GAME 108 - August 1: Sibling Rivalry

Houston 7, New York 3

Words for the Day: Sibling Rivalry. Competition between siblings especially for the attention, affection, and approval of their parents.

I can't really explain, in a rational way, why it is that I so dislike the Mets. If you were to ask the players which team is their biggest rival, they might pick one of the NL Central division teams - the Cards or the Cubs - or even (to our shame) the Pirates. If they have a sense of history, they might pick our old Playoff nemesis, the Braves. But for me, it's always the Mets, the f-ing Mets. Probably the only guy out on the field who shares this sense of rivalry is Cheo Cruz - he was on the Astros team in '85 an '86 when the Mets kept Houston out of the Series. For me it goes back longer, way before any of the current players were born, back to when the Mets and the Colt 45s were hatched together in the '62 expansion, and shared honors for being the worst teams. But then the Mets went on to be Miracles, and the Colt 45s went on to be the Astros in the bad old days. I freely admit - it's just mean-spirited jealousy. I just hate the Mets.

Friday night's game was a nail-biter, stuck in a 3-3 tie from the fourth inning on to the bottom of the eighth, when pinch-hitter Mark Loretta came up to the plate with 1 out and the bases loaded. It seemed like a sure-thing that they'd score - if I had to pick anyone to pinch hit in this situation, Loretta would be my first choice. But just one inning before, the Mets had loaded up the bases with no outs - a sure thing that the Evil Ones would score. Coop pulled Backe and used 3 relievers - each facing one batter - to retire the side without allowing a run to score. So there's no such thing as a sure thing. Don't tell Loretta though - he came through with a big fat grand slam to give the Astros a 7-3 lead.

Backe pitched into the seventh inning, giving up 3 runs on 10 hits, 3 walks, and 4 strikeouts. He gave up a small-ball run in the first inning, then shut the Mets down for a couple of innings. In the fourth, Backe got the first two batters out quickly, but then allowed two runs on four consecutive singles. In the seventh inning, the Mets lucked out to load the bases on an infield single, a bunt single (which should have resulted in an out), and a single to right. But then their luck ran out. Cooper pulled Backe, and called on his bullpen. Brydak, Sampson, and Wright each pitched to one batter. Each got his man, rescuing Backe from his bases-loaded-no-outs predicament. Wright pitched to Beltran in the eighth, getting the first out. Brocail finished the inning, becoming the pitcher of record when the Astros took the lead in the bottom of the inning, eligible for the win. With a 4-run lead, it wasn't a save situation, but Coop didn't take any chances. He went straight to Valverde, who pitched a perfect ninth.

All of the Astros runs scored on homers. Matsui hit his in the first inning to start the game right. Backe - with his over-.300 batting average - opened the third inning with a bomb.Then Lee hit one to kick off the fourth inning. In the bottom of the eighth, the bases were loaded up for Loretta by the BLT sandwich: Tejada singled, Berkman ground-rule doubled, and Lee got an intentional pass. Pence reached on a fielders choice and Tejada was out at home. When he was running to first, and the ball cleared the wall, Loretta gave a little wave, but that was his only outward expression of what must have been a real high. (I can't even imagine what Valverde would do in the unlikely event of his hitting a grand slam. Cartwheels?)

Pedro Martinez pitched for the Mets for the first 5 innings in his first start since July 12. According to the Houston broadcasters, it was Pedro's first start in MMP since 2005. If so, that would have been July 28, 2005, when Pedro faced off with Ezequiel Astacio in a very unlikely pitching duel. Pedro was having a great year, and Astacio was just up from the minors to replace an injured Backe. But Astacio won. Ironicially, as a prize he was sent down to Round Rock immediately after the game to make room for another minor leaguer: Wandy Rodriguez.

This was a Sabbath evening game, so I already knew the ending when I watched the game on the mlb.tv archive late Saturday night. Some people might avoid learning the outcome, so they can experience the game as if it were live. Not me - I hate surprises and my fingernails are already cut too short to bite.