2005 SEASON

AUGUST 9-11: WASHINGTON @ HOUSTON

TUESDAY, AUGUST 9, 2005 (Game 112) – WASHINGTON @ HOUSTON

Washington 6, Houston 5

Washington picked a sucky time to go back to winning one-run games. I actually thought that Houston would pull it out, right up until Mike Lamb came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, with one out and Berkman on first. I figured that the game would end with him, one way or the other – either he’d hit a game-winning homer or he’d hit into a double play. But given that (a) he was already 0 for 4 in the game, and (b) Chad Cordero was on the mound, I suspected the worst. Alas, he met my expectations.

Ezequiel Astacio pitched like the rookie he is. His string of good starts came to an abrupt end tonight; he only lasted 4 innings, giving up 5 runs on 6 hits, 2 BBs, and 2 Ks. Three of the runs were solo homers – three more HRs to add to his collection of 16 in only 46 innings. Seems like a risky habit.

Washington’s Patterson and the relievers before Cordero weren’t so wonderful that the Astros couldn’t have scored some runs; Houston got more hits than the Nats did. But they missed a number of opportunities to score and in the end, they ran out of chances. All of the Astros runs came on homers by Ensberg and errors.

The Astros wore home stripes. Go to jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect $200.

In other news, Brandon Backe was unable to complete a simulated game today, needing to stop in the 2nd inning with the same pain that caused him to go on the DL. The Astros will need to start Wandy tomorrow night, continuing to play with three superstars and two rookies in the rotation.

High points:

• Ensberg was 3 for 4 with two homers (#30, 31), and all three Astros RBIs. He already has 85 RBIs this year – breaking his career high of 82 from last year.
  

• The other two Astros runs scored on a funky pair of plays in the 6th inning, both involving the Nats’ Goat of the Year player, shortstop Cristian Guzman. With two out, Ausmus on second (singled) and Bruntlett on first (walked), Taveras grounded to short. Guzman flipped the ball to second for the forceout, but the second base ump ruled that Bruntlett beat the throw. The play was hotly contested by the Nationals, to no avail. That left the bases loaded, 2 outs, and slumping Biggio at bat. Bidge grounded to short, who decided that it was too risky to try to beat Willie T, so he threw to first. But his throw was off, allowing Ausmus and Bruntlett to score.
  

• The relievers did a good job tonight. Harville gave up a solo home run, but otherwise threw two scoreless innings. But that was all the scoring that the Nats managed. Qualls pitched the next two scoreless innings. Gallo came in to pitch to lefties in the 8th, and Lidge finished off the inning with a K.
  

• Taveras was 2 for 4 with a walk. (The walk is much more rare than his hits – maybe he can work on that before next year.)
  

• Lane got a pinch-hit triple in the 8th; unfortunately he got stranded there.
  

• Bagwell hit during batting practice today, for the first time in Houston since his surgery 3 months ago. He hit to all fields, and knocked one into the Crawford Boxes. Garner’s comment: "If you're used to seeing the old Jeff Bagwell, no, it doesn't look all that great. But [compared with] a week ago, from where it started, he looks real good today."
  

Disappointments:

• Losing sucks. And the loss puts Houston only one run ahead of Washington in the NL Wild Card race.
  

• Biggio had another slumpy night at the plate – he’s now 0 for 12 in his last few games. The only good thing that happened tonight when he was up to bat was in the 6th: He came up with 2 out and the bases loaded. Perfect time to snap a streak, but he grounded to short. Luckily Guzman’s throw was bad; Biggio was safe and two runs scored. He came up again in the 8th with 2 out and runners on 1st and 3rd – and fouled out.      
  

• Funny: When it happens to Biggio, I just feel sympathy. With Lamb, I get frustrated. Tonight he was 0 for 5 – grounded out, fouled out twice, and hit into 2 double plays, including the one that ended the game. I’m not sure how long I committed to not beating up on Lamb; it seems like quite a while since he’s done something good.
  

• For all the excitement of having my hometown team playing against my current town team, it’s a bummer: I’m blacked out of watching the game live on MLB.tv.  I had to watch this game on the pitch-by-pitch.
  

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

• Sorry, Nats -- you don’t qualify for Other Good Guy status when you’re playing the Real Good Guys. But one nice story for the Nats: Rookie Brandon Watson homered and doubled, scoring twice in his major-league debut tonight.
  

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

• Good News: The Reds sent the Cubbies to their 7th loss in a row, 8-3. I keep hoping that the Cubs will lose enough games this month to be out of contention by their final series with Houston at the end of the season.
  

• The Cards beat the Brewers, 5-2. Hard to know who to cheer for here. I’ve just gotta cheer against the Cardinals, but pretty soon I need to accept that Houston won’t have enough runway left to overtake St. Louis. At that point, I need to focus my bad wishes on any other team that’s in the Wild Card race – and right now, the Brewers are looming in the back of the pack, 5 games behind the Astros.
  

• The Pirates clobbered Colorado, 12-4.
  

• In other NL Wild Card race games: Florida beat the Diamondbacks, 5-0. Happily, the Marlins lost both ends of a double-header against Colorado yesterday, to put another full game behind in the Wild Card race. I didn’t know that the Rockies had it in them. Atlanta beat the Giants, 7-1.  The F-ing Mets lost to the Padres, 8-3. San Diego’s winning streak has put them back in the NL West lead, 2 games over .500. The Phillies beat the LA Dodgers, 8-4.
  

Final123456789RHE

Washington     012210000681

Houston  010022000590

W: J. Patterson (6-3) L: E. Astacio (2-5) S: C. Cordero (37)

==============================================================================

WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2005 (Game 113) – WASHINGTON @ HOUSTON

Houston 7, Washington 6

Giving up a homerun to the second batter didn’t seem to be an auspicious start for Wandy Rodriguez tonight. Giving up 4 runs in 5 innings isn’t generally a path to success for an Astros starting pitcher, given the team’s propensity for stingy scoring. And with the Nationals’ ace, 13-game winner Livan Hernandez, on the mound, that would be a really risky business.

But the Astros gave Wandy a present – they batted around in the first inning, scoring 4 runs to give him a buffer. Throwing in an extra run in the 5th, they managed to cover up his messes tonight, allowing him to claim an improbable 7th win – just barely.

It was hardly a pitchers’ duel. It was more like a hitters’ duel: Houston got 13 hits to Washington’s 11. Runs scored, back and forth; the game was up for grabs right up to the 9th inning, when Brad Lidge didn’t seem sufficiently challenged by a 3 run lead, and almost gave it away. But it ended up another one-run game, but this time in the Astros’ favor.

Washington’s Hernandez did everything he could do tonight -- except for sharp pitching! He hit an RBI double in the 2nd inning, a solo homer in the 4th, and single in the 6th. But the 5 ERs he gave up in his 6 innings on the mound lost the game for him.

The Astros wore home stripes. The win allowed the Astros to increase their NL Wild Card lead to two games (had they lost, they would have been tied with the Nats for the lead).

High points:

• Except for Lidge in the 9th, the relief pitchers did a fine job tonight. Springer and Gallo combined for a scoreless 6th. Springer could perhaps have tried a little harder not to hit two batters, but it came out all right. Wheeler and Qualls each took an inning, each striking out two batters. And then Lidge… the good news is that he got the save (#28). The bad news is that he almost blew it (see Disappointments).
  

• Hits galore! Biggio, after dismal plate performance the past few games, was totally hot tonight. He went 4 for 5, with an RBI double, and 3 singles.
  

• Taveras was 3 for 4 and scored twice, pushing his batting average up to .298. He’s 5 for 8 so far in the series.
  

• Palmeiro (I love this guy! What a hitter!) was 3 for 4, with 3 RBIs in the first inning. With one out and the bases loaded, he hit a double, scoring 3.
  

• Ensberg was 1 for 2 with 3 walks. His one hit was a ground-rule double in the 6th, with two outs and the bases loaded, scoring two runners.  
  

• 
  

Disappointments:

• When he took the mound in the top of the 9th, I was thinking that Lidge could put the perfect ending on this game, retiring the last 3 batters 1-2-3, chic-chak. But maybe coming into a game with a 3-run lead isn’t enough of a challenge to get Lidge’s adrenaline pumping. So he made it a lot more challenging: He hit the first batter. The second got to base on Berkman’s throwing error. The third batter lined to first base, doubling up the runner. Two outs. Whew! Just one more and it’s a wrap. Then he gave up a double, a walk, and a single, allowing two runs (1 ER) to score. Now this is more like the kind of challenge that Lidge likes: The score is 7-6, with runners at the corners, and Guillen pinch-hitting. I could barely watch. Strike 1, swinging. Foul, strike 2. Another foul. And then -- swing and a miss, strike 3, you’re out! Next time I’m hoping that Lidge will just strike out the side.
  

• Tonight was Berkman’s night for a cold bat – he was 0 for 4 and stranded 6.
  

• Mike Lamb did get an RBI single, the Astros’ first run scored in the game, but aside from that he didn’t do anything at the plate. Hit into another double play, left 5 on base.
  

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

• Boston Cream-Pied the Rangers, 16-5.
  

• There are no Other Good Guys this week.
  

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

• The Reds helped the Cubbies to their 8th loss in a row, 8-2. The Cubs were swept in Wrigley field,
  

• The Cards shut out the Brewers, 3-0. The good thing about the Cardinals winning is that it puts Milwaukee further behind in the Wild Card race.
  

• The Pirates lost to Colorado, 6-5, in 10 innings.
  

• In other NL Wild Card race games: Florida creamed the Diamondbacks, 10-5. Atlanta beat the Giants, 5-4, in 12 innings. The F-ing Mets trashed the Padres, 9-1. Are the Padres that anxious to return to a losing record? The Phillies beat the LA Dodgers, 9-5.
  

Final123456789RHE

Washington     1201000026111

Houston «       40010200x7131

W: W. Rodriguez (7-5) L: L. Hernandez (13-5) S: B. Lidge (28)

==============================================================================

THURSDAY, AUGUST 11, 2005 (Game 114) – WASHINGTON @ HOUSTON

Houston 6, Washington 3

Andy Pettitte dominated the Nationals tonight, carrying a shutout into the 7th inning, before finally giving up 2 runs on Preston Wilson’s home run. He threw 106 pitches in 8 innings, giving up 2 ERs on 4 hits, 2 BBs and 5 Ks. It was Pettitte’s 6th win in his last 8 starts, his 10th for the season.

The Good Guys gave Pettitte nice run support, scoring 6 runs before the Nats got on the board. The Astros scored their first run in the first inning on Biggio’s walk and Berkman’s RBI double. They scored 2 more in the third inning on three consecutive singles, followed by a walk and another single. And they batted around in the sixth, scoring 3 more when Ausmus doubled with the bases loaded. All in all, a very nice buffer for Pettitte to work with; it sure takes the pressure off.

The win moved the Astros 3 games over the Nats in the Wild Card race – not at all what Washington was hoping when they left for their long road trip, but probably about what they expected. Nats’ starting pitcher Ryan Drese had a bad night, giving up 6 runs on 9 hits in just 5 1/3 innings; he ended up with a loss in his 5th consecutive start.

The Astros wore home stripes.

In other news, Raffy is back. Palmeiro returned to the Orioles today after his 10-game suspension for steroid use. His statement: I'm happy to be back. I'm anxious to get back on the field and playing the game that I love very much…  The time will come soon, hopefully, that I can explain my situation." Yeah, right. But who will believe him? The Orioles did not play him in today’s win over Tampa Bay.

High points:

• Ausmus came through in a big way tonight, coming to bat with one out and the bases loaded in the 6th inning. I’m sure that Frank Robinson was praying for a double-play, and Ausmus has hit into plenty of them in his time. He was down in the count, 1 and 2, when he hit a double to the right field corner, clearing the bases. According to Alyson, even Ausmus’ detractors shouldn’ t be surprised: He has a career batting average of .290 in August. I just wonder how anyone could be a detractor of Ausmus. He’s so hot.  
  

• Berkman was 2 for 5, with an RBI single and RBI double.
  

• Biggio was 2 for 4, scoring twice. Guess his slump is behind him, with 6 hits in the past two days.
  

• Dan Wheeler pitched the 9th inning, in a non-save situation. He gave up a lead-off home run to Guillen, but then settled down and took down the next three, with two strikeouts and a fly ball. He threw a total of 12 pitches – all strikes. The two batters that he struck out went down on 3 pitches each.
  

• Garner went with the kids tonight, starting Burke, Taveras and Lane in the outfield, and Bruntlett at shortstop, filling in for Everett. Everett’s been in a hitting slump, with only 1 hit in 23 at bats in the past 6 games. How did the kids fare? Lane was 2 for 3, with an RBI single. Willie T got his 58th infield hit, and extended his hitting streak to eight games. Neither Bruntlett nor Burke got a hit, but each of them managed to get on base and score a run.
  

Disappointments:

• Argh. These “local” team games cause me to be blacked out from mlb.tv. I have to watch the game the following day on the Archive.
  

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

• There are no Other Good Guys this week.
  

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

• The Bad Guys could not have been more cooperative today: The Cards lost, and some of the closest competitors in the Wild Card race lost too.
  

• The Cubs came out of their 8-game slump in a big way this afternoon, and it couldn’t have come at a better time – they beat the Cardinals, 11-4, to start the series off on a high note. But on a low note, doctors have advised Kerry Wood that he can’t pitch more than two innings in a game for the rest of the season.
  

• In other NL Wild Card race games, the Nationals can console themselves that the rest of the NL East teams had a bad day too. Florida lost to the Diamondbacks, 3-1. The F-ing Mets lost to the Padres, 2-1. They lost more than the game, though. Carlos Beltran and Mike Cameron collided headfirst in the outfield,  spilling some blood, and leaving Beltran dazed and Cameron with fractured nose and cheekbones. Cameron might be out for the season. The Phillies lost to the LA Dodgers, 5-1. And they lost Jim Thome for the rest of the season. Thome announced he is having elbow surgery. Atlanta lost to the Giants, 5-3.
  

Final123456789RHE

Washington     00000020135 1

Houston         10200300x6110

W: A. Pettitte (10-8) L: R. Drese (7-12)

Quote of the Day

Mike Lamb, on turning 30 today: "It means I'm over the hill, on my way down. But only in baseball."

Based on his hitting tonight, unfortunately, he might be right.

NL Wild Card Race

Team            W    L   PCT   GB

Houston        62   52   .544     -

Philadelphia   60   54   .526     2½

Florida          59   55   .518     3

Washington   59    55  .518     3

N.Y. Mets    58    56   .509    4

Milwaukee    56    59  .487     6½

Chi. Cubs     55    60  .478     7½

Quote of the Day

Houston Chronicle sports writer Brian McTaggert: "Intentionally walking Lance Berkman to pitch to Morgan Ensberg probably isn't the best strategy to employ when trying to beat the Astros."

Quote of the Day

Brad Ausmus, a day after his heroic three-run double, on his position in the lineup: "Like Rocket said when he found out I've hit in the eight hole more than anyone, 'Don't most guys get released when they hit that often in the eight hole?' I guess that's how I would fit in on any team."

Ausmus is batting over .300 in the months of July and August.

Quote of the Day

During Mike Lamb’s at-bat in the 6th inning yesterday, he got confused about the count, and asked the home plate umpire to clarify.   "The [score]board had 2-and-2,” Lamb said. “I was thinking, that doesn't seem right."

The umpire seemed confused too, and asked Nats’ catcher Schneider, “2 and 2?” The catcher agreed.

But the count was actually 3-2. The next pitch was a ball – which meant Lamb should have walked. Palmeiro, who was having a hot night, would have been up next, with the bases loaded and 2 outs. But, confused by the scoreboard and the umpire’s mistake, Lamb stayed to bat again – and popped to third to end the inning.

His teammates tortured him a bit over the mistake. Locker-neighbor Ausmus chided him: “You should know your own count.” And Lane gave him the counter that umpires use to count balls and strikes. But he got a “consolation hug” from Backe.

"All you can do at this point is laugh,” said Lamb. It’s good that he can laugh, with such a terrible season. "I'm now making outs on walks," he said. "It's unbelievable. Bad game? Try bad year.”