .116 and .122 respectively. Maybe when Lee spent an inning sitting with the relievers during Spring Training, he was thinking of trying out for a spot in the bullpen. I just wish he wouldn't get batting average mixed up with ERA.

Hopefully, this situation will start to improve a bit when we get the Puma back in the lineup later this week. He's on a rehab in Round Rock this weekend. He didn't get a hit in Saturday's game (0 for 2), but he did contribute a game-tying RBI sac fly. Unfortunately the Express went on to lose the game. In a worrisome parallel universe, the Astros Triple A team is mirroring the big leaguers, with a 2-8 record to start their season. It would be nice to think that even if the Astros don't have a great season this year (and I'm not giving up yet!), they're rebuilding for the future. But our farm teams are still not highly regarded, to be charitable.

Next up: Wandy's pitching this afternoon, looking for his first win of the season. Can we beat our streak - with two consecutive wins?