Astros 1, Rangers 6
Astros lose the battle for the Silver Boot.
W: Kevin Millwood, L: Wandy Rodriguez
Astros highlights:
Congrats to Ivan Rodriguez for his record catching game. Hopefully tomorrow you will get a win for your record breaking game. And may you hit a homerun in that one also.
I’m glad Michael Bourn is still batting lead-off. He has been doing a good job at that role. Minus the “stolen base” attempt in the first, he does what I want out of a lead off hitter.
Alberto Arias did a good job in relief going 3 innings of scoreless baseball. That, young man, is an excellent way to help your team. Tim Byrdak pitched the 8th without giving up any runs.
Rangers highlights:
Ian Kinsler hit two homeruns off of Wandy in the first inning then in the second inning, got a walk for his third plate appearance. Wandy might want to consider just tossing a softball pitch at him so he doesn’t have to waste a good pitch on him and limit the damage to one base the next time he pitches to him. Ian went 3 for 4 on the night. I hope Russ Ortiz and Mike Hampton keep him off the bases.
Kevin Millwood was the Cy Young pitcher this game. Seems like the first pitcher the Astros face in a series is good enough to win the Cy Young that game. He only gave up 4 hits in 7 innings of work. Of course, the Astros helped him a bit.
Game Analysis:
I have to say that the Astros offensively did not look ready to play this game. I do not think the best defense was out there. Nothing against Darrin Erstad, but when was the last time he started a game? Glad he’s getting the work. Kaz Matsui looked rusty also.
I am also going on the record saying Wandy Rodriguez is not an Ace. This team doesn’t really have one. Every pitcher has to deal with umpires that don’t necessarily make the calls you want or deserve. You have to pitch through it. Hopefully he does better in his next start.
Hunter Pence hopefully does a better job showing off for his peeps than he did in this game. I’m assuming that his peeps were there since he is from Arlington, Texas.
It is hotter than Hades in the Arlington area. Apparently there is nothing to do during the day. Boot be dammed. Maybe I could blame the heat, or the day off, or even the pressure of winning the Silver Boot for Drayton, as a reason for this team losing but I will not. I have not exactly made it a secret that I do not have a lot of faith that this team will do their second half magic as they have for the past 5 years. I’ll even go out on a limb and say the Astros get swept this series. They’ve been doing good for the past 5 series, but they just haven’t really shown me anything making them seem like they are turning a corner.
Bench Tidbits:
You want to know the best way to watch this game? Go work out after work. Run a couple errands, change the shoe strings in your tennis shoes, cook dinner, take a shower. Then sit down and watch the game in fast forward. Any special moments needed to pay attention were highlighted in the Gamezone.
Check out Jane Doe’s Series Preview. She’ll sing for you.