Astros Win! Astros Win! Astros Win!
(Alternative headline: Carlos who?)
05/03/2011: Astros 10, Reds 4
W: J.A. Happ (2-4); L: Leake (3-1, 30 hours community service)
Box Score (HRs: BF Johnson; Brett Wallace)
Game stories: Astros.com (McTaggart); Chron.com (Levine)
Lest you couldn’t figure it out from the title, yes that is three wins in a row by Your Houston Astros. By the middle of the fourth inning, the outcome wasn’t particularly in doubt either, as the Astros ran Leake with a 6-spot in the top of the inning.
The Good (position player edition)
Clint Barmes: has shown he can handle the glove, and showed he may be able to do a little something with a bat as well: 2-4, R, 2 2B, 2 RBI;
Jason Bourgeois: Remains a joy to watch in the field, in the box, and on the bases: 3-5, 2 2B, 2 RBI, SB (but for an awesome play by Brandon Phillips, would have been 4-5);
Chris Johnson: Had a couple of throws sail on him (Wallace had his back though), but considering his night at the plate we’ll let him slide a bit for that: 2-5, 2 R, 3B, HR (est. 424’ feet), RBI;
Brett Wallace: Nothing but good stuff to say about the kid with the .383 average… He is patient at the dish and shows good discipline. Bagwell and Mills says that the power will come (and we got another glimpse of that Tuesday night), so there is that too. Who knows, batting clean-up might not be such a bad thing for the kid: 2-5, 2 R, RBI, HR. Oh yeah, the kid doesn’t play a bad first base either…
The Good (pitchers edition)
J.A. Happ: Pretty much sailed through the first 4 innings having given up only a run, but ran in to a little trouble in the bottom of the fifth inning. Ended up with a solid performance overall though, and earned a ‘W’ so its all good: 6.1 IP, 8 H, 4 R, 4 ER, BB, 5 SO. And yes, this is supposed to be the pitchers section… but… Happ had a good night at the dish as well, though he did lower his batting average to only .500: 1-3, R, RBI;
Relievers: For the most part relievers Del Rosario, Abad, Melancon, and Figuero came in and did what they were supposed to do. It might’ve gotten a tad dicey there for a second or two, but I’ll take the following line from Astros relievers any time: 2.2 IP, H, 0 R, 0 ER, 2 BB, SO.
Not a whole bunch more to say here – it was an entertaining and enjoyable game all around. The Astros have two more against the Reds (Wednesday and Thursday at 11:35 CDT) before heading out to Pittsburgh for a 3-game set. Go get ‘em boys!