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Houston 3, Cincinnati 1
Quote of the Day: "It's tough to lose him. It didn't look good. He carried us the last month and a half. It's a big hole to fill... I'm just now starting to suck it up."" (Cooper, on Lee's injury)
It wasn't intentional, but the Reds did manage to find a way to get rid of that pesky Ca
rlos Lee, who had played a large part in their losses in this series. In the third inning of Saturday night's game, Bronson Arroyo's high inside pitch smashed Lee's left pinky, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. When he took off his batting glove, the little finger was dripping blood. They later announced that he'd need surgery on Monday, and that the 6-8 week recovery would probably take Lee out for the rest of the season.
Despite that loss, the Astros did manage to eke out the win. Brian Moehler had another great start, throwing 7 innings, giving up only 1 run on 5 hits, no walks, and 3 strikeouts. Now with a 8-4 record and 3.83 ERA, Moehler has really been the Astros most consistent starter this season. Not bad for a guy who was a non-roster invitee in Kissimmee. Fiven that the Astros only put 3 runs of their own across, it was good that the bullpen was back to form to back up Moehler. Geary and Byrdak split the eighth inning, giving up only a single walk and no hits between them. Valverde came in with a two-run lead; this time it was a save situation and he didn't mess around. He took them down 1-2-3 to save the game (#28).
The Astros got first blood again, with a run in the first. Matsui opened with a full-count walk, Tejada singled to move him to third, and Berkman drove him in with a single to right. There wasn't much offensive action for until the fifth inning, when Moehler helped himself with a leadoff double, moved to third on Matsui's sac bunt, and scored on a wild pitch. Tejada added on another run with a solo homer in the seventh, making it 3-0. Moehler gave up one run to the Reds in the seventh, on 3 singles. That 3-1 score was where the game was when I checked after the Sabbath ended, and that was where it remained when I got home from the Tishe B'av service Saturday night.
So it was a good win but a big loss. Lee probably won't be back this season unless the Astros get into the playoffs. Can they do that without El Caballo, who has been such a dominating factor in their recent offensive surge? We'll see - it's time for Berkman to return to being a power hitter. I don't expect Abercrombie, brought up from Round Rock, to fill Lee's shoes. I expect to see Erstad out in left field for the most part. Maybe everyone can pitch in and make up for the hole in the lineup. I'm just starting to suck it up too.
Houston 9, Cincinnati 5 [10 innings]
Quote of the Day: "Man, that guy knows how to drive in those runs, doesn't he? You hate to see those guys come up in those situations. They're RBI machines." (Reds manager Dusty Baker, on Carlos Lee)
Yeah, that Carlos Lee is a RBI machine all right - his 4-for-5 game Friday night accounted for 3 of the Astros runs, including the two-run double that put them ahead in the tenth inning. This game put him at a cool 100 for the season, and pushed him past the 1000 career RBI mark. What a great run-maker! Too bad his season is over!
But - wait - I'm getting ahead of myself. By the time i saw the result of this game after the Sabbath ended, Carlos Lee had already been injured in the third inning of Saturday night's game. I'll write that bad news up in the next blog. In this game, though, he was a run machine, hitting a solo home run, a 2-run double, a pair of singles, and walking once too. He pushed his BA to .314. Over the past couple of months, he's been one of the most dominant offensive players in the game. Of course, he's not an All Star... enough said.
Houston got off to a very fast start in this game, with a leadoff home run from Matsui, followed by Lee's solo homer later in the first inning. Randy Wolf got off to a good start too - he struck out the side in the second inning. But he ran into trouble in the third inning, when a walk, an error, a double, and a homer added up to a 4-1 Reds lead. The Astros earned back one of the runs in the fifth, on Bourn's RBI single, his second hit of the night. Then they took the lead on Quintero's two-run homer in the top of the seventh.
Wolf's eligibility for the win didn't last long, however. Sampson, relieving Wolf, opened the bottom of the seventh with a double, a single, and a sac fly that allowed the Reds to tie the game at 5-5. But Sampson settled down after that, and did not give up another hit in his 3 innings on the mound. The Astros didn't score over those innings either, so the game went into extra innings.
Just one extra inning, actually. The top of the tenth wasn't looking all that promising after pinch-batter Newhan struck out and then Matsui flied out. But the BLT Sandwich came through: Tejada doubled, Berkman walked, and then Lee blasted a long fly ball to deep right field. Corey Patterson made a long run, and leaped; the ball was actually in his glove but he couldn't hold onto it. Lee ended up with a double, as Tejada and the Puma passed Go and collected their $200. Pence then sent a blast of his own into the left field stands, for another two runs. With a nice four-run lead, Cooper picked young lefty Wright to end the game instead of his closer, who had thrown 31 pitches the night before. Wright set down the Reds 1-2-3 to end the game. (Hey, kid, how does it feel to be a closer - get used to it!)
Some interesting numbers from this game: The Astros scored 8 of their 9 runs with two outs. (Reminder: It's not over till it's over.) Reds pitchers got 15 strikeouts against Astros hitters, including 3 by Pence. Pence redeemed himself with that tenth inning homer, and with a fantastic outfield assist in the fifth that pegged the runner at third. The Astros defense also provided four double plays, to rob the Reds of more opportunities to score.
Houston 7, Cincinnati 4
Quote of the Day: "You always have a good feeling when he's on the mound, particularly since he's had good success against Cincinnati. The numbers say that, and it's just one of those freaky things in the game." (Berkman)
No one quite knows what it is about Roy Oswalt and the Cincinnati Reds, but somehow, he's got their number. That number is now up to 21, as in 21 wins and only 1 loss in his career against them. Whatever it is, it sure was welcome on Thursday night, after the embarrassments in Chicago over the previous couple of days.
Oswalt looked more like his classic self than in many of the earlier games this season. He pitched 7innings, giving up 1 run on 9 hits and 2 walks, striking out 6. It wasn't that he was perfect - there were plenty of base runners including a full house in the first inning. But he just doesn't seem to let it affect him. Bases loaded in the first? Strike out the batter to end the inning. He ended the first three innings with strikeouts. Cooper pulled him after the seventh, when he gave up his first run.
The Astros offense gave Oswalt some help. In what seems to be a new fad this year, they got first blood, scoring in the first inning on Tejada's double and Lee's RBI single. Then they gave Roy O a nice safety net in the third: Matsui, Berkman, and Lee singled for the first run, then Pence cleaned up the bases with a 3-run homer. Berkman scored again in the fifth on Wigginton's sac fly after the Puma had led off the inning with a double. That gave Oswalt a healthy 6-1 lead when he left the game. Much better odds than his last start, when the bullpen preserved his single-run lead to save his win!
The bullpen preserved this one too, but not so cleanly. Wesley Wright gave up a 2-run homer in the eighth to make it 6-3. New Astros reliever LaTroy Hawkins took a roundabout route to getting the third out of the inning, giving up a walk and a single before the inning ended with a harmless popup. The Astros put the score out of a save situation in the top of the ninth. Tejada led off with a single, and moved to third on Berkman's double - Puma's third hit of the game. Tejada scored on Wiggington's second RBI sac fly.
I was skeptical about bringing in Valvede to pitch in the non-save situation. He hasn't seemed to do his best when there's space for mistakes; he performs better when the game is on the line. He got the first two batters of the ninth right away, both on pop outs. But he'd fooled me into thinking that it would be easy: The next Red tripled, then scored on a wild pitch. A single and a walk brought the tying run to the plate. Now the game was on the line. Properly energized, he got the next batter to line out.
Michael Bourn is finally back from his sprained ankle, after missing 10 starts. He went 0 for 5. Doesn't really help to have a guy who can steal bases with impunity if he can't get to first. On a more positive note, the BLT went Triple 3 - Berkman, Lee, and Tejada each got three hits in this game.
August 4: Houston 2, Chicago 0 [8 innings]
August 5: Chicago 11, Houston 7
August 6: Chicago 11, Houston 4
Quote of the Day: "If they had continued the game, I wouldn't have gone back out there... you have to be an idiot to stand outside in a lightning storm." (Berkman)
Lance Berkman had more sense than anyone. When the big boom of thunder shook the field, he didn't wait for the ump to make a sign - he vacated. The umpire finally did the right thing and called a rain delay, for the second time in the game. The first time, at the end of the fifth inning, the Astros had a 2-0 lead. That rain delay was characterized not only by a heavy downpour and lightning, there were also tornado warnings. That would seem like enough to just call the game, since five innings had been played, but instead they sat it out for almost 3 hours. The umps resumed the game, even though there was still lightning in the area, which became progressively more frequent as the next three innings were played. But it was crazy to have the players still on the field - or the fans in the stands for that matter - with lightning striking the surrounding buildings. Finally, with the lightning storm upon them, they had the sense to call it. After all that, the score was just where it was when the rain first hit: Astros 2, Cubs 0.
The Astros shutout began with a terrific start by Brian Moehler. He threw 5 shutout innings on only 63 pitches, giving up 4 hits and no walks, and striking out 4. After the long rain delay he was relieved by Brydak, who pitched a hitless sixth. Geary threw a scoreless seventh, but had to come out of the game with a groin injury. The Astros' newest acquisition, LaTroy Hawkins pitched to one batter in the eighth before the game was called with a big bang. He struck him out and got a save for his trouble.
The Astros scored one run in the first inning when Tejada scored on Lee's RBI single. They scored their second run in the fourth inning, when they loaded up the bases on three singles, and then with two outs, Quintero walked in the run on 4 pitches.
This fairly miserable game was the high point of the Astros stay in Chicago. The rest of the series featured sunny weather and bleak outcomes. The Astros batters didn't have any trouble scoring runs, but their pitchers were giving them away like candy. And everyone knows how much bears like sweets.
I don't like it when the Astros play in Wrigley Field. Often as not, they play in the afternoon, while I'm at work, so I end up missing the games. But this time, they were games worth missing. On Tuesday, Wandy got off to a bad start, giving up 6 runs in the first two innings. Amazingly, he wasn't the losing pitcher - thanks to home runs by Wigginton, Blum, and Lee, the Astros more than made up the deficit. By the seventh inning, they had taken a 7-6 lead. But it didn't last long. Sampson started out the inning with a single, double, and sac fly to tie it up. He intentionally walked the next batter. Wright came in to pitch to one batter, who struck out. With two on and two out, Cooper brought in Brocail, expecting him to do his usual thing and get them out of trouble. Instead he gave up a 3-run homer. The fun wasn't over. A walk, stolen base, and a single added up to another run. The 5-run seventh inning put the Astros down for good. They didn't come back.
Wednesday it was Backe's turn to get beat up. Things were looking okay through the top of the third, when the Astros took a 4-1 lead on Berkman's RBI single and Lee's 3-run homer. But in the bottom of the inning, Backe had a meltdown. He gave up a 2-out grand slam to give the Cubs the lead. He allowed a double, and then walked the next batter to get to the pitcher, Jason Marquis, who hit an RBI double. Soriano was next to bat: He hit a 3-run home run. Total damage for the inning: 7 runs in, Cubs lead 8-4.
But the fun wasn't over yet. With Geary out injured, Cooper wanted to keep Backe in the game. He was responsible for another 2 runs in the fourth, before mercifully handing over the ball to the bullpen. Byrdak pitched longer than Backe, throwing 3 2/3 innings, giving up no runs on 2 hits, no walks, and 4 strikeouts. Hawkins struck out the side in the eighth. Unfortunately, the Astros' offense did nothing to reduce the deficit.
One rain-drenched, lightning-shortened win, and two blowout losses in Chicago. Not a very nice follow-up to the sweep last weekend.
Houston 4, New York 0
Overly Dramatic Quote of the Day: "I lost about 8 years of my life." (Randy Wolf, on his 4th and 5th inning scares)
It hadn't happened in fifteen years, not since the '93 season. That was the last time the Astros had swept the Mets in a series. It was worth waiting for - a sweet sweep.
In Randy Wolf's first start last week, the Astros ultimately won the game, but he hadn't made it through 5 innings to qualify for the win. Today, in his first Houston home game, he lasted just long enough to get the win - 5 shutout innings, giving up 6 hits and 3 walks, and striking out 7. It was hardly a lights out performance with so many base runners, but Wolf managed to wiggle out of trouble every inning. He gave up a single to Beltran in the first inning, but caught him in a rundown. In the third, a bunt single and a walk put two runners on, but a strikeout, a caught foul ball, and a runner caught stealing ended the threat. In the fourth inning, Wolf loaded the bases with one out on a walk, a single, and a hit batsman, but then struck out the next two batters to get out of trouble. Three singles in the fifth loaded up the bases with Evil Mets, but again Wolf managed to get out of it without anyone scoring.
Continuing a very encouraging trend, the bullpen was terrific again. Sampson threw 2 scoreless innings, Wright pitched to one batter in the eighth, then Brocail finished up, and Valverde closed in the non-save situation. The Astros starters have not exactly been eating innings lately, but the bullpen has come through inning after inning. In the 11 innings of relief pitching in this series, not one run has scored.
Mark Loretta has been terrific in this series and Coop would have liked to play him, but he was too beat up from the train wreck at home plate last night. So Wiggington started at third in today's game, a choice that the fans heartily approved of when he led off the second inning with a home run. In the fourth inning, the two heavies Berkman and Lee made quick outs, but then back-to-back doubles from Wiggington and Pence scored one run, Erstad's RBI single plated a second one, and Quintero's double knocked in a third. This gave the Astros the 4-0 lead that they held onto to complete the sweep.
The score might have been a bit higher but for some base running gaffes. Both Pence and Lee hit long singles, that they tried - and failed - to turn into doubles. Erstad was out at third trying to get an extra base out of a throwing error. These didn't make a difference in the outcome of this game, and one might laud them for being aggressive. After all, it was Pence's crazy base running on Saturday night that allowed the Astros to tie the game in the ninth. But there was another base running glitch in Saturday night's game, when Pence was doubled off second. It might be something for Coop to look into.
On a more positive note, today's game was the 8th in a row in which the Astros have homered. A nice trend. It would be nice if Berkman could join that party - I think that this is the longest homer-less streak in his career.
This sweep gives Houston its 5th series win in the last 6, dating back to the Washington series before the All Star Game. (The only one they have lost since then was the Pirate sweep.) In addition, having won 7 of their last 9 games, the Astros are now 4 games under .500. They are still 13 games behind the division-leading Cubs, but there's no sense watching what the other teams are doing until the Astros get to .500. But we could be there in another week, if they keep up the good work.
Houston 5, New York 4
Similes of the Day: "They looked like bowling pins at home plate." (Astros broadcast announcer, on the three-way crash at home in the ninth) "I felt like a fullback going in there. It was like a car wreck." (Loretta)
When I turned on the computer after the Sabbath ended, it was the seventh inning and Houston was down 4-1. Roy O was already out, but Mets starter Johan Santana was still on the mound. Aside from a bit of fun and games in the fourth inning, the Astros hadn't been able to do anything against him. And Billy Wagner was available to close. Things didn't look too promising.
The score got a bit closer in the eighth inning, with Matsui's leadoff homer, but the BLT sandwich couldn't keep it going. So the Astros went into the bottom of the ninth down by 2 runs, with Billy Wagner taking the mound. Wagner, still an All Star pitcher, had converted 13 of his last 14 save opportunities. But, I reminded myself, Wagner is beatable. In fact, I distinctly remember two consecutive games in September 2005 when the Astros beat Wags in Philly. I nearly fell off my chair screaming when Biggio hit a 2-out 3-run homer for the winning run against his old friend.
This time, Wagner got off to a bad start: Loretta hit a leadoff double, and advanced to third on Pence's single to center. Erstad struck out on a foul tip - one down. Ausmus walked to load the bases. Now it was getting pretty interesting. Then Blum, pinch-hitting for the pitcher, sent the ball into left field. Loretta stayed close to third, waiting to see if the ball would be caught, but Pence on second read it as a hit, and started running. When the ball fell for a single, Loretta stumbled coming off the base, and Pence was already at third. As the left-fielder threw the ball to the plate, Pence was just a step or two behind Loretta all the way down the third base line. The impact of the two of them with poor Mets catcher, Ramon Castro, knocked the ball out of his mitt and both runs scored to tie the game 4-4. Castro left the game with a sprained ankle. Sadly, Matsui and Tejada were unable to do anything else, and the other two runners were stranded as the game went into extra innings.
Valverde threw a scoreless tenth. The Astros got another chance to score in the bottom of the inning against reliever Aaron Heilman - the same pitcher who gave up Loretta's grand slam the night before. Berkman walked, then advanced to third on Lee's single. Runners at the corners, no outs - they just have to score, right? The Mets changed pitchers to change their luck. Bourn, pinch hitting for Valverde, struck out. Pence was intentionally walked to load the bases. I had already convinced myself that Erstad would hit into a double play and the game would go on all night. But I was wrong - he hit a little fly ball into shallow left. The fielder had to dive and roll to catch it, so he couldn't make the quick throw home, and Berkman zipped across the plate for the winning run. Much ritual head-bashing ensued as the Astros celebrated their win.
This was another game with great stuff from the bullpen. Oswalt lasted a little longer than his last start - an even 100 pitches. He tjrew 6 innings, giving up 4 runs on 6 hits, 3 walks, and 7 strikeouts. Byrdak and new teammate LaTroy Hawkins combined for a scoreless seventh, and Geary pitched two perfect innings to keep the Astros in the game. Valverde, after pitching a scoreless tenth, earned the win, as the Astros secured the series.
Anyone care for a sweep?
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.
rlos Lee, who had played a large part in their losses in this series. In the third inning of Saturday night's game, Bronson Arroyo's high inside pitch smashed Lee's left pinky, causing him to fall to the ground in pain. When he took off his batting glove, the little finger was dripping blood. They later announced that he'd need surgery on Monday, and that the 6-8 week recovery would probably take Lee out for the rest of the season.
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