AstrosFanInExile

2005 SEASON

JULY 21-24: HOUSTON @ WASHINGTON

THURSDAY, JULY 21, 2005 (Game 95) - HOUSTON @ WASHINGTON

Houston 3, Washington 2

Before this game, the last time I saw the Astros win a regular season game in real life (not online), they were playing the Philllies, and Billy Wagner was the closer – for the Astros! It was Mothers Day two years ago. Robert and I drove to Philadelphia for the game. I brought a home-made poster urging Jeff Bagwell to hit home run number 13 – he’d hit 12 in the first 5 weeks of the season – and it turned out to be the rare game that he sat out. Bummer. (He was punished for it: He did not hit another homer for a month.) But the Astros won, with me yelling “Burn them, Billy!” every time another 100 MPH fast ball flew from Wagner’s hand. Robert was embarrassed. But the Good Guys won.

I saw the Astros lose last year in Minute Maid Park, at a game where my hosts (Sandy and Myron) wouldn’t stay in their seats, and insisted on dragging me all around the stadium, missing half the game. I saw the Astrons lose last month in Baltimore, part of a 3-game sweep, just before they got totally hot to finish off the first half of the season.

So the Astros first game in Washington, coming off their 4-game sweep against Pittsburgh, was a happy change. I don’t wish the Nats ill, but I’ve been hoping that their recent malaise would last just long enough for Houston to pass through town, trouncing them.

Roy Oswalt did his best last night to get it off to a good start. Okay, maybe it wasn’t the best that he could possibly achieve: I guess he could have had a no-hitter, with a grand slam thrown in at the plate. But this was pretty close: He pitched 8 shutout innings (and I’m sure that he could have pitched the 9th too – at least as well as Lidge did!), with 6 hits, no BBs, and 6 Ks. Control, control, control – well, except for those two guys he plunked. (Sorry that one of them wasn’t Jason Marquis, but that’s for another place, another time.) He looked totally dominating on the mound, even when the Nats got players on. He just got them out (3 double plays!).

And then there were his at bats. There was a nice one in the fifth inning where, with no outs and runners on first and second, he sac bunted and then made it to first on a throwing error, allowing Everett to score from second. Okay, it was not his RBI, but he was the guy at the plate. Then in the 6th, with two outs and Everett back on second (he singled and stole), Oswalt got an RBI single to plate the 3rd run of the game. As it turned out, when Lidge gave up two runs in the ninth, that RBI was the winning run.

The win was Oswalt’s 13th of the year, putting him well on his way to 20 again. Oswalt leads the NL in innings pitched, and is a close third behind Chris Carpenter for ERA (2.41). People asked if I was disappointed that Roger wasn’t pitching last night, and I answered with an honest and emphatic “no!” Clemens is amazing, but I think that I saw the pitcher who is going to be this year’s NL Cy Young winner.

The Astros wore road greys. The weather was hot and muggy, even at 9 PM.

High points:

I was there! The pictures that accompany this entry are my own, not AP’s skimpy selection (usually focusing on the players of the other team). I have SO many good pictures that I’ll only be put a few here to illustrate; the rest will go in the Photo Album.

Since Lamb’s 3-run homer in Pittsburgh, I’m inclined to stop complaining about him, and I welcomed his at-bats last night as if he were on parole. I told Jordi that I wouldn’t say anything bad about Lamb until at least the end of this series, but that if he did something wonderful, I’d extend it to the end of the month. So his lead-off homerun in the 6th inning got him a reprieve until August.

Biggio is hitting again: He was 2 for 4 with a single and a double.

Adam Everett was 2 for 5 with a stolen base; he scored 2 of Houston’s 3 runs.

Garner is playing with the lineup a bit, trying to get more starts for the veteran players like Palmeiro and Lamb. In this game, these two were in the lineup, and Burke and Lane sat out. I do like Palmeiro – what’s not to like about a guy who hits over .300? I’m not saying anything bad about Lamb for the rest of the month. But I do like to see the “kids” play too. Burke was just heating up.

Before the game, I went down to the field to photograph batting practice. Afterwards, I saw Phil Garner, Tim Purpura, and Drayton McLane standing outside the dugout. McLane was especially friendly, talking to the fans (especially those of us sporting Astros paraphernalia). I asked him if he was going to get us another bat, and he said he’s trying, but it’s hard to find and expensive. I offered him my 5 bucks, but he didn’t take it.

Disappointments:

I was hoping that Garner would leave in Oswalt to finish off the game, since he had under 100 pitches after 8 innings and still looked pretty good. But he was pulled for a pinch hitter in the top of the ninth. Of course, I wasn’t complaining: I love to see Lidge pitch.

If I couldn’t see a complete game, I wanted to see Lidge strike out the side in the 9th. But he gave up 2 runs on a single and a homer instead. (The irony was that the only pitch of the game that I filmed as video turned out to be that homerun.) Lidge immediately redeemed himself with 2 quick outs to get the save (#22). But I am so greedy, I wanted it all the night I was there.

After 34 runs in 4 games in Pittsburgh, I was starting to think that the Astros might go wild in the runs department. They did get 11 hits in this game, but only managed to turn them into 3 runs.

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

There are no other good guys this weekend. I will start cheering for the Nats again on Monday.

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

It was almost as good as it could get, starting with the Cards’ 12-7 loss to Milwaukee. The Reds beat the Cubbies, 9-6

LA Dodgers beat the Phillies, 1-0.

In a chance for revenge, after being trounced by the Astros, Pittsburgh whomped Colorado, 8-1.

I said “almost as good as it could get.” The F-Mets humiliated the Padres, 12-0.

Final123456789RHE

Houston « 0000120003 110

Washington 0000000022 81

W: R. Oswalt (13-8) L: E. Loaiza (6-6) S: B. Lidge (22)

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FRIDAY, JULY 22, 2005 (Game 96) - HOUSTON @ WASHINGTON

Houston 14, Washington 1

Roger Clemens must have wondered during this season if he’s actually cursed, after he’s pitched brilliantly but without wins, due to nearly non-existent run support. Friday night’s game was apparently an attempt to even it up – while Clemens pitched his usual (six shutout innings), the Astros went crazy at the plate, scoring 8 runs on Clemens’ watch, and another 6 for good measure. Roger might be wondering if the guys might not do him a bigger favor by spreading these runs around three or four of his starts. (These 14, judiciously rearranged, might have gotten him an extra 10 wins this season, given the types of games he’s been cheated out of!)

Clemens threw 102 pitches in 6 innings, with no runs, 3 hits, 3 BBs, and 10 Ks. He thought that he could go another inning, but the Astros bumped the score up to 8-0 in the top of the 7th, and it appeared that it was a good night to give the relievers some exercise.

At least they had a good time clobbering the hapless Nationals.

The Astros wore road greys.

I saw the first four innings of this game, before Shabbat, on the Sportsline GameCenter play-by-play. When I turned off the computer to go light my candles, the Astros were ahead 3-0, and Clemens already had 8 Ks. So I wasn’t surprised Saturday morning to see that the Good Guys won – but the score was a huge surprise. I watched the game after Shabbat on mlb.tv.

High points:

Runs, runs, runs. The Astros kicked off the game with 2 runs in the top of the first. They added another in the 3rd and the 6th, then 4 more in each of the 7th and 8th innings, and a final 2 for good measure in the 9th inning.

Hitting, hitting, hitting. Check out the box score for all the numbers. But some of the highlights were:

Taveras went 4 for 6, with 2 runs and 2 RBIs, bumping his batting average to .300.

Ensberg was 3 for 5, with a 2-run home run (#26) in the first inning and a double, scoring 2 runs and 3 RBIs. His home run set a new Astros record for the most homers in a season by a 3rd baseman. It also broke his own personal season HR record. It’s all new ground for him from here.

Mike Lamb hit a pinch-hit 3-run homer (#5).

Jason Lane went 4 for 5, with two doubles, scoring a run and hitting in 3 RBIs.

In other fun in the 6th inning, Adam Everett stole second, moved up to third on a grounder, and then stole home.

Disappointments:

Willie Taveras was caught stealing. Lately it seems that he’s caught more than he succeeds. Could they be on to him?

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

What other good guys?

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

St Louis won over the Cubs, 2-1. Other winners: Phillies and Reds.

The Braves, the F-ing Mets, and the Marlins lost. Other losers: Brewers and Pirates.

Final123456789RHE

Houston « 201001442 14 190

Washington 000000010161

W: R. Clemens (8-4) L: R. Drese (7-9)

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SATURDAY, JULY 23, 2005 (Game 97) - HOUSTON @ WASHINGTON

Washington 4, Houston 2

Ouch. This was a painful loss, because it coulda-shoulda been a win. Washington scored most of its four runs in the first inning on a fly ball that Willie Taveras misplayed, turning a routine fly out into a 3-RBI double. It was a lucky break for the Nats, who needed a lucky break. But it was a bad break for Brandon Backe, who should have gotten out of the inning unscathed, but ended up with 4 ERs.

But it wasn’t only Willie Tee’s fault; the Astros forgot to score. Nats’ starter Armas had a no hitter going until Lance Berkman’s 2-run homer in the 6th inning. The Astros had runners in scoring position in the 8th and 9th innings, but failed to score them. And that was pretty much the game.

The Astros wore road greys.

High points:

Berkman got his 9th home run, with Biggio on first (walked), to score the only Astros runs of the game. Picking up on the home runs is the only thing left for Berkman in recapturing his role as the team’s best hitter. He has been phenomenal in July.

Other than his bad luck in the first inning, Backe pitched pretty well – five more scoreless innings, with 6 hits, 4 BBs, and 1 K. It would be good if he could do something about the walks. They are getting very expensive for him.

The relief pitchers (Gallo, Springer, and Qualls) combined for 2 scoreless innings.

Disappointments:

Willie Taveras has been awesome in general – the infield hits, the steals, the arm. But he’s still got some problems judging fly balls. A fatal flaw for a center fielder. It’s something that will surely improve a lot with more experience in more major league fields, and with more coaching. But it stung the team today. With the bases loaded (on a double and two of Backe’s famous walks), and two outs, Taveras seriously misjudged a fly ball by Baerga. He ran forward, thinking that the ball had not been hit as hard as it was, and the ball went over his head, scoring the three runners. It should have just been an out. Since Taveras didn’t actually touch it, it wasn’t marked as the fielding error it really was, and Backe got stuck with the ERs.

Garner was ejected from the game, after arguing a call against Biggio.

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

N/A until Monday.

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

In Wild Card contention: Atlanta beat Arizona, 3-2. Florida crushed the Giants, 16-4.

Philadelphia beat the Padres, 2-0. The F-ing Mets beat the LA Dodgers, 7-5.

In other NL Central games: The Cubs beat the Cards, 6-5. Milwaukee beat Cincinnati, 11-7. The Pirates beat the Rockies, 5-3.

Final123456789RHE

Houston 000002000240

Washington « 40000000x470

W: T. Armas (5-4) L: B. Backe (8-7) S: C. Cordero (34)

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

SUNDAY, JULY 24, 2005 (Game 98) – HOUSTON @ WASHINGTON

Houston 4, Washington 1

By the 13th inning, I had been abandoned by my friends, who were hot and tired, and probably bored. I moved to a closer seat – what could be better than a 1-1 tie, knowing that if the Astros could just put a run on the board, they still had their not-so-secret weapon to pull out: Lidge.

It had been a long pitchers duel, starting with Houston’s rookie Wandy Rodriguez vs Washington’s John Patterson. To give credit where credit is due (and besides, I like the Nats, as long as they aren’t playing the Astros), Patterson was brilliant: 1 ER in 8 innings, on 6 hits, no BBs, and 10 Ks. But Wandy was a match for him, in the best start of his young major league career: 1 ER in 7 innings, on 3 hits, 1 BB, and 4 Ks. Wandy didn’t get a decision off this game, but he had to be thrilled with his performance. He was backed up by terrific relief pitching – 7 innings of it!

And then the 14th inning: Since the big guys hadn’t managed to score, it was up to the bottom of the lineup. Everett led off with a single, then moved to second on a wild pitch. Vizcaino walked. Ausmus flied out (Garner should have had him bunt!). Running low on pinch hitters, Garner brought in Brandon Backe, who had just started in yesterday’s game. Backe hit a long fly to right field, which moved up Everett to third. Then Viz stole second. So it’s 2 outs, with runners on second and third, and Eric Bruntlett up to bat. Bruntlett, with his .167 batting average, is the most under-played guy on the team. So, of course, he hits a home run (only his second in the big leagues), to save the day. It’s not every day that Eric Bruntlett is interviewed by FSN at the end of a game.

Then Lidge came in and saved the game (#23), and it was a great end to the road trip.

The Astros wore Sunday road reds. I attended the game with SRA friends Sandy Davis and George Seff and his family.

So here’s how I did on my predictions for this road trip, following the All Star Game:

I predicted that they’d win at least 2 of the 3 series, including the 2 Nats game I’d be attending. Correct.

I predicted that Taveras, Biggio, Berkman, and Ensberg would all have batting averages over .300. Partly right: Berkman has pulled strongly over .300. Even going only 1 for 6 today, his average is a solid .310. Taveras flirted briefly with .300, but finished the road trip at .296. Biggio was in a slump most of the trip, finishing up at .278. And Ensberg is still at .290.

I predicted that Taveras would have 5 more stolen bases (he didn’t – the opposing teams are on to him, and are quite aggressive at catching him). I predicted that Biggio would have 2 more HBPs, but he didn’t. And that Ensberg would have 5 more homers (he only got 2).

I predicted that Oswalt would have another complete game (he went 8 last Thursday night, and I thought he should have stayed in for the 9th). I predicted that Lidge would have 12 more Ks (he only had 5 – but he didn’t really get many chances to pitch with the big wins in Pittsburgh). And I predicted that Clemens wouldn’t give up any ERs (but he gave up 1!).

All in all, I was just a bit overly optimistic. But I was right on the bottom line – winning two series. After getting swept in St Louis, they pulled out all the stops, and ended up with a 7-4 series record. Not at all bad for a team that started the season averaging one road win per month!

High points:

I was there! The pictures that accompany this entry are my own, and I’ve got lots more great photos.

Super-dependable relief pitching. With the game on the line, and every pitch a potential loss, the relievers came through for 7 scoreless innings.

Qualls came in to pitch in the 8th, with Wandy’s first batter (walked) on first base. He made a bad throwing error, resulting in runners on first and third with no outs, but managed to pitch his way out of trouble.

Wheeler pitched three no-hit innings, giving up only a walk, and three Ks to take the Astros through the 11th.

Springer came in for the 12th and 13th innings, giving up only 1 hit, and striking out 4, to get the win.

And with the Astros ahead 4-1 in the bottom of the 14th, Lidge was perfect for the save.

Disappointments:

Hard to think of any.

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

Ha! The Nats can go back to being the Other Good Guys tomorrow.

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

In Wild Card competition: Atlanta lost to Arizona, 3-2. Atlanta is tied with Washington in NL East. Florida beat SF, 4-1. The F-ing Mets beat LA Dodgers, 6-0. The Phillies beat San Diego, 5-1.

And in other NL Central competition: Pittsburgh beat Colorado, 3-0, to get back some of their pride. Cincinnati beat the Brewers, 3-2. The Cards and the Cubs had a late game.