contributed by austro (our very own Corey Sullivan… oh wait)
Friday, June 25, 2010
Astros 7
Rangers 4
WP: Moehler (1-4) SV: Lindstrom (14) LP: Lewis (7-5)
Well, this game had a little bit of everything:
* Spazz slipping and falling while coming in on a line drive, then reaching up and knocking the ball down to keep it to a single;
* Blum rounding first too wide and getting caught in a rundown when the Rangers threw behind him;
* Elvis Andrus making a ridiculous over-the-shoulder diving catch on a blooper by Berkman;
* Twinkie returning the favor by making a diving stop on Adrus’ ball down the line;
* Ian Kinsler gettng thrown out for not saying anything (although the bat flip and helmet chunk were probably enough);
* Chris Johnson committing his fourth error in five (?) games on an easy two-hopper hit directly at him;
* The return of the Puma, as Berkman absolutely crushed a homer to dead center;
* HP ump getting beaned by a fastball when the Rangers’ catcher got crossed up;
* Q laying down a bunt with 2 out and making it to second when the Rangers threw the ball away (no doubt aided by the fact that Q was about 5 feet out of the basepath in fair territory);
* Navarro dropping a simple little pop-up when he tried to transfer the ball to his throwing hand (ruled an error).
Moehler gave a serviceable effort; not his finest, to be sure, but at 5IP-3R-2ER, it certainly wasn’t a disaster either. Most importantly, he never gave in to a batter: he always kept trying to work corners, even when that meant walking in a run, and worked his way out of a couple of bases-loaded jams. With the help of Sampson, Chacin, Lopez, and Lindstrom, that was enough to end the Rangers win streak and give Moehler his first win since last August. Johnson provided 3 RBI, and Pence, Blum, and Berkman had one apiece. Bourn and Bourgeois both stole a base. For the Rangers, Hamilton (who is hitting over .500 for the last three weeks) had three hits to extend his hitting streak to 19 games.
Come back tomorrow for some hot, steamy action at 2pm. The game is on Fox, so there’s no telling what kind of slap-dick announcing crew we’ll get. You may want to start drinking early to numb the pain.