Heavy D and Never to the Left Alfonso clocked huge back to back homeruns in the 8th and saved Speedy T. from being the goat in this game. Big Daddy ?Only Bonds May Not Go Long? Springer came on in the 8th and promptly put the game out of reach.
Before that disaster the game was tight. Fernando Nieve and Ramon Ortiz held two inept offenses, 7 innings each, to a homerun apiece, Damian Jackson in the 5th for the Nationals and Morgan Ensberg followed directly in the 6th to tie it.
Nieve had been living off inducing pop ups (12 fly ball outs) and started the 7th getting Soriano to lift one to the biggest part of centerfield. However Taveras overran the ball and tried to reach back over his head. The ball knicked off his glove and Soriano had a gift double. After a sac bunt by the 4 hitter Johnson, he scored on a sac fly to right by Jose Guillen; who probably should have been thrown out of the game in the 2nd for going Arkansas arguing a checked swing strike 3.
The Astros had few chances to score. In the 3rd Everett started the inning with a single, Nieve gave everyone a scare when he tried to bunt with his hand wrapped completely around the bat, he got his finger pinched. He did get a sac down, due mainly to Oritz?s horrible fielding. But Taveras and Biggio couldn?t advance Everett from second.
In the 4th, Lane came up with runners 2nd and 3rd, one out, and didn?t get a runner in. Ausmus walked the bases loaded and Everett popped up for the third out.
That was about the extent of the Astros ?threats?. The Butch and Sundance of Not Putting the Ball in Play started the 9th against Flat Brimmed Cordero, hopped up on the WBC banned steroid albuterol, with a ground out and a K and Ausmus lined out to right to end it.
Next up, Sparky v. Mike "The Leprechaun" O'Connor, 6:05 Wed.
