GAME 47 - May 20: Slammed!

Houston 4, Chicago 2

Word for the Day: Slam. An act of shutting forcefully and loudly.

SLAM! Hunter Pence slammed the door in the Cubbies' face to give the Astros this series-tying win. Literally - with one out and the bases loaded in the fourth inning, Pence whacked an opposite-side homer into the right-field stands. The Astros took a 4-2 lead, and held on to it against the highest run-scoring team in the league.

Pence has left his batting woes from April so far behind. He was 3 for 4 in this game, with a single and double in addition to his home run. His batting average is now .293, on its way into the comfortable threes where it belongs. In May, over the course of his 16-game hitting streak, he batted over .350 and logged 4 of his 5 season home runs.

Credit for this game has to be shared between Pence and the pitching staff. Sampson had a fine start: In 6 2/3 innings, he gave up only a pair of runs - on a 2-run homer in the fourth, on 7 hits, 1 BB, and 4 Ks. Brocail came in to pitch the seventh, with two outs and two on, and struck out Soriano to end the inning. He then pitched a scoreless eighth. Valverde came in for the ninth to protect the Astros' 2-run lead. He struck out the first batter. His keep-'em-interested trick of this game was a walk/wild pitch combo that put a runner on second with one out. But two ground balls later, the game was over. The Astros beat the Cubbies, picking up the game they lost yesterday, to sit 2 1/2 games out in the NL Central. With the Cards' late-night loss on the West Coast, Houston is only half a game out of second place. Everyone says, "It's just May, too early to keep count," but the win or loss in May could be the difference when they are one game ahead or behind on the last day of September. Last May, the Astros were on pace for a losing season; today they are on pace for 90 wins.

It was save number 13 for Valverde, who is tied for the league lead. Big Papa's ERA, at 3.75, is down about 9 from early April when the other bloggers and many of their rabid so-called fans were trash-talking him. Good for Lidge to be doing so well in Philadelphia - and I hope that we don't see him on the mound when the Phillies come to town this weekend. But Ed Wade didn't cheat the Astros on this switch.

So what do Craig Biggio and I have in common? Answer: We both called the home run. Biggio was interviewed, sitting in the stands with his wife and a bunch of youngsters; the kids verified his claim that he had called that grand slam. I, of course, was sitting in my kitchen, drinking a glass of Rioja and chanting "Home Run, Home Run, Home Run..." To be candid, I have to admit that I do that whenever a slugger comes to the plate with runners on base. But this time, it was extra loud. It was weird to see Biggio sitting in the stands, looking like some young family guy with a day job and kids. Of course, that's just what he is now: He's just accepted the (unpaid) position as the coach of his oldests son's high school baseball team.

The guy that made Major League batting look like T-ball for the past few weeks was not looking so comfortable in this game. One day after breaking his 17-game hitting streak, he hit a single in his first at-bat to start a new streak. He walked in his second at bat. But he then struck out in his last two chances, both times losing the grip and sending his bat flying on the third strike.

The Astros finish the Cubs series Wednesday night, with Chacon on the mound. Will he break his own Major League record for no-decision starts?