But The Astros Put Up Nary A Fisticuff, And Succumbed Meekly
PIRATES 6, ASTROS 1
Saturday May 7, 2011
PNC Park
PITTSBURGH (SnS) – The Houston Astros wasted a pretty good pitching effort by somewhat erratic starter Bud Norris here Saturday evening, and fell helplessly to the underwhelming Pittsburgh Pirates, 6-1. Read More
It was a pitcher’s duel on this night with Wandy Rodriquez of the Houston Astros squaring off with Pat Maholm of the Pittsburgh nine. Maholm looked for all the world to be a man destined for an early exit from the game the way things started for him on the night. In the first, the Astros leadoff hitter and red-hot Jason Bourgeois singled, stole second, advanced to third on Michael Bourn’s single and then scored on Hunter Pence’s long fly ball to right. The ‘stros promptly continued to put pressure on Maholm, but the “bend but do not break” rule came into play and no more damage was inflicted.
After that, both pitchers threw up zeros at opposing hitters for pretty much the whole game. Wandy held the Pyroots down until they broke through for the tying run in the fifth. Maholm, for his part, settled down and baffled the Astros as he is prone to do at PNC park. The game stayed tied until the 7th when Neil Walker jumped on a low fastball and cleared the fence to give the Buccos the lead, 2-1. Wandy pitched a dandy of a game, so it would have been lousy had he walked away with a loss to show for it. Instead, the Astros came back and pushed across a run when Michael Bourn led off the inning with a single and scored on a Pence double to right. “There are ribeyes out there son!” Pence then scored the go ahead run on a Carlos Lee single and now Wandy was in line to win a game.
So for their part, the team made the lead stick and newly anointed closer Mark Melanchon closed the deal in the ninth earning his first save of his career. Here is hoping for many more to come. Good game and the Astros and Pirates go at it again on Saturday in game two of the series.
You’d think with Senor Myers launching la pelota at Los Rojos de Cincinatti, that Los Astros would be looking a good chance of a series win. Bring in la escoba! Alas, it was not to be on this dia muy bonito, as Myers and his compadres in the bullpen did a great job of regalando a win to Cincy.
Aye Dios mio!
Los Astros had a chance in this game when it seemed all but improbable. What is turning out to be the profile for this 2011 version of nueve pelloteros is you cannot count them out. Down 6-1 in the game and Myers in the showers, el equipo de Houston battled back and had the tying run on second base after scoring two runs and pulling off an aggressive double steal. The best hitter on the team was at bat, so this looked good. But el joven Brett Wallace bounced a two hopper to third to end the threat. After that, Nelson “el launcho” Figuero just totally put the game out of reach by tossing batting practice and allowing Los Rojos to safely add to the lead and put this one away.
Now on to Pittsburgh and mano a mano con los Piratas!
Astros 2, Reds 3
W: Francisco Cordero, L: Brandon Lyon
The Astros came into this game on a 3-game winning streak. Their longest win streak of the short season. This was a great game to watch. New starting pitcher for the Astros, Aneury Rodriguez , pitched 5 innings of 1-hit (which should have been an E9) and 1-walk baseball. Wilton Lopez, Fernando Abad, Mark Melancon and even Jeff Fulchino combined to pitched 3 innings of scoreless baseball.
The Astros hitter got 2 runs in the third off a JR Towles double, then a sacrifice by Rodriguez, a walk by Bourn, a single by Bourgeious, a single by Pence and a GiDP by Mr. Wallace to leave Bourgeious stranded on the bases.
Not much else happened offensively for the Astros.
The Reds were able to score 3 (because they didn’t need anymore) off of Brandon Lyon. He didn’t have a good outing. You can read the GameZone if you need more reaction.
The make up game from Monday’s rainout is today. You can read about it in Ebby Calvin’s preview or post in the GameZone’s Game Day Thread.
Happy Cinco de Mayo everyone!!! Have a drink for me.
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!
It’s a question commonly paired with major historical events. Where were you on September 11, 2001? How about January 28, 1986? Or November 22, 1963? July 21, 1969? Hell, one of us can even remember April 14, 1865.
We all have these personal memories of largely shared events. They’re snapshots of history – ways to remember innocence lost or enlightenment won. The kind of stuff Toby Keith writes songs about.
So where were you today?
Did you hear it on the radio on the drive to work? To school? Did a friend tell you? Or did you stay up late last night, hoping for confirmation? If you’re like me, you’ve probably clicked ‘refresh’ a thousand times in the last 12 hours, eagerly lapping up every drop of information.
I was the second person to find out – in the world. Yes, me. I knew before Obama. I’ll give you the scoop. So grab a chair, shut off your phone and set your brains to ‘remember.’
It’s true: Ebby Calvin is writing the Reds preview.
I’ll wait for you to change your pants. Remember to breathe. It’s ok, news like this can take a while to sink in. You ok? Good. Now onto the
Houston Astros (11-17) vs Cincinnati Reds (14-14) Series Preview
Monday, May 5, 2011
6:10pm CST, Great American Smallpark
J.A. Happ (1-4, 6.35) vs Mike Leake (3-0, 4.40)
J.A. Happ’s a lot of things, but at least he’s not a thief. Which is what Mike Leake is. A dirty, rotten, shit-for-brains thief. He’s also a pretty good pitcher, even though he’s a Red and a thief. He’s gone seven innings in each of his last two starts, the most recent of which he struck out 12 Brewers. But hey, Norris struck out 11 Brewers yesterday, and Norris isn’t a dirty, rotten, shit-for-brains thief who eats Skyline Chili for breakfast. So Norris > Leake. And I think we can all live with that.
Happ hasn’t handled himself heroically, hence his high hearned-hrun-haverage. He dominated the Reds April 5, giving up only seven runs in four innings. And he’s lost his last three. So he’s got that going for him, which is nice. But he’s an Astro, and even though I don’t know where to find his splits against current Reds hitters, I can confidently assume they all hit under .100 against him with no home runs and no RBIs. Those seven runs in April were all unearned, thanks to seven four-base errors in RF by Blinky.
Tuesday, May 3, 2011
6:10pm, CST
Aneury Rodriguez (0-0, 6.75) vs. Sam LeCure (0-1, 4.57)
I’ve never been a Cure fan, and I sure as hell wouldn’t like them more if they were French, so fuck Sam LeCure. This looks to be his last start before Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey return to the roster, so once again, fuck Sam LeCure.
The Aneurysm (see what I did there?) is taking over for The Jheri-Curled-One, after Figueroa couldn’t find his ass with two hands and a flashlight. This’ll be Aneury’s first start of the season, after which he’ll change his name to Ezequiel Astacio for consistency’s sake. Because really, what will Milo call him? Aneury-ie?
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
11:35am, CST
Brett Myers (1-1, 3.72) vs Travis Wood (1-3, 6.82)
In Wood’s last start, he gave up seven runs in less than four innings against the Marlins, so he’s hot right now. This looks to be his last start before Johnny Cueto and Homer Bailey return to the roster, so once again, fuck Sam LeCure. I mean Travis Wood. Fuck Travis Wood.
Myers continues to throw six or more innings in each of his starts, despite recently giving up three solo taters to the Brewers for his first loss. But Myers’ performance is hardly graded by his win/loss record. His job is to keep the Astros in the game for as long as possible, then let the bullpen fuck it up. So far, so good.
Astros
Arias is due back in May, which means he’ll be back in September. It just wouldn’t feel right with him healthy.
Castro’s still hobbling around on crutches.
Keppinger will be ready to punish some weak-ass shit later this month.
Carlos is day-to-day after running into the forcefield surrounding Angel Sanchez.
Wilton Lopez is due back any day.
J-Mike (hate that nickname) is rehabbing his dislocated left shoulder, due back mid May.
Shiteaters
Jose Arredondo (right shoulder) is on a minor league assignment, and thank God for that, because who knows what he’d do to the Astros. Seriously, does anybody know? No fucking clue who Jose Arredondo is.
Homer Bailey (right shoulder) will be back on May 10.
Jared Burton (right shoulder) is out for the year. Don’t care.
Johnny Cueto (right shoulder) is due back soon.
Fred Lewis (right oblique) might be back for this series.
Scott Rolen (left shoulder) will be back mid-May. Apparently he was showing off his ambidextrous motion to the rest of the circle jerk above.
Juan Fransisco (still not in playing shape) is a fat ass.
Fucking nothing, except for Wednesday, when it’s Tri-State Centers for Sight Senior Citizen Specials. There’s a JimR joke in there somewhere, I just know it.
In Other News
Some terrorist guy died. You heard it here first.
