Houston 10, San Diego 3
Word for the Day: Blowout: A lopsided victory or thorough defeat.
Finally the game we have all been waiting to see all season - the Astros' first double-digit blowout win! What's not to like about a game with ten Houston runs, thirteen hits, homers for Berkman and Tejada, two Bourn steals, and another Oswalt "W"?! The only possible complaint was missing the first inning, when the Astros scored half their runs; I couldn't turn on the computer until the second day of Passover ended at dark. Hey, really, I am not complaining!
The offense was the shining star of this game, with Tejada the brightest of all. Continuing his very hot home stand, he went 4 for 5, with a home run, a double, and a pair of singles, good for 3 RBI. Berkman hit a 3-run homer (#5) in the first inning, and Pence followed with an RBI double for his first of 2 hits of the game. Matsui also got 2 hits, and scored twice.
Staked to an early 5-0 lead, Oswalt pitched like the real Roy O, not like The Alien from the start of the season. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 3 runs on 6 hits, 2 BBs, and 6 Ks. The bullpen backed him up well: Tim Byrdak, just up from Round Rock, pitched a scoreless 8th, and Villareal followed to shut down the Padres in the 9th. All and all, a good game for the pitching staff.
At the same time, the team continued to do the other little things that are shaping this season: another game, another double play. No errors in this game; only 7 for the season, fewest in the league. Two more stolen bases for Bourn - he's leading the league now with 13. Lots of little things to like about this team.
But the best part of all was the hitting and scoring! It was so nice not to have to see a nailbiter for a change. A blowout! Finally a chance to see the Astros as the slugger team that they were predicted to be this season. (Even Oswalt got a hit!) Things are really starting to come around in the offense department. Tejada has been a monster this home stand. Pence, after a horrible season start, has gone 7 for 14 in the past 4 games. If Tejada, Berkman, Lee, and Pence can all get hot at the same time, this double-digit game won't be an aberration!
Meanwhile, guess who is not in last place in the NL Central!
Tuesday, April 22, 2008
GAMES 17-19 - April 18-20: Passed Over...
GAME 17: Colorado 11, Houston 5
GAME 18: Colorado 3, Houston 2
GAME 19: Houston 6, Colorado 4
Word for the Day: Seder: Hebrew for "order," ceremonial dinner held on the first and second evenings of Passover in commemoration of the exodus from Egypt.
As is my custom, I passed over watching these Passover weekend games. And according to the box scores, I didn't miss much fun for the first two. I'll be back to update this blog entry after I've had a chance to take a look at the games on the mlb.tv archive.
GAME 18: Colorado 3, Houston 2
GAME 19: Houston 6, Colorado 4
Word for the Day: Seder: Hebrew for "order," ceremonial dinner held on the first and second evenings of Passover in commemoration of the exodus from Egypt.
As is my custom, I passed over watching these Passover weekend games. And according to the box scores, I didn't miss much fun for the first two. I'll be back to update this blog entry after I've had a chance to take a look at the games on the mlb.tv archive.
Friday, April 18, 2008
GAME 16 - April 17: Peeeeeeyooooo!
Philadelphia 10, Houston 2
Word for the Day: Stinker: Something of very low standard or quality.
Yup, it was a stinker all right. Houston pitchers gave up 10 runs, including 4 homers. Backe had his first really bad start, and Villareal and Valverde just did their usual. Blum made 2 errors - only one less than the whole team had coming into this game. Astros' batters forgot how to score, aside from solo home runs by Tejada and Lee.
While the Houston sportswriters are jumping all over the team, bemoaning impending gloom and doom, I'm going to just consider this game to be an anomaly. Backe is not going to pitch a gem every time he takes the mound, but he could very well have a really good year. Blum probably won't flub in the field in every game. Well, it may not be an anomaly for V & V, who are pretty consistently pitching poorly. But as for the rest, sometimes teams have a bad day, or a bad series - or even a bad start to the season (remember the 2005 Astros?).
There's still stuff to like. Today it was Bourn's 9th steal.
Since I will miss the next 4 games for Passover observance, I had gone into this game hoping for a big double-digit blowout. That's what it turned out to be - but for the wrong team. Unfortunately, I won't even be able to see the outcome of the next 4 games until Monday night, due to religious observance and a canceled subscription to the Washington Post. Let's hope for a really nice surprise, as the Astros go back to Houston for series against the Rockies and Padres.
Word for the Day: Stinker: Something of very low standard or quality.
Yup, it was a stinker all right. Houston pitchers gave up 10 runs, including 4 homers. Backe had his first really bad start, and Villareal and Valverde just did their usual. Blum made 2 errors - only one less than the whole team had coming into this game. Astros' batters forgot how to score, aside from solo home runs by Tejada and Lee.
While the Houston sportswriters are jumping all over the team, bemoaning impending gloom and doom, I'm going to just consider this game to be an anomaly. Backe is not going to pitch a gem every time he takes the mound, but he could very well have a really good year. Blum probably won't flub in the field in every game. Well, it may not be an anomaly for V & V, who are pretty consistently pitching poorly. But as for the rest, sometimes teams have a bad day, or a bad series - or even a bad start to the season (remember the 2005 Astros?).
There's still stuff to like. Today it was Bourn's 9th steal.
Since I will miss the next 4 games for Passover observance, I had gone into this game hoping for a big double-digit blowout. That's what it turned out to be - but for the wrong team. Unfortunately, I won't even be able to see the outcome of the next 4 games until Monday night, due to religious observance and a canceled subscription to the Washington Post. Let's hope for a really nice surprise, as the Astros go back to Houston for series against the Rockies and Padres.
Thursday, April 17, 2008
GAME 15 - April 16: Oswalt Rocks, Valverde Sits
Houston 2, Philadelphia 1
Quote of the Day: "We've got to get him on the horse as soon as the situation presents itself." (Cecil Cooper, on Valverde, the day after)
It was a nice of Coop to build up his beleaguered closer, after yet another perfectly dreadful blown save. "He's the man...He's the guy. I have a lot of confidence in him. I just told him, as soon as an opportunity presents itself, you'll get back out there." But when the opportunity presented itself on Wednesday night, with Roy Oswalt's start on the line in a one-r
un game, it was not Valverde on the mound in the bottom of the ninth. Valverde had had a bullpen session before the game, so Cooper brought in Doug Brocail to save the game for Oswalt's first W.
In a 2-1 game, it's all about the pitching. The best news of the night: Oswalt looked like himself again, not the weird alien who had taken over his body in the first three games of the season (and the last couple of games of Spring Training, too). His curve ball is back and it had the Phillies bamboozled. (Of course, Oswalt always has the Phillies bamboozled - he's won 6 consecutive games against them, since 2004.) He pitched 7 innings, giving up only a single run and 3 hits in the first inning. He threw 92 pitches, and only gave up another 2 hits after the first inning, with 2 BBs and 4 Ks. The second best news of the night: Wright came in to face the 2-3-4 batters in the Phillies lineup. He struck out the side on 12 pitches. The third best news of the night: Brocail pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save.
Of course, the Astros didn't win without scoring runs, meager as they were. The offensive hero for this game was Bourn, the off-season trade for Lidge, who scored both of the Astros runs. Nothing like showing off for the team who traded you. He reached base on an infield single to lead off the game, stole second, then scored on Lee's 2-out double. Then, in the 5th inning, he bounced a ball off the outfield foul pole, for his second home run in a week. That run turned out to be the decisive one, as the score held at 2-1 for the rest of the game. With 8 SBs in 8 tries, Bourn leads the Major Leagues - double the next runner up (so to speak).
This was the fourth straight game in which the Astros' pitchers (aside from Valverde) have been virtually lights-out. Not including Valverde's 4-run fiasco on Tuesday, Houston pitchers have given up a grand total of 2 runs in the past 4 games. This early in the season, with such a small sample of innings, games like these have made a huge dent in their ERAs. Backe and Chacon's ERAs are 2.25; Wandy's is only 2.33.
Some of the relievers have also been terrific. Brocail has had a stellar start to the season, with only 1 ER in 7+ innings, an ERA of 1.17. Ya know, that's kinda like what one would expect, say, from a closer... Wright's ERA is 2.70; Borkowski and Geary are both in the 3's. The main disappointment, besides Valverde, has been Villareal, with 2 losses and an ERA of 6.00. But overall, this improvement in mound performance, on top of the fantastic defense we've seen so far this season, bodes very well for the team.
In less cheerful news, Pence was 0 for 3, with 2 Ks; his batting average is down to .161.
Now if we could just have one of those double-digit run games, with Pence going for the cycle, and Bourn stealing 3 bases, and Berkman hitting homers from both sides of the plate... I am SO ready to see that!
Quote of the Day: "We've got to get him on the horse as soon as the situation presents itself." (Cecil Cooper, on Valverde, the day after)
It was a nice of Coop to build up his beleaguered closer, after yet another perfectly dreadful blown save. "He's the man...He's the guy. I have a lot of confidence in him. I just told him, as soon as an opportunity presents itself, you'll get back out there." But when the opportunity presented itself on Wednesday night, with Roy Oswalt's start on the line in a one-r
un game, it was not Valverde on the mound in the bottom of the ninth. Valverde had had a bullpen session before the game, so Cooper brought in Doug Brocail to save the game for Oswalt's first W.In a 2-1 game, it's all about the pitching. The best news of the night: Oswalt looked like himself again, not the weird alien who had taken over his body in the first three games of the season (and the last couple of games of Spring Training, too). His curve ball is back and it had the Phillies bamboozled. (Of course, Oswalt always has the Phillies bamboozled - he's won 6 consecutive games against them, since 2004.) He pitched 7 innings, giving up only a single run and 3 hits in the first inning. He threw 92 pitches, and only gave up another 2 hits after the first inning, with 2 BBs and 4 Ks. The second best news of the night: Wright came in to face the 2-3-4 batters in the Phillies lineup. He struck out the side on 12 pitches. The third best news of the night: Brocail pitched a scoreless ninth to get the save.
Of course, the Astros didn't win without scoring runs, meager as they were. The offensive hero for this game was Bourn, the off-season trade for Lidge, who scored both of the Astros runs. Nothing like showing off for the team who traded you. He reached base on an infield single to lead off the game, stole second, then scored on Lee's 2-out double. Then, in the 5th inning, he bounced a ball off the outfield foul pole, for his second home run in a week. That run turned out to be the decisive one, as the score held at 2-1 for the rest of the game. With 8 SBs in 8 tries, Bourn leads the Major Leagues - double the next runner up (so to speak).
This was the fourth straight game in which the Astros' pitchers (aside from Valverde) have been virtually lights-out. Not including Valverde's 4-run fiasco on Tuesday, Houston pitchers have given up a grand total of 2 runs in the past 4 games. This early in the season, with such a small sample of innings, games like these have made a huge dent in their ERAs. Backe and Chacon's ERAs are 2.25; Wandy's is only 2.33.
Some of the relievers have also been terrific. Brocail has had a stellar start to the season, with only 1 ER in 7+ innings, an ERA of 1.17. Ya know, that's kinda like what one would expect, say, from a closer... Wright's ERA is 2.70; Borkowski and Geary are both in the 3's. The main disappointment, besides Valverde, has been Villareal, with 2 losses and an ERA of 6.00. But overall, this improvement in mound performance, on top of the fantastic defense we've seen so far this season, bodes very well for the team.
In less cheerful news, Pence was 0 for 3, with 2 Ks; his batting average is down to .161.
Now if we could just have one of those double-digit run games, with Pence going for the cycle, and Bourn stealing 3 bases, and Berkman hitting homers from both sides of the plate... I am SO ready to see that!
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
GAME 14 - April 15: Cheated!
Philadelphia 4, Houston 3
Quote of the Day: "I made a good pitch." (Valverde)
Unfortunately Valverde made 19 other pitches, and they were not all good.
Perhaps Wandy Rodriguez and Shawn Chacon can start a new club for Astros' pitchers whose best start of
the season was literally thrown away by struggling closer Jose Valverde. Chacon was beautiful - he pitched 8 shutout innings, giving up only 4 singles and 2 walks, while striking out 5. Fans and sportswriters will likely argue over whether Cooper should have left him in for the 9th. With a 3-0 lead, and Chacon at 109 pitches and coming up to bat in the 9th, Coop made the same decision that most manager would probably make: He pinch-batted for Chacon and went to his closer.
It's ironic that the Astros were playing in Philadelphia, where Brad Lidge sat watching the game with his Phillies' teammates in the bullpen. From there, Lidge had a good view of his replacement screwing up. The mood was set on Valverde's first pitch to pinch-hitter Chris Snelling: BOOM! Right over the right field wall. The mood was reinforced on the second pitch: Chase
Utley was hit by the pitch. Then for the poetic interlude: Howard struck out on 3 pitches. There was a moment to hope that the Astros could pull this out with a third double play of the game... and then Burrell hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3.
At this point I was thinking that recent history would repeat, that the Astros would come back in the next inning to win the tied game and Valverde would get another unfairly earned "W." A repeat of the game the week before, when he stole Wandy's second start. But then when Valverde struck out Jenkins, and the ball got past Ausmus to put a runner on first, a darker thought crept in: They are going to lose this one. Pedro Feliz doubled to the left field corner, and Jenkins dashed for home, ignoring the third base coach with the stop sign on. He barely beat the tag, and the game was lost.
Some game notes: Berkman and Lee each got a pair of hits, and scored all of the Astros runs. Bourn got another stolen base (#7). Hunter Pence, still batting 7th, got an RBI for his 6th inning sac fly; otherwise, he continued his hitting slump. His BA is higher than Ausmus' - but just barely. It was nice to see Eric Bruntlett on the field, after his off-season trade to the Phillies - at least he's getting some playing time.
Fashion News: Each team had designated one player to wear Jackie Robinson's otherwise-retired jersey number. For Houston, it was Bourn wearing #42. Cooper wore Robinson's number also.
Quote of the Day: "I made a good pitch." (Valverde)
Unfortunately Valverde made 19 other pitches, and they were not all good.
Perhaps Wandy Rodriguez and Shawn Chacon can start a new club for Astros' pitchers whose best start of
the season was literally thrown away by struggling closer Jose Valverde. Chacon was beautiful - he pitched 8 shutout innings, giving up only 4 singles and 2 walks, while striking out 5. Fans and sportswriters will likely argue over whether Cooper should have left him in for the 9th. With a 3-0 lead, and Chacon at 109 pitches and coming up to bat in the 9th, Coop made the same decision that most manager would probably make: He pinch-batted for Chacon and went to his closer.It's ironic that the Astros were playing in Philadelphia, where Brad Lidge sat watching the game with his Phillies' teammates in the bullpen. From there, Lidge had a good view of his replacement screwing up. The mood was set on Valverde's first pitch to pinch-hitter Chris Snelling: BOOM! Right over the right field wall. The mood was reinforced on the second pitch: Chase
Utley was hit by the pitch. Then for the poetic interlude: Howard struck out on 3 pitches. There was a moment to hope that the Astros could pull this out with a third double play of the game... and then Burrell hit a two-run homer to tie the game at 3-3.At this point I was thinking that recent history would repeat, that the Astros would come back in the next inning to win the tied game and Valverde would get another unfairly earned "W." A repeat of the game the week before, when he stole Wandy's second start. But then when Valverde struck out Jenkins, and the ball got past Ausmus to put a runner on first, a darker thought crept in: They are going to lose this one. Pedro Feliz doubled to the left field corner, and Jenkins dashed for home, ignoring the third base coach with the stop sign on. He barely beat the tag, and the game was lost.
Some game notes: Berkman and Lee each got a pair of hits, and scored all of the Astros runs. Bourn got another stolen base (#7). Hunter Pence, still batting 7th, got an RBI for his 6th inning sac fly; otherwise, he continued his hitting slump. His BA is higher than Ausmus' - but just barely. It was nice to see Eric Bruntlett on the field, after his off-season trade to the Phillies - at least he's getting some playing time.
Fashion News: Each team had designated one player to wear Jackie Robinson's otherwise-retired jersey number. For Houston, it was Bourn wearing #42. Cooper wore Robinson's number also.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
GAME 13 - April 13: Wandy's Ruby Slippers
Houston 5, Florida 1
Quote of the Day: "There's no place like home... There's no place like home..." (Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; Wandy in Minute Maid Park)
Wandy Rodriguez continued his domination of Minute Maid Park with his second terrific start of this homestand. Six days after what was arguably his best start ever, he came back and did almost as well - 7 innings, giving up only one run (on a solo homer) on 5 hits, 1
BB, and 7 Ks. His ERA for his first 3 starts is just 2.33. He might look like a little kid standing next to some of his more traditionally built colleagues, but he sure looked like a real pitcher on the mound this week. And this time, unlike the last start, the relievers held on and let him get his first W of the season. Brocail pitched a scoreless eighth and Valverde did the same in the ninth in another non-save situation. Valverde has yet to pitch a 1-2-3 inning; like last night, he put a couple of runners on before ending the game without giving up a run.
The Astros started collecting runs in the second inning, with JR Towles' 2-run homer. Towles is a funny hitter - he's only batting .207, with 6 hits - but half of them are home runs. Bourn led off the third with a solo homer of his own - his first as an Astro - to make it 3-0. The Astros managed to add on one run in the sixth and one in the seventh inning, but missed the opportunity to turn it into a blowout - they left the bases loaded in both innings.
Okay, let's not get greedy - the Astros won consecutive games for the first time this season, and took the series from the NL East division-leading Marlins.
Towles had an eventful day. In addition to his home run, he walked in a run when he came to bat with two outs in the 6th. Then in the 8th, he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist, and was taken out of the game to get it xrayed. Happily, It appears to just be a bruise, but I don't suspect that he'll be doing handstands on home plate for the next few days. With both Wiggington and Matsui on the DL, the Astros don't want to lose any more position players in the infield.
Pence got the day off today - Erstad and Cruz Jr split the game in RF.
Did I mention that the Astros won TWO games in a row?
The Astros have a day off tomorrow, before moving up to my part of the country - more or less. They will play 3 games in Philadelphia this week. Hopefully they will not have to face Brad Lidge, because they will be so far ahead that his services as the closer won't be necessary. (Lidge has pitched in 5 games so far this year, 1 inning each, and has not given up any earned runs, with 1 hit, 5 Ks and 4 BBs.)
I'll miss Minute Maid Park though. It's been nice seeing the Astros home announcers on mlb.tv; so far this year it has appeared that the home game broadcasters are picked up. It's always nice to see that big poof of white hair in the stands right behind the batter -- Barbara Bush and that guy who used to be President, sitting behind home plate. And of course, there's always Wandy, clicking his ruby cleats and saying "There's no place like home" as he strikes out another batter on that curve ball of his.
Quote of the Day: "There's no place like home... There's no place like home..." (Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz; Wandy in Minute Maid Park)
Wandy Rodriguez continued his domination of Minute Maid Park with his second terrific start of this homestand. Six days after what was arguably his best start ever, he came back and did almost as well - 7 innings, giving up only one run (on a solo homer) on 5 hits, 1
BB, and 7 Ks. His ERA for his first 3 starts is just 2.33. He might look like a little kid standing next to some of his more traditionally built colleagues, but he sure looked like a real pitcher on the mound this week. And this time, unlike the last start, the relievers held on and let him get his first W of the season. Brocail pitched a scoreless eighth and Valverde did the same in the ninth in another non-save situation. Valverde has yet to pitch a 1-2-3 inning; like last night, he put a couple of runners on before ending the game without giving up a run.The Astros started collecting runs in the second inning, with JR Towles' 2-run homer. Towles is a funny hitter - he's only batting .207, with 6 hits - but half of them are home runs. Bourn led off the third with a solo homer of his own - his first as an Astro - to make it 3-0. The Astros managed to add on one run in the sixth and one in the seventh inning, but missed the opportunity to turn it into a blowout - they left the bases loaded in both innings.
Okay, let's not get greedy - the Astros won consecutive games for the first time this season, and took the series from the NL East division-leading Marlins.
Towles had an eventful day. In addition to his home run, he walked in a run when he came to bat with two outs in the 6th. Then in the 8th, he was hit by a pitch on his left wrist, and was taken out of the game to get it xrayed. Happily, It appears to just be a bruise, but I don't suspect that he'll be doing handstands on home plate for the next few days. With both Wiggington and Matsui on the DL, the Astros don't want to lose any more position players in the infield.
Pence got the day off today - Erstad and Cruz Jr split the game in RF.
Did I mention that the Astros won TWO games in a row?
The Astros have a day off tomorrow, before moving up to my part of the country - more or less. They will play 3 games in Philadelphia this week. Hopefully they will not have to face Brad Lidge, because they will be so far ahead that his services as the closer won't be necessary. (Lidge has pitched in 5 games so far this year, 1 inning each, and has not given up any earned runs, with 1 hit, 5 Ks and 4 BBs.)
I'll miss Minute Maid Park though. It's been nice seeing the Astros home announcers on mlb.tv; so far this year it has appeared that the home game broadcasters are picked up. It's always nice to see that big poof of white hair in the stands right behind the batter -- Barbara Bush and that guy who used to be President, sitting behind home plate. And of course, there's always Wandy, clicking his ruby cleats and saying "There's no place like home" as he strikes out another batter on that curve ball of his.
GAME 12 - April 12: Return of the Killer Bs?
Houston 5, Florida 0
Quote of the Day: "Thank goodness I have a good defense behind me." (Backe)
Is it the Return of the Killer Bs? The Astros won their first shutout of the season on "I can get out of this" pitching performances by Backe and the Bullpen and another big night at the plate by Berkman.
The long line of 0s on the scoreboard for the Marlins doesn't totally reflect the pitching story. Backe was 5 cubed - he gave up 5 hits and 5 walks in his 5 innings on the mound, not exactly a lights-out performance. He had runners on base in every inning; in fact he had 2 ru
nners on base in 4 of his 5 innings - and a runner on third base in 3 of the 5 innings. But in each case he got himself out of trouble, to keep the shutout alive.
Geary likewise allowed runners in each of his 2 innings, but kept the shutout going. Brocail logged the only 1-2-3 inning of the night in the eighth inning, dropping his ERA to 1.59. Then came Valverde: WIth the score 5-0, it was not a save situation, but he hadn't pitched in 5 days. After he gave up singles to the first two batters, I wondered if he was headed for another cheat win (see Game 8 - April 7, when he stole Wandy's best start ever). But then he retired the next three on a pair of ground balls and a strikeout, for his first scoreless inning of the season. (Alas, not a record to inspire much of his famous on-field histrionics.)
Berkman is a changed man - changed from last April, that is. He has started 2008 looking like his old self. Berkman went 2 for 4, with his first right-handed homer of the season (#4). He has a noticeable bump in hustle too - while he didn't get another stolen base in this game, he scored the first run on a headfirst dive to the plate. Several of the other players also had multi-hit games: Loretta went 3 for 5, with an RBI double. Lee had a pair of singles. And despite his vilification by the (other) bloggers, Ausmus looked good at the plate: He went 2 for 4, with an RBI double. He did fly out to end the 5th with the bases loaded - but the ball was caught on the warning track.
The defense continues to be a positive factor, as the Astros position players helped the Marlins leave 14 runners stranded. Defense starts with "D," not "B." But to stay with the B theme, we can give some of the credit to Blum, who's covering third while Wiggington is on the DL. Cruz Jr made a terrific catch on a long fly ball by the Marlin's leadoff batter, to set the defensive tone of the game. The Astros infield also logged another double play, kicked off by excellent fielding from Tejada. (He looks so different than Spring Training!) It was their 15th DP of the year, tied to lead the league. The defense also holds another nice league record: Fewest errors - only 3 so far this season.
For the second game in a row, Coop shuffled the lineup, starting Cruz in CF instead of Bourn and moving Pence up to the leadoff spot instead of 7th. That did not solve the big kid's batting woes - he went 0 for 4, getting on base only once on a walk in the 4th. That was actually the exact point in the game where I tuned in when the Sabbath ended - to the sight of Pence being caught stealing. Happily, the Astros were leading 5-0 at that point, and I had brief hopes of the big double-digit blowout that we're all looking forward to. Less happily, although I saw plenty of Astros base runners - including runners on third base in 3 innings, not one of them managed to score. The RISP situation is seriously painful. But hey - the Astros won this game: Let's just think happy thoughts and move on.
In other team news: Newhan was called up from Triple A, to replace Wiggington - now on the DL for his thumb injury.
Quote of the Day: "Thank goodness I have a good defense behind me." (Backe)
Is it the Return of the Killer Bs? The Astros won their first shutout of the season on "I can get out of this" pitching performances by Backe and the Bullpen and another big night at the plate by Berkman.
The long line of 0s on the scoreboard for the Marlins doesn't totally reflect the pitching story. Backe was 5 cubed - he gave up 5 hits and 5 walks in his 5 innings on the mound, not exactly a lights-out performance. He had runners on base in every inning; in fact he had 2 ru
nners on base in 4 of his 5 innings - and a runner on third base in 3 of the 5 innings. But in each case he got himself out of trouble, to keep the shutout alive.Geary likewise allowed runners in each of his 2 innings, but kept the shutout going. Brocail logged the only 1-2-3 inning of the night in the eighth inning, dropping his ERA to 1.59. Then came Valverde: WIth the score 5-0, it was not a save situation, but he hadn't pitched in 5 days. After he gave up singles to the first two batters, I wondered if he was headed for another cheat win (see Game 8 - April 7, when he stole Wandy's best start ever). But then he retired the next three on a pair of ground balls and a strikeout, for his first scoreless inning of the season. (Alas, not a record to inspire much of his famous on-field histrionics.)
Berkman is a changed man - changed from last April, that is. He has started 2008 looking like his old self. Berkman went 2 for 4, with his first right-handed homer of the season (#4). He has a noticeable bump in hustle too - while he didn't get another stolen base in this game, he scored the first run on a headfirst dive to the plate. Several of the other players also had multi-hit games: Loretta went 3 for 5, with an RBI double. Lee had a pair of singles. And despite his vilification by the (other) bloggers, Ausmus looked good at the plate: He went 2 for 4, with an RBI double. He did fly out to end the 5th with the bases loaded - but the ball was caught on the warning track.
The defense continues to be a positive factor, as the Astros position players helped the Marlins leave 14 runners stranded. Defense starts with "D," not "B." But to stay with the B theme, we can give some of the credit to Blum, who's covering third while Wiggington is on the DL. Cruz Jr made a terrific catch on a long fly ball by the Marlin's leadoff batter, to set the defensive tone of the game. The Astros infield also logged another double play, kicked off by excellent fielding from Tejada. (He looks so different than Spring Training!) It was their 15th DP of the year, tied to lead the league. The defense also holds another nice league record: Fewest errors - only 3 so far this season.
For the second game in a row, Coop shuffled the lineup, starting Cruz in CF instead of Bourn and moving Pence up to the leadoff spot instead of 7th. That did not solve the big kid's batting woes - he went 0 for 4, getting on base only once on a walk in the 4th. That was actually the exact point in the game where I tuned in when the Sabbath ended - to the sight of Pence being caught stealing. Happily, the Astros were leading 5-0 at that point, and I had brief hopes of the big double-digit blowout that we're all looking forward to. Less happily, although I saw plenty of Astros base runners - including runners on third base in 3 innings, not one of them managed to score. The RISP situation is seriously painful. But hey - the Astros won this game: Let's just think happy thoughts and move on.
In other team news: Newhan was called up from Triple A, to replace Wiggington - now on the DL for his thumb injury.
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