contributed by austro (dude went on the DL with writing cramps after this contribution)
Sunday, June 27, 2010

Astros 1
Rangers 10

WP: Hunter (4-0) LP: Oswalt (5-10)

Astros.com
GameZone

Well, now the Astros have BOTH of the pitchers with the most losses in the big leagues (Wandy, of course, being the other). The defense behind Oswalt let him down again, coughing up a monster 2-run jack to Hamilton in the second, and then collapsing for another homer to Young in the third. With help like that, it’s easy to understand why a guy might take the rest of the afternoon off, which Oswalt did after 4 2/3 IP, 8 R, 7 ER, and 7 hits. Of course, that’s a week’s worth of runs for the Astros offense, so there wasn’t really any doubt about the outcome by the time Roy ambled off the hill. Roy’s seeming indifference to the whole spectacle is troubling, as is the increasing doubt about getting back anything of value in a trade. Perhaps we can borrow Evan Longoria from the Rays for an inning or two to let Roy know that we’re not seeing the sort of effort that is expected.

Not a lot of highlights in this one. The Astros lone run scored when Bourn knocked in Blum in the top of the fifth, but the game was already decided by that point. Bourgeois made a nice diving catch on a fly ball, but there is some question about whether that became necessary because of a bad read. Johnson had yet another error at 3B, giving him a total of five since rejoining the big club last Monday; keep that up, and you’ll be back in Round Rock soon, son. And Berkman’s homer on Friday is looking more and more like an aberration rather than the start of something good, since he hasn’t really struck anything solidly since then.

But at least Arlington is in the rear view mirror now, along with the rest of the AL. Now it’s off to Milwaukee to face the Brewers, who are finally starting to show a pulse.

contributed by austro (pinch-hitter dee-lux!)
Saturday, June 26, 2010

Astros 2
Rangers 7

WP: Wilson (6-3) LP: Banks (0-1)

Astros.com
Gamezone

Josh Banks drew the short straw for the afternoon start at the Tandoori in Arlington. He was in trouble from the beginning in his first start as an Astro. He managed to escape unscathed in the first two innings, stranding 5 baserunners, but in the bottom of the third the Rangers finally broke through to take a 1-0 lead. Meanwhile, the Astros were producing some baserunners, but Keppinger and Berkman both hit into double plays to kill innings.

There was a brief moment of hope in the top of the fourth when Jason Michaels smacked a two-run homer to give the Astros a 2-1 lead. But the Rangers extinguished that hope in the bottom of the fourth, first with a run-scoring double by Ramirez and then with a 3-run shot by Kinsler. That put the Rangers out to 5-2 lead and effectively meant the end of the game. The Rangers added two more in the fifth, and the Astros didn’t.

At the end of the day, the Rangers had 7 runs and 15 hits to the Astros’ 2 and 5. Banks was charged with 6 ER in 4+ IP. Just another day at the office.

Tune in Sunday at 7pm for the series finale (finally).

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)

Astros.com
Gamezone

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.

Submitted by austro

Saturday, June 19, 2010

Rangers 5 | Astros 1
WP: Lewis (7-4) | LP: Moehler (0-4)

Astros.com Recap
Gamezone

A fine effort by Moehler (6.0 IP, 2 R, 2 ER) went to waste as the offense continued its season-long disappearing act and the bullpen failed to close the door in the 8th and 9th innings. Smoak took Moehler deep (real deep) in the 2nd for a 2-run homer following a 12-pitch AB by Murphy, and that was all the Rangers needed to secure the win. Some credit for the lousy offense has to go to Lewis, who tossed a complete game, struck out 9 Astros, walked none, and only gave up 1 hit in the first 7 innings. Of course, this year it’s kind of hard to tell whether this kind of result is due to the pitching or the “hitting”.

As embarrassing as the offense was, the real disappointment of the evening was the crowd. Not the size: there were 41K+ folks in attendance. No, this season’s low point was reached when the bandwaggoning Rangers fans started “Rangers! Rangers!” cheers that were clearly audible, even on the TV broadcast. Worse, there was no answer by Astros fans, if there were any there.

Today sees Paulino taking on Wilson at 1pm. Maybe the earlier starting time will be sufficiently before bedtime that the bats will be awake.

And congratulations to the Horny Frogs for kicking some Florida butt in the CWS. With neither UT nor Rice present, I think they’ll be my adopted team for the tournament.

Contributed by austro

Friday, June 11, 2010
Yankess 4
Astros 3
WP: Pettitte (S: Rivera) | LP: Myers

Astros.com
Gamezone

Alkie let us all down and stayed at home to study World Cup highlights, so the Astros were without any fans in the stands. In the end, that was the missing advantage, as the Astros fell to the Yanquis 4-3.

I left the office late, so I listened to the 1st inning on XM. In addition to a Mr. Sterling, the Yankees have a female announcer whose voice won’t make anybody forget the Body Heat-era Kathleen Turner. In addition to the lineups, that dynamic duo also provided us with the remarkable observation that spacious Yankee Stadium is 408 to CF, while MinuteMaid Park is a small park, particularly in LF. I guess they didn’t make the road trip last year. And as it turns out, the Yankees’ announcers are also apparently contractually obligated to hawk some sponsor or another after each batter.

The top of the order picked up where they left off yesterday, going down 1-2-3 to start the game. But a milestone of sorts was reached when Pettitte retired Keppinger for the second out of the inning: that was his 3000th inning pitched, second only to Methuselah Moyer among active pitchers. That’s pretty impressive for somebody who’s been pumping Fix-A-Flat into his elbow for the last five or six years.

Myers had his traditional shaky start. He got Jeter to lead off with a ground out, but then gave up a double to Granderson, a walk to Texeira, an RBI single to Cano, and a walk to Swisher to load the bases. But then he struck out Posada and got to an 0-2 count on Cervelli, and it looked like he might escape with only the one run allowed. Alas, he gave up a single on the 0-2 pitch, and the Yankees went up 3-0. He retired the next batter for the third out, but the damage was done.

The top of the second began with Lee popping up, but then Pence walked, Michaels popped up, and Feliz flared a single down the RF line, moving Pence to third. Up next was the only RBI threat the Astros have right now, Tommy Manzella, and he smacked a two-run double down the LF line to pull within 3-2. Unfortunately, Cash couldn’t drive him in, so that’s how the top of the second ended.

And that was really pretty much the story. Both pitchers settled in and started mowing down the hitters. In the bottom of the fifth, Russo led off with a walk, stole second, and then scored on a two-out dink to RF by Texeira, making it 4-2. In the top of the eighth, Manzella led off with a single and was safe at second when Jeter screwed up a sure DP off the bat of Quintero. Bourn sacrificed the runners up, and Manzella scored on a Keppinger sac fly to pull to 4-3. That brought up Berkman with Q on third and two outs, but in keeping with this year’s theme, Lance struck out, and that was effectively the end of the game.

After his rough start, Myers did the same thing he’s done all year: settle down and grind out the innings, and give the Astros a chance to win. Tonight he went 7 innings with 4 ER; not bad at all. Chacin pitched an effective eighth inning. But Pettitte was a little bit better or luckier or something, going 7.1 innings and giving up 3 runs (2 earned). Chamberlain pitched 2/3 to finish the eighth, and Rivera closed things out with a scoreless ninth. In addition to breaking the 3,000 inning mark, the victory was Pettitte’s 200th as a Yankee.

Probably the most telling and depressing stat of the night was another oh-fer by the top of the lineup, this time 0-14 by the top four (Bourn, Keppinger, Berkman, and Lee). Hell, the entire team only had 4 hits in 30 AB, and two of those were by Manzella. That’s not going to get it done. Coming on the heels of yesterday’s 4-hit effort (1-15 from the top four), the offense suddenly looks frighteningly like April’s.

Oh well, tomorrow’s another day. Go get ‘em, Wandy!