2005 SEASON
APRIL 15-17: HOUSTON @ CINCINNATI
FRIDAY, APRIL 15, 2005 (Game 9) - Houston @ Cincinnati
Houston 11, Cincinnati 2
Another Shabbat morning, and I’m out of bed before 6 AM, running outside to grab the paper to check on last night’s game. And finally, the game I’ve been waiting for – the blowout scoring, matched up with great pitching, as the Astros win their 12th game in a row against the Reds. It was also Roy Oswalt’s career 13th win against Cincinnati – with no losses – a record that’s only matched by Pedro’s Martinez’ 13 wins against the Mariners.
Oswalt – unshaven and coming off a couple of days with the flu -- was awesome, throwing 108 pitches in 7 innings, giving up 2 ER on 5 hits, with 9 Ks and only 1 BB. The relief pitching was perfect: Springer knocking out the Reds in the 8th on 9 pitches, then Lidge striking out the side in the 9th. With all the runs, it wasn’t a save situation, but he hadn’t had a chance to pitch since last Sunday. I watched the archived game as soon as Shabbat ended.
The Astros wore grey road uniforms.
High points:
- Scoring! The first time that the Astros have scored more than 5 runs in a game this year! Fourteen hits, 9 for extra bases. Multiple runs in 4 different innings.
- Jason Lane hit two HRs and a single. The first HR was a monster that landed in the upper deck. Total of 5 RBI for the game. He’s now hit in all but one game of the season.
- Biggio – wearing a big black guard on his injured right arm -- hit a double (leading the league with 6), to continue his hitting streak to 9 games. He’s batting .389.
- Taveras hit the first triple of his career. It looked like it would have been a double for nearly anyone else – Taveras’ run from home to third base was timed at 10.9 seconds. Some very nice fielding out in CF too. I’m not missing Beltran yet…
- Ensberg was 3 for 5, with 3 RBIs, finishing the game with a .367 average.
- Everett broke his hitting drought, with 2 doubles, scoring both times.
- Bagwell was 1 for 3, his double immediately following Biggio’s. He also made it to base on a first-inning error and a walk, and hit a sac fly, scoring an RBI.
- Chavez had 2 hits, with his first 2 RBIs of the season. (Wish Ausmus would take a lesson.)
- Today is the 14th anniversary of Jeff Bagwell’s first homerun.
Disappointments:
- My only real disappointment was that this was a Shabbat game, and I had to wait until Saturday night to watch it! Hard to find much else not to like in such a great game.
- No hits for Luke Skywalker - he was 0 for 4, with 3 strikeouts. He was the only Astro in the starting lineup who didn’t get a hit, but he did get on base with a walk. And he made a really nice diving catch in left field.
- Everett blew a squeeze in the 5th, with Chavez on third, when his bunt popped up – resulting in a double play instead of a run.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats had the day off.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- Cubbies lost to puny Pittsburgh, 8-5.
- St.Louis beat Milwaukee, 3-1. The Cards are starting to look more like winners…
- Yankees lost to Baltimore, 8-1. Since they’re out of league, it really doesn’t matter what the Yankees do; I just like to cheer against them.
Final123456789RHEHouston « 00020432011 141Cincinnati 000001100251W: R. Oswalt (2-1) L: P. Wilson (0-1) ==============================================================================
SATURDAY, APRIL 16, 2005 (Game 10) - Houston @ Cincinnati
Cincinnati 3, Houston 2
Shabbat day game, so I missed it. Watched Friday night’s game after Shabbat instead (much happier ending).
Another low scoring game, and the third time in a row that the Astros have lost by only one run. I guess that’s the good news, bad news scenario… So close.
Another not-bad start by Pettitte: Three ER on 8 hits, matching set of 3 K’s and 3 BBs, 100 pitches. Hits were scattered, except in the 4th, when he gave up all three runs. But without run support, not good enough to keep from getting the loss. But he does look healthy, recovered from last year’s injury, so that bodes well for the future.
The Astros wore red roadies.
High points:
- Not many high points, but here are a few…
- Ausmus finally broke his no-hit streak, with a RBI double in the 5th.
- Bagwell was 1 for 3, doubling in the 9th, and scoring on Lamb’s pinch hit (but too little, too late).
- Another good outing for Chad Harville, who struck out 2 in his perfect 8th inning.
Disappointments:
- After last night’s big blowout, back to small ball. Only 5 hits, not giving Pettitte the run support he needs to win a game.
- No hits for Bidge, breaking his 9 game hitting streak. Would have been a good time to give him that day off that Garner promised.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- Another great win for the Nats, 9-3, with a terrific pitching performance by John Patterson – 4 hits, with no ER in 7 innings.
Notes on the (Other) Bad Guys:
- Cubbies scraped by Pittsburgh, 4-3.
- St.Louis beat Milwaukee, 5-3, putting them on top of the NL Central. Boo hiss.
Final123456789RHEHouston 000010001250Cincinnati « 00030000x380W: E. Milton (2-1) L: A. Pettitte (0-1) S: D. Graves (3) ==============================================================================
SUNDAY, APRIL 17, 2005 (Game 11) - Houston @ Cincinnati
Cincinnati 6, Houston 5
A different looking Astros team today: Garner gave Biggio, Everett, and Ausmus the day off, starting Burke at 2nd as the leadoff batter, Vizcaino at short, Chavez catching, Lamb in left. But a very same looking outcome: Another heartbreaking one-run loss, down to the wire in the 9th. Another game with 5 or fewer runs. Maybe the Astros want to be able to keep score on their fingers? When’s Berkman coming back?!
Duckworth pitched in the 5th starter position. I was hoping for Astacio, and that might yet happen – Ducky wasn’t very impressive, and Astacio has been doing well in Round Rock. Duckworth had a few good innings, but gave up 5 ER, on 4 hits, and 2 BB, with only 3 Ks in 5 innings. All 5 runs were on homeruns – one of them a 498-foot blast by Wily Mo Pena, the second longest homerun ever hit in the new Cincy stadium. Springer had a very good 6th, and Qualls had a good 7th, but gave up another run in the 8th to let the Reds go ahead.
I’m starting to wonder whether Garner should be bringing in Lidge in the 8th when the Astros are in a close game and out of town. Waiting to bring him in until the 9th doesn’t help when there is no bottom of the 9th.
Meanwhile, the Reds pitchers bruised the Good Guys on strikeouts – and way too many of them with strike 3 looking (5). Seems like a trend; maybe the Astros hitting coach should get on it…
Exciting 9th: Lane doubled, then Bruntlett (pinch running) went to third on a wild pitch. But Scott, Chavez and Burke all flied out.
Astros are going home tomorrow, to start a home series against the Braves. Enough out-of-town games for now – this road trip was 1-5, and 4 of those losses were (like today) down by 1 run. Close but no cigar.
The Astros wore grey roadies. (The Reds wore red.)
High points:
- Lane had another great day at the plate, with a 2-run homer in the 4th, and a double to lead off the 9th.
- Burke got his first major league RBI on a single in the 7th.
- Biggio, pinch hitting in the 7th, got a single (#2,654), tying Ted Williams for spot #64 in the all-time hits list. This is likely to be a regular occurrence this year for Biggio and Bagwell, as they move up the all-time charts, passing some big names. Bagwell needs just two home runs to pass Carl Yastrzemski (his childhood hero) at 450.
- Bagwell’s RBI single in the 4th gave him a hit in his 5th consecutive game.
Disappointments:
- Well, they lost another close game.
- Not seeing Lidge. You see Lidge, the Astros win. You don’t, they don’t.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats beat Arizona again, 7-3, to sweep their first home series and maintain their first place standing in the NL East.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- St.Louis beat Milwaukee, 3-2, and Chicago beat Pittsburgh, 4-2. Wish the Cards and the Cubs were playing more challenging teams!
- Mets lost to Florida, 5-2, breaking their 6 game winning streak. Florida’s pitcher (A.J. Burnett) threw a complete game. Seems to be a new Marlins tradition.
- The Yanks lost again to Baltimore, 8-4. Wah wah wah.
Final123456789RHEHouston 000300200590Cincinnati « 20030001x670W: R. Wagner (1-1) L: C. Qualls (1-1) S: D. Graves (4)
