In the bottom the first Mike Lamb lined the second pitch he saw, a low fastball, three rows into the seats. 1-0 Astros.
Rolen answered by popping a double in the gap in left, just out of Burke?s reach. He?s running with a metal boot on his foot, apparently some sort of parking violation that he refuses to pay caught up with him. Edmonds follows with a fly ball to right. Rolen decides to try it. Berkman fields the fly, loads up pumping like a Super Squirter, rares back and heaves a hump backed strike to 3rd where Ensberg lays the tag on a sliding Rolen 3 feet from the base.
The top the 3rd opened with Buchholz beaning the catcher Molina right in the helmet with a first pitch curve. Molina made it to first but had to call time and leave the game a couple minutes later.
Nepo Duncan grounded out to begin the 4th. Buchholz greeted Pujols by buzzing him fast and in, however, he rocketed a single off Wilson?s leg. Buckles then got Rolen but Edmonds blasted a 1-2 fastball right down the middle way up in the second deck, 2-1 Cardinals.
Buchholz had a decent slider and curve tonight. His fastball was accurate, but every now and then, especially on a couple to Pujols, it got away from him way high.
The Astros came roaring back in the bottom the 4th. Burke worked a 3-2 walk, Berkman got hit in the elbow, no one thought it was intentional. He trotted to first waving his elbow like Rodney Dangerfield so much I thought they were going to pinch run Noonan.
Then P. Dubya slaps a grounder at the 2b Miles who might have been distracted by Berkman running in front waving a Zagnut. The ball goes through his legs and Burke scored from 2nd. Munson then works a walk, Ensberg comes up, bases loaded. Brown says, ?the worst thing that can happen is to hit into a double play, and a run scores anyway.? Greg Lucas says, ?No, he could hit into a triple play.? Jim Deshaies better be having a real good time on his vacation is all I can say. Anyway, he does hit into a double play, on a 1-2 count, and a run does score, 3-2 Astros. Those 2 runs were unearned.
Continue on into the 6th, with 2 outs Buchholz walks Pujols on 4 high fastballs. Then Rolen comes up. Buchholz throws him the best slider of the night, 0-1 swinging. Fastball away, 1-1, then a curve that Rolen rolls over to 3rd.
Qualls is on in relief in the 7th. The first batter is Edmonds. He hits a liner off the base off the wall in the right field corner, Berkman scoops it, spins and fires to 2nd. Biggio catches the throw a couple step towards the 1b side of the bag and tags out the sliding Edmonds. Luckily, Hollywood?s cadillacing negated Bennett?s single 2 batters later, which would have tied the game.
It?s Wheeler for the 8th and John Rodriguez greets him with a pinch double up The Hill. Remember, it?s still 3-2. Eckstein bunts him over to 3rd. Setting up Nepo. Wheeler lets fly a fastball that gets by Munson but bounces off the back wall so quickly that Rodriguez doesn?t move. Wheeler goes 3-0 to Duncan but comes back and Ks him. Then they walk Pujols.
Lidge and Ausmus come on to work Rolen who lines a 97 mph fastball straight at Biggio to end the inning.
In the bottom the 8th, the insurance run came on a throwing error by the pitcher Wainright to set Lamb up at 2nd. Burke bunts him over. They IBB Berkman, who was in the game for his defense anyway, and P. Dubya makes them pay with a sharp base hit up the middle, 4-2.
Lidge, with Everett?s help on a couple balls in the hole to his right, and a wicked slider K?g Encarnacion puts the lid on this one.
Wandy goes against Marquis tomorrow at 7:05.
