Sunday, April 11, 2010
Phillies 2
Astros 1
W: Halladay (2-0) | L: Oswalt (0-2)
The season-opening skid continued on Sunday, as I expected. Not that I didn’t think Roy would pitch well, he pitched very well against a beefy Phillies line-up, but more like Roy Halladay was facing an epically impotent Astros line-up. This team has more question marks than a census survey and I’ve begun to ratchet down my expectations to Limey-level to avoid spewing any angry Facebook rants.
Out of the gate, things looked dim for Oswalt when Rollins turned on his 2nd pitch of the game and smoiked it into the RF seats in about a second and a half. But despite another Phillie run plated in the 2nd, Roy looked sharp against a monster order. In fact, the bullpen was able to keep them down as well for the last 3.
3-4-5 = .143
The first opportunity the Astros had to score was in the 6th. Bases juiced and the heart of th…I can’t. .143 coming up. A zesty 6-4-3 DP by Sullivan got a run over and a healthy infield popout by Lee ended the chance.
They threatened again in the 7th with back-to-back singles by Blum and Feliz. A very nice sac bunt by Kaz gave them 2nd and 3rd with one out. Towles weak grounder to the pitcher froze the runners and PH Michaels whiffed. Nada.
There were some bright spots on defense and it was great to see the Phillies held to just 2. But damn, this could be a very long season.
My trusty magnet schedule so graciously sent my way by BudGirl tells me it’s time to hit the road for 3 against the Jakes. The rare Monday day game and the even rarer mid-series off day is going to be just what the Astros need to get them off the schneid. Book it!