Astros 3, Padres 4
W: Josh Banks, L: Chris Sampson, S: Heath Bell
Fundamentals are the most valuable tools a player can possess. Bunt the ball into the ground. Hit the cutoff man. Take the extra base. Learn the fundamentals. –Dick Williams
Playing without the fundamentals is like eating without a knife and fork. You make a mess. –Dick Williams
It takes pitching, hitting and defense. Any two can win. All three make you unbeatable. –Joe Garagiola
Be on time. Bust your butt. Play smart. And have some laughs along the way. –Whitey Herzog
Most one-run games are lost, not won. –Gene Mauch
I have to admit, I had this game on the television last night, but did not watch it. I saw snippets, but pretty much slept through most of it. So, there probably won’t be much to my game analysis, not that there ever really is. It does seem like the Good Guys don’t like to win on Tuesdays.
Astros Highlights:
Mike Hampton pitched 6 innings giving up 1 run. Not bad since he just came off the DL.
Lance Berkman went 2 for 3 with a walk. He had 2 RBIs and scored a run also. I hope that he continues on the path to the Lance Berkman that caused the creation of the furries at Minute Maid Park.
Padre Highlights:
Heath Bell got his 22nd save of the season. This kid seems be pretty good. He almost got burned after giving up two walks (Jason Michaels and Ivan Rodriguez) by Michael Bourn, but was saved by Junior Gwynn.
David Eckstein, who I have not respected since 2005, had a decent night at the plate.
Game Analysis:
Seems as though the Astros are figuring out that playing good sound baseball can help them win. I hope so.
“I needed to hit the cutoff man, and I didn’t,” Pence said. “I think I tried too hard to throw him out at home when there really wasn’t much of a chance, and I should have just hit the cutoff man. When I was throwing it, I was trying to throw him out instead of hit the cutoff man. In hindsight, I should have just hit the cutoff man.”
Astros first baseman Lance Berkman said. “We just have to do a little bit better job of executing fundamentals.
They keep teasing us with a .500 record. I hope it happens with this series, but those games back sure seem hard to make up.
Bench Tidbits:
Heath Bell’s name makes me think of Dairy Queen Blizzards.
Houston finally got some rain yesterday, not nearly enough, but some is much better than none.
Check out Mark’s series preview for game information.
Read the GameZone for in-game reactions.
Happy Canada Day.