GAME 33 - May 6: Berkman Bash

Houston 6, Washington 5

Quote of the Day: "Fish swim. Birds fly. Berkman hits." (Houston TV baseball announcer)

It was quite a ping-pong match at Minute Maid Park, as the Astros and the Nationals took turns scoring. Or maybe I should say, Berkman and the Nationals took turns scoring. If his 4 for 5 game on Sunday wasn't enough, how about this: He went 5 for 5, with 2 doubles and 3 singles, he stole 2 bases, and scored 4 of the Astros' 6 runs. He scored from second on Lee's double, he scored on Pence's single, he scored on a balk after stealing third. Then best of all, he hoofed it home from first on Lee's two-out double in the bottom of the eighth.

The score went back and forth for the entire game, with the Nationals getting ahead by a run or two and then the Astros would come back to tie it. This happened 4 times before Houston finally took the lead in the bottom of the eighth. All this back-and-forth, of course, was bad news for starting pitcher Shawn Chacon - another no-decision start, his seventh of the season. He's been pitching pretty well - 5 of his 7 games have been quality starts - but has nothing to show for it, except perhaps to be on track to set a no-decision record? He left the game after 7 innings with the score tied 4-4.

Brocail gave up a home run in the top of the eighth, to give the Nats the lead again. Ping. In the bottom of the inning, Lee's double scored Tejada and Berkman from third and first, respectively, to give the Astros a precarious one-run lead. Pong. Just a few weeks ago, the sight of Valverde jogging to the mound in the ninth with a one-run lead would have been pretty scary. But that was the old Valverde, the new Valverde is an entirely different matter: Five pitches later, the ninth inning was over, and the Astros had won their 4th in a row.

The defense deserves kudos for keeping this game close. Tejada speared a Wily Mo bullet to short in the third; it was hit so hard that Tejada was spun around 360. He came up with a sheepish grin - and the ball in his glove. In the fifth, Pence made a terrific outfield assist, and Towles grabbed it to tag out Zimmerman sliding into home, saving the run and putting an end to a difficult inning.

I can't end this without saying "Berkman" a few more times. Berkman. Berkman. Berkman. The guy's been good all season, but totally amazing the past week or so. What does the base ball look like to him, as it flies towards the plate - a beach ball? And when did he get to be so fast? With Berkman going wild, it's easy to overlook the others. It takes a 5 for 5, 4-run night to overshadow performances like Carlos Lee's - he went 3 for 4, plus a walk, with 3 RBIs.

This win put the Astros over .500 for the first time in almost a year. At 17-16, the Astros are now officially a winning team.