2005 SEASON
JUNE 10-12: TORONTO @ HOUSTON
FRIDAY, JUNE 10, 2005 (Game 59) – Toronto @ Houston
Houston 4, Toronto 2
If Garner had sent Wandy Rodgriguez back to Triple A after his last, truly terrible start, no one would have really wondered. Instead, he put him back on the mound Friday night, in the Astros’ first ever game against the Toronto Blue Jays. Wandy didn’t have great control – in six innings, he walked six, hit one, and threw a wild pitch. He spent a lot of the game “flirting with disaster” (according to the Houston TV announcer), but he managed to get himself out of trouble inning after inning. He opened the 5th inning with back-to-back walks, then got the next three batters out. In the 6th he loaded the bases on a single and two walks, but the Jays still didn’t score a run. After walking one batter in the 7th inning, Wandy left the game with the Astros ahead 4-1, having given up one run on 4 hits, 6 BBs, and 3 Ks. Relief pitcher Harville let that inherited runner score, but that was the last scoring for the Blue Jays.
Luckily the Astros knocked in a few runs of their own. No crooked numbers tonight – they scored one run in each of 4 different innings. Three of the runs came on lead-off solo homers -- by Taveras in the first, Lane (#7) in the fourth, and Ensberg (#13) in the sixth. The other run scored on an RBI hit by Wandy himself in the second inning -- a 2-out single with a runner on 2nd to retake the lead.
The Astros wore home stripes.
In other news: Todd Self has been sent back down to Round Rock, and Mike Burns was brought back up to add to the Astros bullpen. Garner wanted another arm to call on, after heavy use of Qualls, Wheeler, and Lidge in recent games. Chavez has cleared waivers and accepted an assignment to Round Rock, opening up the possibility that he may be back. Quintero, his replacement, is not that hot at bat. Surprising that no one wanted to trade for Chamo…
High points:
- Now there’s a happy sight: Jeff Bagwell back in uniform, watching the game from the dugout, and exchanging hugs with teammates after the game. "It's good to be here and good to see the guys again. It's fun to be one of the guys." Bagwell is back in Houston, rehabbing, and thrilled with his progress three days after his surgery.
- Taveras back in the lineup, after his hamstring injury, was also a happy sight. Tonight’s homerun was his first leadoff homer.
- Lidge was Lidgalicious. He gave up a leadoff single, just to keep the crowd edgy – then struck out the side for the second night in a row, earning his 16th save. It was his 8th consecutive appearance resulting in a save.
- Springer pitched a perfect 8th.
Disappointments:
- Wish that I could have seen it live – but since it was a Shabbat game, and I was partying at the Sunshine Sheva Brachot dinner, I had to settle for watching it Saturday night.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats won their 8th game in a row, creaming Seattle 9-3. They have a new look at second base: Junior Spivey is in, and pitcher Okha has been traded to the Brewers.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- Cards, Cubs, and Pirates won; Reds and Brewers lost. Houston is back up out of the cellar.
Final123456789RHEToronto 010000100260Houston « 11010100x490W: W. Rodriguez (2-2) L: T. Lilly (3-7) S: B. Lidge (16) ==============================================================================
SATURDAY, JUNE 11, 2005 (Game 60) – Toronto @ Houston
Houston 6, Toronto 3
The news should have been about Roger Clemens, who had another great start. And the Astros even managed to get a few runs in for him – they went into the ninth ahead 3-1 – with my hero Lidge on the mound. That’s just about the point where I joined the broadcast after Shabbat ended.
And then Lidge blew the save. Clemens is truly cursed.
But hitting saved the game in the end, as Ensberg knocked out a walk-off homer with two on base in the bottom of the 9th, giving the Astros another precious series win.
The Astros wore home whites.
High points:
- Ensberg was 0 for 4 when he came up to bat in the bottom of the ninth, with 2 on and 2 out. He took the first three pitches – but Garner gave him a green light to swing on a 3-0 count. Swing he did, and the ball went over the fence. They may call it a “walk-off” homer, but it was more like a “run-on” as all of the Astros rushed onto the field to celebrate.
- Clemens. What can you say about this guy? He pitched great: The usual 7 innings, 1 run, 3 hits, 4 BBs, 7 Ks, blah blah blah. And, of course, got a hit (his batting average is a very respectable .280). Unfortunately, this season, a performance like that often turns out to be a loss. This time it looked like such a sure thing win – but turned out to be no-decision. He was a gentleman about it (at least in front of the reporters): "Brad has picked me up and made me look good many times and he's made this team, this franchise look great a lot of times," Clemens said. "You don't bat an eye at that."
- Taveras was 3 for 5 with a leadoff triple (he scored on a sac fly). Since his hamstring injury, he isn’t running as fast or stealing bases, but he’s hitting more – his batting average is now .288. Can anybody say “I don’t really miss Beltran”?
- Everett went 3 for 4, with a double.
- Franco-Springer pitched a blameless 8th. Wheeler, Qualls, and Lidge have been pretty much pitched out the past few games, so Garner went with some fresh arms, with good results.
Disappointments:
Brad Lidge, after several consecutive nights of amazing closing pitching (including striking out the side two games in a row), apparently ran out of steam. Coming into the ninth with Clemens’ 2 run lead intact, he gave up both runs on 4 hits, blowing the save (only his 3rd BS this year). After Ensberg’s homerun saved his butt (and ironically, gave him the win), Lidge ran onto the field and gave him a big hug.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats won their 9th game in a row, squeaking by Seattle 2-1. The Nationals hit the 1 million mark on attendance. Peter Angelos must be seething.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- The Yankees shut out the Cards, 5-0. Can you believe I’m cheering for a NY team?
- The Pirates and Reds went on hitting crazes. Pittsburgh beat Tampa Bay, 18-2, and Cincinnati beat the Orioles, 10-1.
- The Cubs beat Boston, 7-6.
Final123456789RHEToronto 000010002370Houston « 1001001036 130W: B. Lidge (2-2) L: S. Schoeneweis (2-2) ==============================================================================
SUNDAY, JUNE 12, 2005 (Game 61) – Toronto @ Houston
Houston 3, Toronto 0
Lane was 3 for 4 with a homer. Taveras was 3 for 4, too, with an RBI hit. Berkman made a couple of amazing plays at first base in the 7th. But, hey, there was only one star of this show: Roy Oswalt, with a 2-hit complete game shutout. As inning after inning went by, with Oswalt averaging about 9 pitches to take down the side, it was increasingly apparent that the relievers were going to get the day off. Not a creature was stirring in the bullpen. When the dust settled, after 1 hr and 50 minutes (shortest game in Minute Maid history), Oswalt had thrown only 88 pitches, giving up only 2 hits, no BBs, and 3 Ks. Between Hillenbrand’s leadoff single in the 2nd, and Rios’ 2-out double in the 9th, Oswald didn’t let anyone on base. With his usual exuberance (that’s a little joke), Oswalt pumped his fist, and may have even cracked a little smile as his teammates poured onto the field.
“Shutout”: A word that I’ve come to dread this season, with a whole new meaning today. “Sweep.” I love the sound of it. How about this: “Five in a row.” Or this: “Won 11 of their past 16 games.” That gives me the chills!
High points:
- Oswalt. I swear, I got tears in my eyes watching him pitch; it was that beautiful. Okay, I’ve got a cold and I’m running a fever, and I am a little bit crazy about the Astros. But come on, this was true art. (He got a base hit too, a single in the 5th that looked a lot more like a fielding error than a single. That was not true art, just luck.)
- Jason Lane was hot tonight, with 3 hits. In the 5th inning, Oswalt’s pitching was nearly matched by Towers’ – with a handful of hits and no one crossing the plate. Then Lane hit a solo homer to lead off the 5th, giving the Astros all they would ever need to take this one. He also got a lead off double in the 7th, scoring on Taveras’ infield single. (Ausmus scored too.)
- Willie T. Not a Road Runner at the moment; he’s still nursing that sore leg. But he’s hitting like crazy – another 3 hits today puts his batting average teetering right on the edge of .300 (.297). Lead-off hit in each of the three games of this series, with a combined 8 for 13 since he came back from his injury.
- Biggio got a double (#18), his 582nd career; he’s #14 on the all time list.
Disappointments:
- I can’t say that there was much about this game that would break my heart!
- The Astros are coming to Baltimore for a 3-game series, starting tomorrow. And two of the games are on Shavuot, so I will miss them. I’m hoping to go to the Wednesday game with the Pintas and Sunshines. I won’t see Bagwell in the dugout, though -- he’s rehabbing full time at the Texas Medical Center for the next 6 weeks.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats won their 10th in a row, in front of a hometown crowd singing “Root, root, root for the Nationals” during the 7th inning stretch. New team member Junior Spivey hit a 2-run homer in the 3-2 win against Seattle.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- The Cards beat the Yankees (boohoo), 5-3.
- Milwaukee lost to the Phillies, 6-2.
- The Reds beat the Orioles, 10-6. Cincinnati is hitting like crazy recently!
- Tampa Bay got the Pirates back for yesterday’s humiliation, 7-5, in 13
Final123456789RHEToronto 000000000021Houston « 00001020x390W: R. Oswalt (7-7) L: J. Towers (5-5) 
