Cardinals 4, Astros 2

by Sphinx Drummond

Some games are worse than others and some not as bad.

Going up against Cardinal starter Kyle Lohse, who hasn’t lost since June 15, and countering with “Cardinal Killer” Bud Norris, who hasn’t won since you know when, the Astros appeared ripe to put a halt to Lohse’s six game winning streak. Alas, it wasn’t to be.

Things started off okay with the Astros scoring in the first inning by a solo shot by Bret Wallace. The Cards came back to tie the game in the second but Chris Snyder hit a solo homerun in the third inning to give the Astros their second lead of the game. It was also the first and second time new manager DeFrancesco had seen his team take a lead in a game. The Astros have now scored three runs in 27 innings under DeFrancesco and continue to make stupid plays in the field. Somewhere Brad Mills was overheard saying, “I told you so.”

Hitless over the last 6 innings, the Astros bats dried up after Marwin Gonzalez’ third inning infield single. Assisted by some typical shitty defensive execution, the Cardinals took the lead with two runs in the fifth, and added an insurance run in the eighth to claim a 4-2 victory over the Astros.

Norris, who is now 5-11 and had a 7-3 record with a 2.47 ERA in his 12 previous starts against the Cardinals, has now lost ten consecutive games. He allowed 7 hits over six innings while striking out one and walking another. Among active pitchers with at least 10 starts against the Cardinals, no one has a lower ERA than Bud. Wesley Wright pitched a solid 3 up 3 down seventh inning and retired the only batter he faced in the eighth.

Lohse pitched another fine game, he didn’t walk a batter, threw only 87 pitches and retired the last 14 hitters he faced. With the win, St. Louis now leads in the race for the second NL Wild Card spot. And with the loss the Astros will try to avoid being swept out of St. Louis in the third game of the series when Dallas Keuchel takes on the Jakes’ Jake Westbrook in a businessman’s special, or matinee, or whatever is cool slang for a day game.

Cardinals 7, Astros 0

Contributed by Reuben

I didn’t see much of this game. Saw the bottom of the first inning on my phone as my wife and I were driving home, poor 3G reception providing a convenient excuse not to prolong the agony. Harrell gave up 4 runs, 1 on a bullshit balk, the rest on a succession of rinky-dink singles, at least one or two were of the broken-bat variety. It was a pretty big bummer, seeing as Harrell’s starts are by far the Astros’ best chances at winning a game these days, and being down 4 runs almost guarantees a loss for this club.

But! I have a feel-good, positive story to share. My softball team had a dramatic, come-from-behind playoff victory tonight. Down 10-5 in the 6th (ie. next-to-last) inning, we rallied to win 12-11, beating Google – who had knocked us out of the playoffs in 2007 and 2008 – to advance to the finals. I think we’re playing CB Richard Ellis or some shit, well, either them or Hendricks Sports Management.

OK, gotta go, we have a 6 am flight to catch. Hunt down the GameZone thread, ’tis likely worth the read.

Diamondbacks 8, Astros 1

W:Kennedy (11-10)
L:Galarraga (0-4)

Seems I’ve got to have a change of scene
‘Cause every night I have the strangest dreams
Imprisoned by the way it could have been
Left here on my own or so it seems
I’ve got to leave before I start to scream
But someone’s locked the door and took the key

You feelin’ alright? I’m not feelin’ too good myself
You feelin’ alright? I’m not feelin’ too good myself

Brad Mills is free, free at last. Hopefully he’s relaxing somewhere, taking a break from the helltrain he’s been riding at the helm of, and surely this far into his career he knows to not read the papers, or at least the publishings of the Home Office because they’re busy polishing the crown of the New King.

Tony DeFrancesco: “When the game started I was in my own place out there. That’s where I belong.”

“I’m kind of disappointed in the at-bats. We’re trying to make adjustments, trying to get the right people out on the field.”

“We’re going to keep pushing, we’re going to keep working and we’re going to execute. It was a fundamentally sound game. The plays were made and the defense was decent.”

Jason Castro: “I think we kind of needed a little bit of a wake-up call, and it struck home with a lot of the guys.”

I’m not going to pick that shit apart for you, you can do that yourself on your own time. Of course, any time you spend trying to spin that straw into gold is more time than it’s worth.

Boy, you sure took me for one big ride
And even now I sit and wonder why
That when I think of you I start to cry
I just can’t waste my time, I must keep dry
Gotta stop believin’ in all your lies
‘Cause there’s too much to do before I die

Gallaraga had the start today – I think he’d started ten times in OKC for DeF, so he probably had a good idea what was coming. Three innings of his deliberate mosey through the lineup, and then when Arizona had him measured they started slapping him around, picking up five runs in the fourth. In the bottom of the inning, FeMart led off with a crank that was reviewed down to a double. After that, Greene flew out to right, Bogey bounced out to third for the first time anybody can remember this year, and Castro popped out.

In the sixth Houston finally scored when Greene’s leadoff double was cashed in by a Castro single with two outs. That’s all the Home Nine were able to scratch out though, and over the last three innings they picked up one hit and one walk.

For the Diamondbacks, Aaron Hill had a big day – a double and two home runs. Castro had two singles and the lone RBI for the woeful Astros. If this is the hard-charging excitement we’re led to believe is exploding from the clubhouse now that there is a New Firebrand Manager We Can All Trust, well, color me unmoved so far by this shell game. Maybe it’ll take a couple of days, or perhaps a road trip to see our good friends the Jakes and the steM and get right by absorbing some good beatings before an extended home stand.

Don’t get too lost in all I say
Though at the time I really felt that way
But that was then, now it’s today;
I can’t get off yet and so I’m here to stay
Till someone comes along and takes my place
With a different name and, yes, a different face

By Mr. Happy

Tonight’s ball game showed some promise early on, as the Astros first knotted the game at one and then took a 3-1 lead on a Chris Snyder two run two out home run in the fourth inning, after a spectacular catch by Brandon Barnes, which saved at least a run, if not two.  Hopes indeed were high, particularly for the SnS meetup in Suite 54, organized by SnS MVP Gleach.

Unfortunately for the home nine, games have a fifth inning, and Jordan Lyles and fifth innings mix like Mr. Happy and tattoes.  Lyles, who drops to 2-10 with a 5.70 ERA, has a season ERA of 14.11 in the fifth inning coming into tonight’s action, which goes to 19.02 with four earnies while recording no outs in tonight’s fifth inning.  Lyles surrendered eight hits and gave up three walks in his four plus frames, tossing 80 pitches.  Arizona dropped a nine spot on the Astros in that disastrous fifth inning to take a 10-3 lead that they didn’t surrender.

In addition to Snyder’s clutch bomb, his sixth of the year, Tyler Greene went deep for his sixth home run of the season.  Greene has been playing lights out since his acquisition from the Cardinals.  Chuckie Fick allowed two home runs, one to Aaron Hill, which was a three run shot in that fifth inning, and another to Ryan Wheeler, his first in the big leagues, in his 2.1 innings of work.  I lost interest in the rest of the game and started writing this recap.

I had hoped to feature some good updates from the SnS sweet suite meetup, but the crew was silent to my shock and dismay.  I guess what goes on at MMPUS stays at MMPUS.