Astros 1, Rockies 12

W: Ubaldo Jiminez, L: Felipe Paulino

Astros Recap
Yahoo Recap
Boxscore

Last night the men from Houston were nothing to the men from the Rockies. It was beyond bad. There was little pitching, little hitting, little bit of bad fielding, and little opportunities.

The little bit of pitching was in the 2nd, 7th and 9th innings. Those were the only innings the Rockies did not score. (Yes, I know the Rockies did not bat in the 9th.)

The little bit of hitting was done by Bourn, 2 for 4 with a league leading 11 stolen bases; Pence, 2 for 4 with a run; and Blum, 2 for 4.

The little bit of bad fielding was by Tejada and Matsui who had an error each. There were some good plays that I remember by Lee and Bourn in the outfield.

The little opportunities was having only 9 runners in scoring position on the night.

Bench Tidbits:
Right now, this team has potential, I really believe that. They just need something to bring it all together. Whether it be Jobu, live chickens, rubber chickens, slumpbusters, or fans watching Scott Baio movies, something has got to start making believers out of us again.

I do not understand why Cooper will not have Bourn leading off the lineup. He has a higher average and on-base percentage than Matsui. It is not like he would not change it again if Bourn fell in those areas.

Ortiz did nothing to prove to anyone that he should be the 5th starter over Paulino last night. Paulino might have, but I’m going to give him a couple more starts before I decide that.

Is there any way in the world that Toronto would trade Roy Halladay to the Astros? If so, please do it. He’s awesome. We need him more than those Canadians do.

Ryan Zimmerman of the Nationals is on a 30 game hit streak. Good for him.

Check out strosrays preview for more information on the Rockies series.

Astros at Natinals, 5/5/09
Astros 10, Natinals 10
Suspended in the bottom of the 11th, 1 out runner on 1st base.
To be resumed on July 9th.

Astros Recap
GameZone

”[T]his game has set baseball back at least 100 years” said one observer with memories of how the game was played back then. In a game that featured all forms of meltdowns by both pitching staffs (save a run-scoring balk, that was the previous game), and a poor defensive showing, the Astros and Natinals put on a stinker for the ages.

Well, mostly. Offensively, the Astros performed well, eclipsing their season high in runs scored. Pitching-wise, not so much (okay, it was just plain f-ugly).

The Astros started the scoring in the second. Miggy doubled and then scored on an RBI double off the right field wall by Pudge.

Roy surrendered the lead in the fourth though, allowing a two-run homer to left center to Elijah Dukes.

The Good Guys got those back and then some in the top of the fifth. Blum led off with a single. Roy tried to give ‘em an out with a sacrifice bunt, but the Nats would have none of that and instead threw the ball away while trying to get Blum at second. Bourn followed with a liner to the gap in left center, scoring Blum and Roy. Keppinger walked, Berkman advanced the runners with a grounder to first, and then the Nats decided to give Carlos a freebie. (JD: Do not try-o, El Caballo, on Cinco de Mayo). Miggy then proceeded to shoot a liner that one-hopped the left field wall, scoring Bourn and Keppinger. Middle 5: Astros 5, Natinals 2. Ace* on the hill, bottom of the sixth, “When you go up 5-2, you almost want to say, this one’s in the bag.”. Well DoRay, not so much…

* Lest this cause confusion, Roy was on the hill and Wandy was in the dugout.

The rest of the evening can pretty much be summed up here.

Roy started the 6th, but was unable to continue because of a bone bruise on his right index finger that he had received while bunting the previous inning. He left the inning with none out and runners at 1st and 2nd. The generally reliable Sampson came on in relief, for his first appearance in a couple of games. Unfortunately he was not immune from the variant of bullpen flu that had stricken the rest of his pen-mates the previous night. A single by Zimmerman (hitting streak now at 23) scored 1. Dunn advanced the runners with a roller to Berkman. This was followed by a walk, RBI walk, RBI walk, strikeout (2nd out) and another RBI walk, and then Sampsons day was through. (JD: People come to Washington looking for a handout, the Astros have come here to bail out the Natinals. A lot of freebies here.). Byrdak was called in to stop the bleeding, but a potentially inning-ending grounder to Miggy was muffed, allowing another run to score and keeping the bases juiced. Byrdak proceeded to hit the next batter (scoring yet another) before inducing a grounder by Zimmerman to end the inning. (JD prior to the grounder: And now [home plate umpire] Lance Barksdale’s right arm is broken. He’s forgotten how to call strikes). The Natinals (who, as a team, were hitting .152 this year with the bases loaded) scored 6 runs on 2 singles and an error in the 6th, and the Astros trailed 8-5.

The Astros bats were not finished, however. In the top of the 7th Bourn placed a solid bunt towards third, was moved over by Kepp and kept company on the bases with a walk to Berkman. Lee, with yet another strong 2-strike approach, reached for one and singled to right, scoring Bourn. Miggy followed this by reaching for a slider down and away, singling to right and scoring Berkman. (It is unknown whether Coop chided Lee and/or Miggy for trying to go the opposite way in an RBI situation in these two at bats). Pence followed this with a grounder to 2nd scoring Lee, but a muff by the Natinals shortstop failed to get the force. A crappy at bat by Blum ended the top of the 7th with the score tied at 8. A wild pitch in the top of the 8th allowed Erstad to score another, and the Astros led 9-8 in the middle of the 8th.

The bullpen wasn’t finished either, but not in a good way. Geary came in, got a fly-ball out, gave up a single, and then proceeded to give up a two-run blast to Christian Guzman in the bottom of the 8th, giving the Natinals a 10-9 lead.

Again the Astros bats weren’t ready to call it quits. Pence hit a bloop double down the line in right, Pudge moved him over with a ball on the ground to the right, and Blum sent him home with a sacrifice fly to deep center. Geary remained in the game and managed to keep the Natinals from scoring another, and on to extras they went.

Geary threw another scoreless inning in the bottom of the 10th. The Astros had some chances to push a run across in the 11th, but were unable to do so. Hawkins came in to pitch the bottom of the 11th. Hawkins managed an out before walking Dukes on four pitches. With one on, one out, in the bottom of the 11th, [a]t the sight of the Nats and Astros bullpens, the sky had laughed ’til it cried, a rain delay ensued and the game was ultimately suspended.

The game will resume on July 9th, where the Astros will be the away team at the home field (which is a hell of a lot better than being the home team at a neutral field…).

Other notes:

Bourn looked damn good again (save his inability to lay down a sac bunt), going 2-6 with 2 runs, 2 RBIs and only 1K.

Miggy went 3-6 with a run and 3 RBIs.

Roy may miss his next bullpen, but should feel well enough to make his next start.

One is not the loneliest number that you’ll ever do, that’d be 0-20 (and maybe).

Next Game: Buzz and his FTC’s come to MMPUS tonight to face the Good Guys. Harden and Hampton are probables to take the mound.”

I’d link to the Series Preview, but it is not yet posted.

Be sure to click the links, since this recap was written by OregonStrosFan, as they aren’t my usual links. Thanks OSF because this game would have been one of the worst I would have had to recap. EVER.

Astros 2, Brave 7

W:
Derek Lowe, L: Mike Hampton

Box Score
Astros Recap
Yahoo Recap

Astros did not do much on the night. They scored two runs. I give the Astros player of the game to Michael Bourn who was 2-5 on the night, with a triple, single, and a run scored. He also made some great catches in centerfield.

There were hits by other Astros, but you can check out the recap and the box score for more details.

While watching the 7 innings that I had recorded, I think it should only be a matter of time before Kazuo Matsui and Michael Bourn get switched in the batting order.

Bench Tidbits:

There was no GameZone for the night. Seems like a night to be out.

Morgan Ensberg has a job. Good luck to him.

There is a Polish festival in Houston today.

Check out Mark’s Series Preview for information about the Braves/Astros series.

Astros 8, Reds 3
W: Wandy Rodriguez, L: Aaron Harang

Box Score
Astros Recap
Yahoo Recap

For Wandy Rodriguez in Cincinnati, the 11th straight win for the Astros in Cincinnatti and the 3rd straight win for the Astros.

Wandy Rodriguez is doing his best to show that there is more to him than being a good man at home. He’s proving he can pitch on the road. He pitched 7 innings, giving up 1 one run on 5 hits and 2 walks. Outstanding work. Geoff Geary and Wesley Wright each pitched an inning of relief giving up a run.

Aaron Harang for the Reds did not fair so well. He went 6 innings giving up 5 earned runs (6 total in the 6 innings) on 6 hits. Nick Masset pitched two scoreless innings, Mike Lincoln toss 1 inning of 2 run baseball and Jared Burton closed out the 9th scoreless.

The bats came out for the Astros tonight. Kazuo Matsui led the game off with a single, then Michael Bourn reached on an error and Matsui scored on the throwing error to give the Astros the lead. Both Matsui and Bourn stole second.

Willy Taveras led off the bottom of the first with a walk. Jeffy Hairston Jr. followed with a single, moving Taveras to third. Joey Votto grounded into a double play, but that allowed Taveras to score. Brandon Phillips followed with a double, but was left standed at third (which he stole) when Jay Bruce grounded out to Lance Berkman at first.

Ivan Rodriguez homered to deep center in the second to give the Astros the lead again.

In the top of the fifth the Astros decide to bring the bats out again. Geoff Blum led off with a single to right, the Ivan Rodriguez double to deep left which Blum was enabled Blum to score because of Darnell McDonald’s error. Pudge moved to third with Wandy’s sacrifice. Top of the line up had Matsui hitting a single which scored Pudge. Matsui stole his second second base of the night, Bourn walked and Lance Berkman did what he’s been doing a lot of this season, he made an out. Carlos Lee double to center which was more than enough for Matsui and Bourn to score. Miguel Tejada struck out swinging to end the top of the 5th.

Top of the 8th brings the next bout of excitement. Tejada doubled to deep center, Hunter Pence moved him over by grounding out to the pitcher. Blum struck out looking, which makes one think the Astros were going to strand Tejada at third but Pudge walked allowing Darrin Erstad to pinch hit. Erstad hit a single scoring Tejada. Matsui follows up with a single, but Bourn leaves them all hanging by striking out. One insurance run is all the boys get.

Laynce Nix homered off of Geoff Geary to bring the Reds one run closer in the bottom of the 8th. Brandon Phillips homered in the bottom of the 9th, but that was all the Reds could do on the night.

Bench Tidbits:

Ricky Stone at the game tonight. Hope he is doing well.

On the DL goes Jose Valverde.

Check out the GameZone for game time reactions.

Limey’s Series Preview is worth a read to know more about game 3 in the series.

Brewers 5, Astros 2
W: Yovani Gallardo, L: Felipe Paulino

Astros Recap
Yahoo Recap
Box Score

This game lasted all of 2 hours and 14 minutes to give the Astros a two game losing streak. Let’s hope it ends at two.

Felipe Paulino started out for the Astros on the mound he went 6 innings giving up 10 hits for 4 runs, all in the same inning. Jeff Fulchino finished the game going 3 innings giving up one run, a home run by Rickie Weeks.

Yovani Gallardo pitched a complete game giving up 2 runs on 5 hits. It only took him 106 pitches to do in the Astros.

Not a lot of good things done offensively by the Astros. Carlos Lee hit a 2-run homerun in the 4th inning. Michael Bourne had a good night going 2-3 with a sacrifice. His last at-bat was a called strike out. He didn’t look as bad as Lance Berkman who needs to stop whining about strike calls.

Humberto Quintero and Mike Cameron had a little bump at the plate in the top of the 4th. Q and Cameron were both definitely shaken up after the initial collision, but both walked off the field, admist mixed emotions by Astros fans.

Bench Tidbits:

The question of who the emergency catcher is came up after Q left the game. Geoff Blum, Jeff Keppinger, or maybe Jason Smith. Anyone know for sure?

Did Berkman really attempt a bunt in the 9th?

Why did Cooper do the double switch with Lee coming out and Fulchino in his spot in the 7th inning?

There was no fireworks after the game tonight due to rain, thanks to a roof though there was a game.

Check out the Game Zone for in game discussions.

Check out strosrays Series Preview for a great read.

Special shoutout to gleach for the tickets, they were much appreciated.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend and may the win streak begin tomorrow.

Dodgers 5, Astros 8
W: Russ Ortiz, L: Clayton Kershaw, S: Jose Valverde

Box Score
Astros Recap
Yahoo Recap

Well, this was an interesting game tonight. The first inning ended at 7:42 pm. That took a long time. Both Russ Ortiz and Clayton Kershaw threw a lot of pitches. The Dodgers putting up a 3 spot did not seem to bode well for the evening. Even though the Astros scored one run in the first also. But those of us with faith stuck around to see the Astros play some winning baseball.

I have to admit that one of the frustrating moments on the night was the Sonic Grandslam inning. I really feel bad for the contestant tonight. There were four chances for the Astros to hit a grandslam. All they could muster was one run. One, leaving three men on base. But I guess I should be okay with them scoring one.

A scary moment in the game was the top of the ninth. Rafael “Cheers” Furcal reached on a bunt error. Orlando Hudson reached on an ankle hit to Jose Valverde. Manny Ramirez came up with a chance to tie the game with no outs and proceeded to make a long fly ball out. Runners on the corners for the Dodgers. Andre Ethier worked a walk to load the bases with one out. I have to admit, I was very uncomfortable. This is not the Astros with bases loaded, this team could score some runs. Jose Valverde got James Loney and Russell Martin to strike out. The Dodgers left them all on base. It’s not just for the Astros anymore.

Memorable Moments from the game. Let’s start with Mr. Carlos Lee. He hit a shot that hit some lady going to see Mauritius at the Alley Theatre. Jason Michaels hit a ground rule double to center field that bounced out of the field. There were only six men left on base by the Astros, that does seem to be an improvement over the past few games. Russ Ortiz pitched well after the first inning. Wesley Wright, LaTroy Hawkins, and Jose Valverde pitched a scoreless inning each.

Manny Ramirez hit a shot that went 437′ straight to center.

Overall, it was a good win for the Astros.

Bench Tidbits:

Brad Ausmus is still good looking.

Kazuo Matsui has a group of fans that come out to the games.

Those furries for Lance Berkman are still stupid.

Check out the Game Zone for in-game reactions.

Taras Bulba has the Series Preview for more information.