GAME 132 - August 31: Astros 3, Cardinals 0 (Happy Birthday Josh!)
GAME 133 - September 30: Astros , Cardinals
September!!! It's still almost 100 outside, but the calendar says it's September. Fall's just around the corner. Baseball season's coming to a close -- for the Astros at least. Things have been quite entertaining recently, but that hole they dug at the beginning of the season will mean that our guys will be relaxing at home come October.
So now that we're playing the kids, the Astros have started to win. And not just against loser teams, either. First they swept the Phillies. Now the Cardinals. Two teams that now find themselves in second place in their divisions. The Astros may not be going to the playoffs but they are still a team that counts -- as a spoiler for those teams with aspirations of post-season fun and games. Baseball games, that is.
Who knows -- we may still end up with a winning season! We're just 9 games under .500, with 29 games still to go. And we were 8-2 in our last 10 games. Do the math. It's possible. (Note that we are not yet mathematically eliminated, but I'm not making any claims in that department. I'm not looking to be a total fool!)
So we swept the Cardinals this week, leaving them 8 games behind the Reds going into this weekend's series between the two teams. We won against St Louis the same way we've been winning against other teams -- with terrific starting pitching. This time it was the triumphant trio of Happ, Wandy, and Figeuroa who got the honors. Happ threw a complete game shutout on Monday night, giving up only 2 hits. It was a great comeback for him, after his previous embarrassing start against the Cardinals -- his only poor performance since joining the Astros. This time he was lights out. Vindication!
Wandy showed up Tuesday night, and nearly duplicated the performance, with 7 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits. It was a pretty stunning show against the formidable Chris Carpenter, who lost the duel on one 3-run inning. This continues a fantastic run for him in the second half -- his ERA is just 1.65 in his past 13 starts, with a 8-2 record.
Wednesday afternoon, Figueroa was quite a bit less dominating, but earned the win anyway. After allowing 2 runs in the first inning, he kept the Cards scoreless for another 4 innings, despite a couple of bases-loaded situations. The bullpen kept things going, and a big 3 run homer by Pence in the fifth made Figgy a winner.
The starting pitching has been outstanding, and the bullpen's no slouch either. The Astros hitters haven't exactly been tearing the cover off the ball -- the team is still in last or next to last place in nearly every offensive stat category. But there have been some players who've been hitting well. Pence is hitting hard, and has raised his batting average to .288 with 21 homers. Considering where he came from at the start of the season, that means some serious over .300 time since then. Even El Caballo is coming along, with a big string of August RBIs. More like the guy he better be to earn his massive paycheck over the next two years!
Now that it's September, there are some new faces in the clubhouse. But I'll have to talk about that next time. Gotta light for Shabbat!!!
So now that we're playing the kids, the Astros have started to win. And not just against loser teams, either. First they swept the Phillies. Now the Cardinals. Two teams that now find themselves in second place in their divisions. The Astros may not be going to the playoffs but they are still a team that counts -- as a spoiler for those teams with aspirations of post-season fun and games. Baseball games, that is.
Who knows -- we may still end up with a winning season! We're just 9 games under .500, with 29 games still to go. And we were 8-2 in our last 10 games. Do the math. It's possible. (Note that we are not yet mathematically eliminated, but I'm not making any claims in that department. I'm not looking to be a total fool!)
So we swept the Cardinals this week, leaving them 8 games behind the Reds going into this weekend's series between the two teams. We won against St Louis the same way we've been winning against other teams -- with terrific starting pitching. This time it was the triumphant trio of Happ, Wandy, and Figeuroa who got the honors. Happ threw a complete game shutout on Monday night, giving up only 2 hits. It was a great comeback for him, after his previous embarrassing start against the Cardinals -- his only poor performance since joining the Astros. This time he was lights out. Vindication!
Wandy showed up Tuesday night, and nearly duplicated the performance, with 7 shutout innings, allowing just 2 hits. It was a pretty stunning show against the formidable Chris Carpenter, who lost the duel on one 3-run inning. This continues a fantastic run for him in the second half -- his ERA is just 1.65 in his past 13 starts, with a 8-2 record.
Wednesday afternoon, Figueroa was quite a bit less dominating, but earned the win anyway. After allowing 2 runs in the first inning, he kept the Cards scoreless for another 4 innings, despite a couple of bases-loaded situations. The bullpen kept things going, and a big 3 run homer by Pence in the fifth made Figgy a winner.
The starting pitching has been outstanding, and the bullpen's no slouch either. The Astros hitters haven't exactly been tearing the cover off the ball -- the team is still in last or next to last place in nearly every offensive stat category. But there have been some players who've been hitting well. Pence is hitting hard, and has raised his batting average to .288 with 21 homers. Considering where he came from at the start of the season, that means some serious over .300 time since then. Even El Caballo is coming along, with a big string of August RBIs. More like the guy he better be to earn his massive paycheck over the next two years!
Now that it's September, there are some new faces in the clubhouse. But I'll have to talk about that next time. Gotta light for Shabbat!!!
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