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April 2008
Double digits again
The Associated Press
What a great back-and-forth game. The Astros went up 2-0, but the Padres got the lead with a three-run homer by Adrian Gonzalez in the sixth inning. The Astros scored five more runs in the sixth and seventh innings. The Padres scored four of their own in the eighth before the Astros answered back with four for the 11-7 win in the eighth. That’s two games in a row where the Astros scored in the double digits.
Three random thoughts
- Jose Valverde got a blown save, but actually played the role of hero. The blown save came when he entered the game with one out in the eighth inning and a runner on third. Khalil Greene hit a sac fly to drive in the runner. But Valverde got out of the inning and the Astros scored four more runs to give Valverde the win.
- I’d like for E60 to come up with some report that Miguel Tejada is 35 tomorrow. Ever since the report came out that he’s actually 33, he has been red-hot. Tonight, he went 4-for-5 with a double and two RBI.
- Kaz Matsui had another multi-hit game since he’s come back from anal fissures. Tonight, he was 2-for-5 with two RBI and a double.
- Like I said, starting pitching was one of the main factors. Roy Oswalt has put together two great starts after starting the season with three bad ones. Tonight he lasted seven innings and gave up three runs off of six hits and two walks while striking out six. Two of the runs came on homers. It shows to me that once he got the big lead, he needed to make the Padres hitters earn their runs and he limited the walks.
- Miguel Tejada went 4-for-5 with a home run and three RBI. He’s batting .342 and has 16 RBI. All this talk of steroids and aging hasn’t gotten to him.
- Newcomer Tim Byrdak and Oscar Villarreal pitched the last two innings and shut down the Padres’ bats to close out the win.
- I was pretty confident that if the Astros could get to the bullpen early they would have a really good shot at winning since the Rockies went 22 innings last night. But the Rockies offense gave the team a 6-0 cushion and once the Rockies bullpen did enter the game, they only gave up one run. But the bullpen is just as spent now as it was before the game so maybe the Astros can still squeeze a win out of it.
- Speaking of bullpens, the Astros’ is almost in just as bad of shape having pitched five innings yesterday and 8 1-3 tonight. Here’s hoping Wandy Rodriguez can go about seven innings tomorrow.
- It’s good to see Hunter Pence go 3-for-4 tonight after getting off to a rough start.
- Shawn Chacon pitched eight innings of shutout ball, giving up four hits and two walks. But he threw 109 pitches so I can’t blame Cecil Cooper for pulling him in the ninth. Chacon has a 2.25 ERA and no decisions.
- The “Big Three,” Lance Berkman, Carlos Lee and Miguel Tejada, went a combined 5-for-9 with one RBI.
- Former Astros fan favorite Eric Bruntlett got the start in Philly and went 1-for-2 with a stolen base.
- Shawn Chacon gave up just four hits through six innings, but the walks did him in as he handed out four free passes. That forced Cecil Cooper to hand it to the bullpen in the seventh inning.
- The third inning was the only inning of offense for the Astros as a Miguel Tejada double scored Carlos Lee and Lance Berkman. Tejada then scored on a wild pitch to give the Astros the lead. I’m having a hard time believing that the Pence-Berkman-Lee-Tejada group will keep the Astros from winning. Especially if the pitching stays solid.
- Geoff Geary gave up a two-run double with two outs in the eighth inning to Troy Glaus which gave the Cardinals the lead for good. Geary was tagged with the loss.
- Jose Valverde came into the ninth inning with a 3-0 lead. By the time he left, the score was 3-3. Valverde gave up a leadoff single to Aaron Miles, but did the unacceptable by walking Cesar Izturis. A couple hits later and the score was tied. Valverde is off to a bad start but did earn the win for his efforts.
- Valverde’s blown save ruined a stellar performance by Wandy Rodriguez. We’re talking 7.1 innings, NO runs, NO walks and just three hits allowed. He was pulled after giving up a base hit but Doug Brocall closed out the inning by inducing a double play.
- The game was scoreless in the seventh inning until Lance Berkman crushed a homer to center field. Then Carlos Lee crushed one to the train tracks. It’s a sight Astros fans could get used to this year.
- The first inning was a killer. The Astros had men on second and third and nobody out. But Darin Erstad struck out and Michael Bourn was thrown out trying to score on a fly out by Carlos Lee.
- Oscar Villarreal was tagged with the loss after giving up a seventh-inning home run to Derek Lee. That broke the 2-2 tie and the Cubs held it.
- A Miguel Tejada home run in the seventh inning tied the game. It was Tejada’s first homer of the season and he improved his batting average to .231.
- Dave Borkowski pitched a scoreless eighth inning to keep the game within a run. he’s been dependable for three years now.
- Jimy Williams. Phil Garner. Cecil Cooper. What do these three have in common? They all like to sit starters. Tomas Perez, Geoff Blum and Erstad got the starts. I understand that Lance Berkman and Ty Wiggington are still hurting from yesterday, but that should mean that guys like Mark Loretta are just going to have to miss a day off for the greater good of the team.
- With one out in the eighth inning and down by a run, Lance Berkman stole third. This put him in position to score on a sacrifice fly by Carlos Lee, who is the king of the sac fly. I really love that the Astros are trying to take the extra base in appropriate situations. This was something I think they missed out on last year and the new philosophy will win some games for the Astros this year. Berkman finished the game 3-for-5 with three RBI, which came on his home run in the ninth inning.
- Wandy Rodriguez only lasted five innings, giving up four runs. He usually gets off to a good start before hitting a wall, so this performance really concerns me.
- Geoff Geary, whoever the heck he is, and Jose Valverde pitched the final three innings. Valverde gave up the lead but ultimately picked up the win with a scoreless ninth. Geary was the only pitcher to not give up a run.
- Geoff Blum, that crazy third baseman that beat the Astros in Game 3 of the ‘05 World Series, got his first start of the season and went 2-for-4 with an RBI.
- Hunter Pence was 2-for-5 and drove in Jose Cruz Jr. to tie the game. That was with two outs, so it was obviously key in keeping the game going to give Berkman a chance for the win.
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Bats silent again
AP photo
Two games, one run. I thought this was a new offense?
Five random thoughts
- The Astros had their first run of the season in the sixth inning when Michael Bourn walked with the bases loaded.
- Brandon Backe pitched five innings and didn’t give up any runs until the fourth inning off a two run homer by Scott Hairston. It’s good seeing Backe pitch well on the road, something he normally doesn’t do. He was pulled for pinch hitter Jose Cruz, Jr. I don’t think Backe should ever be pulled for a pinch hitter. He bats as good as anyone and it wastes a player.
- Michael Bourn is having an exciting run this early in the season. He’s stolen three this season and has covered center field very well. Anyone who can push Hunter Pence out of center has to be good.
- Oscar Villereal and Doug Brocail shut down the Padres in the last two innings. Seems like the pitching we have worried about is doing fine so far.
- The story of the game was Trevor Hoffman closing the game after blowing a couple saves down the stretch last season. I’m sure Padres fans are breathing easier after seeing him shut down the Astros. But maybe that’s not such a large feat.
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Astros all-around effort gives them a win
The Associated Press
A solid effort by the offense (10 runs), starting pitching (three runs allowed through seven) and the bullpen (no runs allowed through two innings) gave the Astros an easy 10-3 win Monday night over the Padres.
Three random thoughts
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Sampson rocked in first and Rockies run away with win
AP photo
Chris Sampson tried his Jason Jennings impersonation and almost pulled it off by lasting two-thirds of an inning and giving up six runs. But Sampson is pretty resilient and I have confidence that he’ll bounce back. But for now his ERA has shot up to 8.74.
Three random thoughts
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Valverde avoids another save
AP photo
Another excellent start by an Astros starter was ruined by the bullpen “ace,” Jose Valverde. Valverde has blown two saves and his ERA has climbed to 11.37. Tonight, he had a 3-0 lead and promptly gave up a homer, hit a batter, struck out a hitter, gave up a homer, struck out a hitter who got to first on a passed ball and gave up a double to give the Phillies a 4-3 win.
Three random thoughts
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Cardinals take back-and-forth battle
Shawn Chacon pitched well enough to carry the Astros, but the bullpen couldn’t hold the game and the offense couldn’t provide anymore help as the Cardiinals won, 5-3.
Three random thoughts
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Tejada saves the day
AP photo
Miguel Tejada made his Minute Maid debut a good one with a game-winning homer in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Astros an exciting 5-3 win.
Three random thoughts
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Bats fail Backe again
AP photo
Brandon Backe again pulled off a quality road start, giving up just two runs through six innings but the Astros could only muster two runs themselves and lost, 3-2.
Five random thoughts
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Astros come out on top in back-and-forth affair
AP photo
The Astros played last night like most expected them to coming into the season. The pitching wasn’t good enough, but the offense earned their pay by sixth and eighth innings before putting the Padres away in the ninth inning. With two outs and nobody on, the Astros hitters managed to score four runs in a total team effort to win the game, 9-6.
Five random thoughts
