By Craig ElliottThe Astros dropped a deuce in St. Louis (and weren't even at the airport) but did manage to pick up the series finale. They're still six games back of the Jakes, and five behind the Padres in the wildcard race. Plus the dumbass Reds pulled ahead again, though the Astros get to deal with them soon enough.
Philly just took two of three from the ATL, and are tied with the Giants at 2.5 games behind the Pet Shop Boys. Ryan Howard is up to 56 homers now, while Utley has 28 and Burrell has 24.
If the Astros are going to make a run at the wildcard, they have to knock off the Phillies right now. And without pulling a groin.
When:Friday, September 15, 7:05 p.m. CDT ? FSN
Saturday, September 16, 12:45 p.m. CDT ? Fox
Sunday, September 17, 1:05 p.m. CDT ? FSN
MLB Extra Innings ? Friday and Sunday's games will be on Fox Southwest. Saturday's game is a Fox national broadcast.
Where: MMPUSThis is the last homestand of the year, unless Scrap Iron can pull another wildcard miracle out of his ass.
Giveaways this weekend include picture frames on Friday and black Astros hats on Saturday. Also, kids can run the bases again Sunday, and parents can enjoy the hilarity as Willy Taveras guns down any lollygaggers at second.
Projected Matchups
Brett Myers (10-6, 4.05) v. Roger Clemens (6-4, 2.27)Myers is 1-1 against the Astros, but hasn't faced them this season. He missed some time in the middle of the season after getting arrested for domestic abuse. The kinder-gentler Brett is 5-3 since rejoining the Phils.
Current Astros are only 14-for-74 (.189) against Myers, with five walks and 14 strikeouts. Biggio and Berkman each have a homer off him. Biggio is 4-for-13 against Myers and Berkman is 2-for-10. Ausmus is 3-for-7. No other Astros have more than one hit off him.
Clemens is sorta-maybe for this start, what with all that groin tenderness that seems to be going around. Roger is 2-0 against the Phillies in four appearances. He went five innings against Philadelphia earlier in the month, but left with the groin problem.
The Phillies are 21-for-88 against Clemens, with two homers, both from Conine. Otherwise, Conine is only 9-for-37 against Roger. Jimmy Rollins is 4-for-11 against him, and Randall Simon is 3-for-6.
Cole Hamels (7-8, 4.34) v. Jason Hirsh (3-3, 6.10)Hamels faced Clemens and the Astros earlier this month, and gave up two earned runs in eight innings. The Phillies won but he didn't get the decision. Astro batters are only 3-for-26 against him, but two of the hits were homers. One was from Huff and the other from Jimerson (in his first big-league AB). Bruntlett also hit a single off Hamels. Everyone else is 0-for-something.
Hirsh won his last start, going six innings against the Brewers and holding them to two earned runs on four hits. He also gave up one homer, and has allowed seven on the year. He hasn't faced the Phillies before.
Randy Wolf (3-0, 5.56) v. Andy Pettitte (13-13, 4.37)Wolf is pitching on three days' rest because he only lasted two innings in his last start. He went six innings against the Astros a couple of weeks ago, but got no decision. He's 3-4 against the Astros in eight career appearances. Current Astros are only 14-for-93 (.151) against Wolf, with nine walks and 17 strikeouts. No active Astros have homers against him, though Bagwell had one. Biggio is 4-for-23 against Wolf, Berkman is 2-for-13, and Ensberg is 0-for-10.
Pettitte is probable for this start after having elbow pain in his last outing. He is 2-2 in his career against the Phillies, and went 6+ innings against them earlier this year. Current Phillies are 21-for-94 against Andy, with eight walks and 17 strikeouts. They also have two homers off him ? one from Carlos Ruiz and one from Jimmy Rollins. Both Ruiz and Shane Victorino are 2-for-3 against Pettitte, but Burrell is 3-for-12, Rollins is 4-for-15, and Conine is 6-for-30.
Key injuries:
Philadelphia ? Scott Mathieson, Aaron Rowand, Julio Santana, and Arthur Rhodes are out for the season. And Mike Lieberthal probably is too.
Houston ? Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte are probable for this series, while Adam Everett is questionable.
Other shit* The Cubs had six errors the other night and still won. But they've still dropped past the Pirates into the cellar. I guess it's fairly Dusty down there in the basement. For now, anyway.
The Link* On Sept. 30, Cincinnati will host a terrorism response drill at Great American Ballpark. Volunteers are needed to fill the stands and then get evacuated. Evacuees will get two free tickets to a 2007 Reds game, so they can experience an actual disaster. Plus one lucky fan will win a T-shirt that says ?If this had been an actual disaster, I would have left by the seventh inning.?
The Link* In the spirit of the recent thread about the worst baseball movie ever, I have an urgent declaration for worst baseball-related song ever. And it's that goddamn ?Swing? piece of shit by Trace Adkins. Holy fuck, what an awful song. I'm pissed at myself for even mentioning it.
