GAME 54 - May 28: Wandy Returns

St Louis 6, Houston 1

Quote of the Day: "He throws perfect today... good location, good breaking ball. Everything was good." (Wandy Rodriguez, unfortunately talking about opposing starting pitcher Adam Wainwright)

This game wasn't fun to watch, and it isn't fun to write up either. Wandy Rodriguez's return from the DL went pretty much as the pundits predicted: He has historically pitched well in Houston, but poorly on the road. This game was no exception. By the end of the first inning, the Astros were down by 3, thanks to a single, a throwing error by Matsui, a rather odd decision to walk Pujols to load the bases, followed by a bases-loaded 4-pitch walk, an RBI ground ball, a wild pitch, ... you get the idea.

Wandy gave up another 3 runs over his 5 innings, but even that was not an insurmountable lead. Wiggington came back in the second inning with a solo home run, generating a moment of hope, but it didn't really ever materialize. The Astros were basically shut down by the Cardinals' starter Adam Wainwright, who held them to just 3 hits while striking out 8 over the first 8 innings.

Wandy's line for his return from the DL doesn't read quite as nicely: He only lasted 4 2/3 innings, giving up 6 runs (3 earned), on 6 hits, 4 walks, and one strikeout. Jack Cassell, back up from Round Rock to replace NIeve, pitched 2 1/3 innings of scoreless 1-hit ball, and Valverde came in to pitch a scoreless eighth.

The only other high spots of this game were Bourn's triple (probably a double for anyone else!), and another nice outfield assist by Pence.

In other bad news, the Cubs came back in the bottom of the ninth from a 1-0 deficit to win their game, putting the Astros back in 3rd place in the NL Central. Hey, it's a long season...