GAMES 32-34: Rare Bird Sighting

GAME 32 - May 11: Astros 6, Cardinals 3
GAME 33 - May 12: Astros 9, Cardinals 6
GAME 34 - May 13: Astros 4, Cardinals 1

Hey Bird Watchers! Here's something you don't see very often: Swept-Away Cardinals pooping in their own nest!

Yes, the worst team in the National League beat the best one, three games in a row. These weren't even close games - the Astros won each of them by a three run margin (although with Pulols & Co, that's not always helpful). They didn't look at all like losers: For the most part, the batters were hitting, the pitchers were pitching, the infield was double-playing, and Michael Bourn was doing his circus act in center field. The Astros took advantage of clutch situations and gifts (8 of their runs in the first two games were unearned, scored as a result of some of the Cardinal's 5 errors), worked their way out of jams, and (gasp!) hit a few home runs!

One of the most exciting things about this series was seeing Berkman coming back to normal - in these three games, he went 5 for 9,  including 2 homers and a double, plus 4 walks (all in Game 2). Over the Astros' current 4-game winning streak, the Puma has raised his batting average from .175 to .239. Obviously, this isn't a batting average he'd be happy with, but a 64 point rise in 4 games is certainly a sign of going in the right direction!

It wasn't obvious at the start that this series would have such a happy ending. Up until the seventh inning, they were chugging along not scoring any runs and making Brad Penny look like another Cy Young candidate. Three up, three down. When they did get a runner, he was erased by a double play or caught stealing. We all know this routine by now. Brett Myers gave up some hits and walks in his 6 inning start, but pitched out of trouble and managed to keep the Cards to only 2 runs.

Then the miracle happened: Down 2-0, with one out in the 7th inning, Carlos Lee managed to get on base, courtesy of a throwing error. At this point El Cabernet will take whatever comes his way. Pence doubled, pushing  Lee around to third. Two runners in scoring position with only one out - you gotta score in that scenario!  Blum was hit by a pitch to load the bases. Uh-oh. You don't gotta score in that situation - you're just a double play away from a big fat nuthin'... Up comes Tommy Manzella, who's been blowing us away with his nice fielding, but not looking quite big league at the plate. But no problem - he gets the sac fly to make cut the Cards' lead in half. Mills then brought in Corey Sullivan to pinch hit for Cash. Sullivan's a veteran, but hasn't been much of a bat this year -- but he lined to left to bring in Pence, tying it 2-2. Then Quintero came in to pinch hit for the pitcher, and he hit a single to left, scoring Blum to give the Astros a 3-2 lead. An error by the catcher allowed Sullivan to get to third, positioned to score when Bourn bunted his way into an RBI hit. That was all the fun that the Astros had in the seventh, but compared to a lot of recent games, it was a pretty huge accomplishment.

The Cards came back to make some noise in the bottom of the inning. Fulchino allowed the first two batters to get on base on a single and walk, got the next guy to fly out, then gave up a run on a single. That brought Pujols to the plate with 2 runners on and only one out - a recipe for a game changing play. Mills make the swap for ground-ball pitcher Chris Sampson, who did just what he was supposed to do: Two ground balls later the Astros were out of trouble, with the score 4-3. But there was more fun to come in the eighth -- Berkman and Pence hit solo homers to bump the Astros to a 6-3 lead, which Lyon and Lindstrom preserved for the win.

Game 2 was a sloppy slugfest, with the two teams combining for 15 runs, 20 hits, 9 walks, and 3 errors. But the Astros managed to piece together four consecutive scoring innings on Wandy's watch, allowing him to get a rare win. It was about time - in his first 6 starts of the season, his teammates had only come up with 7 runs for Wandy. Wandy knew that pitching well wouldn't necessarily be enough; he'd have to pitch in with his bat to ensure a win. And he did -- he got a single, hit a RBI sac fly, and scored twice.

Most of the runs scored in a the 5-run fourth inning, with an error again playing a big role. Feliz led off with a single. Another fielding error by the shortstop allowed Quintero to reach. Manzella struck out for the first out. Wandy bunted, but the play was made at third. Two outs, runners on first and second... Or should I say, only two outs? Lots of fun still to come! Bourn singled to load the bases and Kepp doubled to clear them. Berkman then hit a 2-run homer, to make the run total 5 for the inning. Lee flied out (his specialty this season) to kill the action. The homer was the Puma's only hit in the game, but that didn't limit his base time -- he walked in all of his other 4 at bats.

Wandy pitched really well in the first 5 innings, holding the Cards to a single unearned run. By the time he came to the mound in the bottom of the sixth, with that  9-1 lead, he might have been a little overwhelmed. He gave back 4 runs, on a 2 singles, 2 doubles, a walk, and an RBI ground ball. He left the game with a four run lead, 9-5, but as I tweeted during the game, you can never trust the Cards not to come back and bit you. All it takes is a walk and a bloop single and an error or hit batter and before you know it you've got Pujols at bat with the bases loaded... But happily, that didn't happen in this game. Sampson pitched a scoreless seventh. Wilton Lopez threw a terrific 10-pitch eighth inning. After inducing a ground out to the first batter, he struck out the next two on six swinging strikes. In the ninth, Lopez came back to the mound and quickly erased the first two batters. But after he gave up a pair of singles, with Pujols coming up to bat, Mills called for his closer. Maybe he could have just left Lopes on the mound; Linstrom gave up a double to Pujols, scoring one run, and chiseling the Astros' lead down to 3 runs. But Holliday lined out to end the threat, and the Astros won 9-6.

With the series win assured, and on a 3-game winning streak, the Astros were pumped up for an afternoon game Thursday. I was at work, taking sneak peeks at the score between meetings, so by the time I made it home Thursday night, I already knew that the Astros had won. It could be a coincidence, or it could be that Bud Norris just has the Cards' number. Either way, the rookie came up against veteran pitching star Chris Carpenter in what should have been a mismatch. Instead, Bud Lite pitched 8 stellar innings to get his fourth win (and no losses) against the Cards. He gave up only 1 run on 6 hits, no walks, and 8 strikeouts. Lindstrom pitched a scoreless ninth for the save (#9).

Meanwhile, as Roy and Wandy can attest, pitching a terrific game doesn't mean you won't get a loss. Your team needs to score you some runs. Once again, the Astros did that with a Big Inning. In this game, they scored all 4 of their runs in that big third inning. Norris led off by grounding out. Bourn walked, then advanced to second on Kepp's single. The Puma singled to score Bourn. Lee popped a ball up, and the umps called the Infield Fly Rule for the second out. Apparently, there was a bit of chatter between El Cab and Chris Carpenter (known to be kind of an edgy prima donna on the mound), which resulted in both benches and both bullpens to empty out in the strangest on-field tussle I've ever seen. All the players just kind of milled about, no pushing or scrapping. Then they all went back. Happily, it was apparently enough to distract Carpenter, who gave up a 3-run homer to Pence. That was all the scoring action the Astros could pull off, but with the terrific pitching by Norris and Lindstrom, nothing more was required to complete the sweep.

Astros swept up the Cardinals' droppings and advanced three games in the division standings. Of course, they are still down in last place. But it sure was good to win big against the Card to start this long road trip. Now out West to SF and LA...