GAME 118 - August 11: Back at .500!

Houston 3, San Francisco 1

Quote of the Day: "Say this or say that about them, but don't call them losers. At 59-59, they are losers no more." (Richard Justice, Houston Chronicle)

Carlos Lee will certainly be missed for the rest of the season, but put Ty Wiggington out in left field and he does a pretty good imitation. Wig, with a grand total of 5 previous starts in left, did a credible job fielding - he only got one fly ball to catch. But his Lee replacement work at the plate was stellar: Wiggington was responsible for all of the Astros' RBIs in the game.

After five innings of a slow waltz (1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3...), the Astros were not off to a promising start. Backe was pitching well, so they were only one run down when they came up in the sixth. Quintero opened the inning with a bloop single, and Backe - trying to bunt him over - beat it out for an infield single. Matsui sac bunted them both up a base. Then Wiggington's single to center scored Q and Backe, to put the Astros ahead 2-1. Wigginton hit a solo homer in the eighth for a little extra insurance.

That was all the damage the Astros could do from the plate, but the pitchers were up to the challenge: Backe, remorseful for his meltdown in his last start, pitched a beautiful game: Seven innings, giving up 1 run on 4 hits and 3 walks, striking out 6. Hawkins and Valverde each contributed a perfect inning, and that was it: Astros win 3-1.

Although the game itself was not particularly eventful, the fact of the win was: It put the Astros back to sea level. Five hundred, for the first time since June 11. No longer a losing team, now it's time to look at who's ahead of us on the race to the finish. It's true that we're in double-digits out in the division, and it's unlikely that the Cubs, Brewers, and Cards will all simultaneously fall apart. But you never know with the wild card...