Brandon Backe pitched into the 7th inning and three relievers mopped up the combined shutout as the Astros came out strong and won the second game of this home series.
Future Hall-of-Famer Craig Biggio led off the game for the good guys with a home run, upping his NL leadoff record total to 43. Read More
New Astros nemisis and Cy Young frontrunner Chris Carpenter won his 4th game of the season against the good guys, and earned his 20th victory of the year, as he defeated the Astros and starter Roger Clemens Saturday night before a sold-out crowd at MMPUS. Read More
Roger Clemens was dominate for 8 innings against the Pyroots Saturday evening at MMPUS, pitching shutout ball with a mere two hits allowed and no walks with 9 strikeouts, but the punchless Astros could not muster a run against Kip Wells and lost 1-0.
The healthy Wilson sister, shortstop Jack, greeted Brad Lidge in the 9th with a solo shot to break a scoreless tie. It was the ninth no-decision of the season for the 43-year-old Clemens, and the sixth time the Astros have failed to score for him. He threw an economical 88 pitches but has not gone longer than eight innings this season.
“This is tough. We got such great pitching from Rocket,” Astros manager Phil Garner said. “We had opportunities but couldn’t get them across the board. That’s tough.”
The Astros stranded 11 runners.
The finale of the series tomorrow at 1:05, Ezequiel Astacio (2-5, 6.75) vs. lefty Dave Williams (9-8, 4.18)
