Reds at Astros, 7/28/08
Astros 5, Dickities 4
W: Oswalt (8-8) L: Cueto (7-10) S: Valverde (27)
HR: Dunn (30), Blum (9)
(I was) walkin’ the tightrope steppin’ on my friends
Walkin’ the tightrope (it) was a shame and a sin
Walkin’ the tightrope between wrong and right
Walkin’ the tightrope both day and night
Yes, Roy returned to his all-too-familiar tightrope act Monday night against his old friends from Cincinnati. Spotted to a 3-run lead in the bottom of the first, Roy proceeded to load the bases in the top of the second with nobody out. Longtime Astros observers (such as the fine readers of this esteemed site) knew what was coming; let’s be honest, at this point, Astros fans in a persistent vegetative state knew what was coming.
Ah, but as the saying goes, hitting is timing, but pitching is distrupting timing. And thus Oswalt threw all of us off balance with three straight strikeouts to escape trouble and keep the 3-0 lead.
This only delayed the inevitable.
You see, Roy at this point will go Oswalt Inning ™ at some point. It is, as they say, a matter of when, not if. And Roy made it all the way to top 3, when 2 singles and a walk loaded the bags for Dunn, who then deposited a bomb just to the left of Tal’s Flagpole to make it a 4-3 game. (ed note: Why isn’t there any trade interest in a guy with 30 HR?)
Fortunately, Geoff Blum either really, really wants out of Houston, or he really, really wants a starting job, as he continued destroying the ball in the manner of his Sunday game. Following a first inning SF, Blum blasted a Cueto hanger into the first few rows in RF to make it a 5-4 game.
There it would stay, thanks especially to some strong work from a bullpen that seemed to say “Reliever?? Seriously, Ed? HOW ABOUT A FREAKING BAT!!!” Byrdak, Geary, Wright, and Valverde combined for 4 innings of shutout, 1-baserunner ball, and this one went into the books for the good guys.
Limey’s recipies, and the horror that is today’s Milo Hamilton, in the GameZone.
Trade deadline chatter in the TalkZone.
