GAME 5 - April 4: Handstand Grandstand

Houston 4, Chicago 3

Quote of the Day: "Hopefully that will make ESPN." (Astros catcher, JR Towles)

One of the best things about baseball is that you just never know, going into a game, what you might see. Maybe a triple play, maybe a perfect game? Those are rare, but they do occur now and then. How about something more exotic - like a batter doing a handstand on home plate?

JR Towles' first at bat provided the chance to see this unique move. Hit on the knee by the pitch, he fell down and forward. Towles broke his fall by with his hands; his momentum carried him up and over, and he ended up in a handstand at the plate. That was definitely one of the most acrobatic ways (besides actually hitting) that the Astros have found to get on base so far this season. (Unfortunately for the Astros, Sampson followed with a strikeout to end the inning with the bases loaded.)

Note: Due to copyright considerations, I only use my own photographs on this blog. Click here if you want to see a picture of Towles upside down on the Houston Chronicle site.

Towles followed up on his next at bat with a more valuable offensive move - a 2-run homer to put the Astros on the scoreboard. The lead held up until the 7th inning, when Sampson - who had been terrific for the first 6 - gave up a pair of runs to tie it up. Cooper brought in Wesley Wright, the new lefty kid, with 2 outs; he retired the one batter he faced.

The Astros came back in the top of the 8th to regain the lead. Berkman got to first on an error; then scored on Tejada's "triple" (looked more like a double that the left fielder mishandled). Then Wiggington sacrificed Tejada in, to make it 4-2. Although Valverde gave up a home run in the 9th to make it a scary ending, the one-run lead held up, and the Astros beat the Cubbies 4-3 in the series opener.

Wright, the pitcher of record when the go ahead runs were scored, earned his first major league win - after facing just a single batter. Sampson must have been disappointed not to have been able to finish the 7th to get the win, but he can't have been unhappy with his pitching performance. He gave up only 2 runs in 6 2/3 innings, on 6 hits, no BBs, and one K.

Other notable stuff in this game: Bourn made a stupendous catch, on what appeared to be a multiple-base hit to the gap in left center. Noting that this was Bourn's third such amazing catch so far this season, the Cubs announcer called him a "human highlight reel." On the other end of the highlight reel plays, Berkman dove head-first into second base on Carlos Lee's single in the fifth inning, only to find that there wasn't even a play there. He looked pretty sheepish -- the second baseman apparently deked him into sliding to keep him from taking third on the hit.

Happily this game was played in Chicago, so it was an afternoon game. I got to watch it before the Sabbath started. No such luck next game - Oswalt's start will be in a Sabbath afternoon game, so I will miss it. WAH!