Thursday, July 8, 2010
Pirates 0
Astros 2
W: Oswalt | L: Ohlendorf
Roy pitched a gem when it counted. Sure, he helped the team sweep the lowly Pirates and stay safely above them at the bottom of the standings. But today’s 1-hitter counted more in the “when” column, as in “when will the trigger be pulled” on the swap that will finally give Roy what he wants and hopefully, the Astros some needed pieces looking towards the future.
McTaggart Tweet:
“Teams with scouts here watching Oswalt: Dodgers, Phillies, Rays and Mets.”
What they saw was, I suppose, vintage Oswalt. Efficient and effective, he held the Pirates hitters down with 8 Ks and just 2 BBs. A few fine defensive plays helped the cause, including a diving stab of a hot liner in the 9th by Berkman.
In fact, Twinkie did everything but sell popcorn between innings. His 1st inning pop fly found the Crawfords after about 15 seconds in the air. He did it again in the 4th, this time with a little more ‘oomph’ to top out the Astros scoring at 2.
Roy’s win leaves him 1 shy of the Astros wins record held by Joe Niekro. It was a Roy/Lance lovefest. Twinkie offered this up after the game:
“I don’t know that we need to start singing his swan song just yet with the Astros,” Berkman said. “I’d say it’s probably a longshot that he gets traded. I just feel that way. I’m not saying it won’t happen, but I don’t know that it’s a great possibility.”
Hmmmm?
Astros start the last series before the All-Star break tomorrow night as the reeling Turdinals come to town. Wainwright at Norris @ 7:05 CDT.