Astros 6, Nationals 5
W: Brocail (2-0) L: Ayala (1-2) S: Valverde (7)
With the tying and go-ahead runs on base with two outs in the 8th inning, Carlos Lee fell into an 0-2 hole but smashed a liner to right on the next pitch that the Nats rightfielder dived for and missed, allowing the Astros to pull out this see-saw battle 6-5 at open-roofed Minute Maid Park.
Shawn Chacon started and pitched a pretty decent ballgame, seven innings with 4 earnies and 8 K’s, but he wound up with yet another no-decision to show for it, and his quality start also went by the wayside when he coughed up a solo go-ahead Biggio box HR to Aaron Fucking Boone in the seventh. Doug Brocail pitched the eighth and also allowed a go-ahead HR into the short porch, but scavenged the win after the big rally in the bottom half of the inning. Jose Valverde pitched a 1-2-3 ninth for his 7th save.
Chacon cruised through the first helped by a great bare-handed grab and throw by Kaz Matsui after the ball deflected off Chacon’s glove. In the second, a solo shot into the porch gave the Nats the early lead, but the Astros answered with a pair of doubles by Berkman and Lee. Michael Bourn struck out with the bases juiced to end the inning with the score tied at one.
In the third, Miguel Tejada made a nice grab of a hard hit liner by Wily Mo Pena, who JD described as “the world’s largest 8-hole hitter.” He is listed at 6-3, 268. In the bottom half, Pena looked like a nose guard as he tried to grab a Matsui liner that bounced off his glove for a gift double. Berkman made him pay by hitting a bleeder up the middle for the 2-1 lead. Berkman promptly swiped second base with his Puma like abilities but was stranded after Hunter Pence grounded into a double play.
The Nats regained the lead in the fifth with four hits, including a solid single to right that Pence scooped and fired a shot to home, nailing the Nats runner to retire the side and save a run. Once again, the good guys answered in the bottom half as Berkman, Lee, and Pence singled to tie it at 3-3. Pence was jammed on his hit but managed to bloop it to shallow RF.
After the Nats took a 4-3 lead in the seventh, Berkman hit a deep fly to center that drifted over the not-necessarily air-tight defense of the Nats for a double, then unexpectedly swiped third base with one out. After a walk, a balk scored the tying run, knotting the game at 4-4. Brocail gave the lead right back in the eighth, but the Astros had the final answer with two outs as Tejada blooped a broken-bat single to center and Berkman lined a single to center to set up Lee’s heroics and send the crowd home happy.