Murder at the Brew Morgue, 12,664 paid. Some paid not to show up.
The Astros got their ubiquitous first inning run, when Biggio doubled the first pitch from Sheets down the line. He advanced to third on Taveras? bunt and then Berkman sac?d to right and Pigpen?s backdoor slide into home was just ahead of Jenkins one hop laser .
Scoring continued in the 2nd. Set up by singles in a row by Lamb, Wilson, and Ausmus, Maximus, back in stylish black gloves, hits a long, long, ground rule double to center for 2 of his 4 RBI on the night. Then Nieve got the first of his firsts by popping an RBI single over short. The score was 4-0.
Now comes the event every Brewer pitcher dreads, the mound visit grope by Mike Maddux. He had his hands all over Sheets, who was apparently pitching the game with an inner ear infection. The inning continued with runners 1st and 3rd, one out. Speedy grounds one right to Weeks, however, Speedy beats out the 4-6-3 attempt and, run scores, 5-0.
The fin gave Snowball the leave to challenge with strikes. Fielder accepted the challenge, he doubles. Then Bill Hall humps a high 2 strike fastball to dead center. 5-2. Now Hickey has to come out, but he keeps his hands to himself. With 2 outs Sheets, apparently faking sick, catches Lamb laying back with a bunt. Now they?ve got 2 on, 2 outs, Frosty gets Weeks to fly out. Phew.
The third starts with a bad omen. The wandering camera finds the worst feathered, dyed red, female mullet. It portended doom and the Astros came tapping, tapping. With one out, Lamb, then Wilson, then Ausmus bounced singles up the middle. Lamb was moving from 2nd on Brad?s and he scored. Sheets finally succumbs to his illness, and crawls into the dugout. Ben Hendricksen, a cross between Harpo and Oddball, takes over. Everett greets him with another run scoring single. It?s 7-2.
But the Brewers don?t know the meaning of the word quit, nor of the word pseudepigraphy, doesn?t slow them down. JJ Hardy ropes a homer to left in the bottom of the third. 7-3. Beginning to remind me of another very recent game.
The Astros continue to get runners on in every inning, Berkman had 2 hits in the game, Lamb 3, Wilson 2, Ausmus 3, Everett 2, but they didn?t score another run until the 8th.
Berkman tried to get something going in the 6th when he lead off trying to stretch a single to right into a double. Jenkins nailed him flat. The Astros need a new scouting report on Jenkins.
Top the 7th, while the fans were still giddy and buzzing from Italian?s start to finish win in the sausage race, Lamb had advanced to 2nd on a single and throwing error by Weeks, Wilson gets him to third with a groundout. Then, Ausmus walks and steals 2nd, his second steal of the game. With 2 outs, Everett bounces a grounder to Koskie at 3rd. Out of the corner of his eye he sees a shiny object, Ausmus running towards third. Koskie hesitates, can?t get Everett at first anymore, so he runs at Ausmus who back pedals. Lamb touches home before Koskie touches Ausmus. Brilliant base running tacks on another run 8-3.
The bottom of the 7th, the Snow Man has retired 14 in a row, striking out 7, but with 2 outs, Damian Miller adds the 3rd Brewer homerun, a solo shot, 8-4. Nieve finished out the inning, 7 innings, 4 runs, 7 Ks and 3 homeruns, in line for his first win in the Majors.
Top the 8th featured a spectacular, back to home, running to deep center, over the head catch by Bill Hall to rob Biggio of as many bases as he wanted.
Bottom of the 8th, Springer came on and got into some trouble. Weeks singles, JJ Hardy ricocheted a liner off Lamb, Everett scampered behind and retrieved the carom in left, Weeks thought he could make it to 3rd but Everett?s dart nails him for the first out of the inning at 3rd.
Gallo comes on to get Jenkins, one of the guys he was hired to get out, and he rolls to Bruntlett, now in at 2nd. Then Dan ?The Wrecker? Wheeler faces Carlos Lee and nicks him in the laundry on a 1-2 count. Prince Rookie of the Month Fielder doubles and the score is 8-5, runners 2nd and 3rd, 2 outs. Bill Hall up. Wheeler gets down 2-0, then 3 straight fastballs looking, the last right on the outside corner, K?s Hall.
Lidge comes on for the 9th, strikes out Koskie and Miller with some of the best sliders and fastballs of the season. Then Gabe ?Homerun? Gross comes on to pinch hit. Just then, the trainer Dave Labossiere, sprints out of the dugout towards the mound. My heart leaps into my throat, blood drains from my hair, and Labossiere reaches out to Lidge and hands him? a tongue depressor to clean his cleats. Then Lidge, perfectly fine, gets Gross to pop out to left center.
Now they?re on to Houston, likely get here at 2:00 this morning, the Cardinals are already here waiting. Oswalt v. Marquis, 7:05.
