Thursday, July 3, 2008
Minute Maid Park – Houston, Texas
Dodgers 5
Astros 2
W: Billingsly (8-7) | L: Backe (5-9) | S: Saito (14)
When the Astros returned to Houston having taken 2 of 3 from the red-hot Rays to end a 6-series losing streak, the hope was to keep the momentum rolling, of adequate pitching and timely hitting. Then they took 2 of 3 from the Rangers. Then the Red Sox. Was the tide beginning to turn in the Good Guys favor after a downright shitty stretch of baseball?
The promising homestand was capped today by a turdburger deluxe as Backe was Backe and the bats were bemused, falling 5-2 and dropping 3 of 4 from the visiting Dojers.
“It’s just not an Astros game if they don’t spot the other team a few runs in the 1st.”
-austro
Seems that way, don’t it? With 2 quick outs in the top of the 1st, Backe gives up a single, a walk, and a ground-rule double to 3-4-5 to bring home the first run, then a single to DeWitt to give the Dodgers all they would ultimately need.
“Backe needs to stop sucking with 2 outs and nobody on.”
-MRaup
Mmm-hmm. To be fair, he sucked a few times with no out and noboby on, giving up solo shots to Ethier and Loney to lead off the 3rd and 6th innings respectively, the latter stinging just a bit more as the Astros had just scraped together 2 runs to climb back into it. In a 2-out rally of their own in the bottom of the 5th, Blum reached on an error, Pence singled, then Towles pushed a high-fly into left that bounced high off the wall and away from Delwyn “Not Delmon” Young for a 2-run double.
“Chad ‘Cy’ Billingsley is ready…”
-mihoba
8IP 6H 2R 1BB 5K
He had thrown 39 pitches through 4 innings. He threw 98 through 8. Saito came in and after a couple of singles to make it interesting, he got Pence to fly out to shallow right and Towles to line out to short to lock it down.
“I got laid off two weeks ago and the silver lining was supposed to be spending my 60 days of garden leave watching astros baseball. These regular shit burgers are really starting to make me wish i had a job.”
-Savage
Monster.com, dude. Three city road trip before the All-Star break, beginning this weekend in the ATL. Moehler faces Hudson tomorrow @ 6:05 EDT.