2005 SEASON

JUNE 7-9: HOUSTON @ NEW YORK

TUESDAY, JUNE 7, 2005 (Game 56) – Houston @ New York Mets

New York 3, Houston 1

In 44 seasons, there has never been a no-hitter pitched by a Mets pitcher, and tonight Pedro Martinez didn’t manage to break the chain. But he came really close – taking his no-hitter attempt 6 1/3 innings before Chris Burke spoiled it for him with his first major league homer in the 7th.

With an ecstatic crowd chanting “Ped-ro! Ped-ro!” for most of the game, Martinez dominated the Astros tonight. He pitched the complete game, giving up one run on only two hits, with 12 strikeouts – all three Houston batters in the 9th were called out looking. He added to his own enjoyment of the game by getting a hit in the 5th (his first “real” hit of the year), and subsequently scoring his first run of the season. The only serious flaw in his game was the 7th inning solo homer that he gave up to Burke; otherwise, it might have been the Astros’ 11th shutout.

Oswalt, starting for Houston, was overmatched. He didn’t really have a bad game – it may even counts as a “quality” start – 3 ER in 7 innings, with 7 Ks. He threw some very nice pitches – his 95 MPH heater followed by his 67 MPH curve. If he’d been playing for any normally hitting team, he might have even had a win out of it. But he gave up at least one hit in every inning (12 in all, a career high), and Martinez didn’t, and that was pretty much the game. 

The dugout had one very empty spot tonight. Bagwell’s shoulder surgery was performed this morning, and according to news accounts, it was deemed successful by his doctors. No guarantee that he’ll ever be able to play, but testing his shoulder while he was still under, they determined that his range of motion had been improved. They took out a few bone chips too. But they won’t be able to fix his arthritis; he has virtually no cartilage left in his shoulder. Bottom line: The news is as good as it could have been.

In other news, the Astros selected Brian Bogusevic (a double Bee) for their first round draft pick. BB is a junior at Tulane, who could be developed either as a lefty pitcher or a 5-tool position player. (The Astros want a pitcher.) In the 8th round, the Astros picked Koby Clemens, Roger’s son, a high school senior who plans to attend UT. Clemens is also both a pitcher and a hot batter; he plans to play infield at UT.

High points:

• Chris Burke got his major league first home run to spoil Pedro’s fun tonight. Maybe Pedro will sign the ball?
  

• Perhaps fearing that Wheeler is going to take away his setup job, Qualls did a very nice job in relief. He came into the game with the bases loaded and 2 out in the 7th, and striking out the batter. Then he continued pitching in the 8th, striking out the first two batters (including Pedro), and getting the third to ground out.
  

• Some great Astros fielding tonight, including a pickoff by Ausmus in the 3rd, a beautiful diving catch by Everett in the 4th, and a very nice running play by Ensberg in the 7th.
  

• Lineup du jour: Garner had Palmeiro leading off instead of Taveras, who had some hamstring pain in his last game. Ausmus is now the backstop for Oswalt, who requested the veteran over the new rookie catcher. Garner is sticking with his plan to let Burke get some real playing time in, and it paid off tonight.
  

Disappointments:

• Just to add a little drama… In the 7th inning, with 2 out and Beltran on second base after a wild pitch, Garner went out to talk to Oswalt. The announcers speculated that he’d be instructed to intentionally walk the batter, Cliff Floyd, and to pitch instead to Piazza, who hasn’t been hitting well this year. Instead, on the next pitch Oswalt nailed Floyd, emptying the dugouts and bullpen (but no fights, no ejections). Unfortunately, Oswalt walked Piazza to load the bases, and then gave up an infield single to score a run. It was old history for Oswalt and Floyd – last season Floyd hit a grand slam off Oswalt in May, then Oswalt hit him in the back in August. The announcers spent much of the rest of the game speculating on who Pedro would hit in retaliation, but that satisfaction has been postponed to a future game. Maybe Biggio, tomorrow?
  

• Two of the Mets’ three runs were scored with 2 outs.
  

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

• The Nats beat Oakland 2-1 in interleague play, to maintain their first-place position in the NL East. Oakland scored in the first inning, and was shut out for the rest of the game. Armas got the win, with support from 5 Washington relievers.
  

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

• The Reds finally won a game,9-7, over Tampa Bay, dumping the Astros back into sole possession of the NL Central dungeon.
  

• The Cards won again, what a surprise; they beat the Red Sox, 9-2.
  

• Pittsburgh beat the Orioles, 6-5.
  

• Milwaukee beat the Yankees, 2-1.
  

• The Blue Jays beat the Cubs, 6-4.
  

Final123456789RHE

Houston          000000100120

N.Y. Mets «     10001010x3      120

W: P. Martinez (7-1) L: R. Oswalt (6-7)

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

WEDNESDAY, JUNE 8, 2005 (Game 57) – Houston @ New York Mets

Houston 4, New York 1

The Astros won their sixth road game, miracle of miracles, and Brandon Backe got his  sixth win in a mixed performance. He only gave up one run on 4 hits, and struck out 7 – and he also walked 6! (Is this a new bad habit? He walked 4 in two scoreless innings of relief pitching on Saturday also.) Luckily the Mets were fairly inept in the scoring department tonight, and Backe got out of all the trouble he got into. He was followed by good relief pitching by Qualls, Wheeler, and Lidge -- and the Good Guys got to celebrate in the Big Apple tonight.

I missed the first few innings, running errands after returning from my first day at my new job in Arlington. I joined in the bottom of the 5th, with the score tied 1-1, just in time to see Backe strike out the side (and it wasn’t slouches either – he whiffed Beltran, Floyd and Castro). And luckily, the Astros waited until the sixth inning to pull ahead, so I got to see the good part.

The Astros wore road greys.

In other news, Bagwell’s surgery has been deemed to be as good as hoped for, and he will probably be returning to Houston today. No report on when he’ll show up in the dugout with the team – maybe this weekend when Houston comes home to play the Blue Jays?

High points:

• Palmeiro, pinch hitting for Backe, got his first homer of the season, only the third of his career.
  

• Excellent relief pitching again tonight. Qualls pitched a nice 7th inning, giving up only a bunt single, before taking out the next three batters. Wheeler’s still playing setup man; he got the first two batters easily, then allowed a double and walk. Lidge was warmed up when the next batter – pinch hitting for the pitcher – came to the plate, but Garner stuck with Wheeler, who struck him out looking. In the 9th, Lidge took out the top of the lineup 1-2-3 (one K), to earn his 14th save in 16 chances. Despite the Astros not having all that many save opportunities this year, Lidge is pretty close to the top in number of saves in the NL.
  

• Biggio went 2 for 4, with an RBI double, breaking his 0 for 15 non-hitting streak.
  

• Ensberg was 1 for 3 with an RBI infield single in the 6th to put the Astros ahead. With two out and Self on third, and a 2-2 count, Ensberg put up his had to request time out. But the umpired didn’t call it, and Zambrano threw the ball. Ensberg got his hand back on the bat and hit and infield single, to score Self with the go-ahead run. Houston led for the rest of the game.
  

• Lane had an RBI double. Too bad he doesn’t get to play more; he’s been hitting well recently.
  

• Humberto Quintero is catching Backe. He hasn’t yet quite mastered Backe’s complicated set of signs, and had to come out to the mound a number of times – getting boos from the Fucking Mets’ Fucking Fans. Let them boo.
  

• Cliff Floyd had another bad experience tonight: He singled in the 3rd, then was forced out at second on a fielders choice. Unfortunately for him, Biggio appears to have stepped on his hand as he slid into second. (Oswalt totally denies that he was trying to hit Floyd last night. I wonder when the pay-back will be?)
  

Disappointments:

• Taveras is still out with a pulled hamstring. He may not play again in this series.
  

• Berkman hasn’t been hitting much in the past few games, reversing his batting average progress.
  

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

• The Nats are hot!hot!hot! They beat Oakland again tonight, 7-2, nailing their 6th game in a row. Loaiza got the win.
  

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

• The Reds won again, 11-9, over Tampa Bay leaving the Astros in the NL Central dungeon. Nine of the 11 Reds runs were scored on six home runs, including a grand slam by Edwardo Perez, and Wily Mo’s 2-run walkoff homer in the bottom of the 9th.
  

• The Cards lost to the Red Sox, 4-0.
  

• Pittsburgh beat the Orioles, 6-5.
  

• The Yankees got their revenge on the Brewers, 12-3
  

• The Cubs beat the Blue Jays, 2-0.
  

Final123456789RHE

Houston «       000102100480

N.Y. Mets       100000000160

W: B. Backe (6-3) L: V. Zambrano (3-6) S: B. Lidge (14)

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

THURSDAY, JUNE 9, 2005 (Game 58) – Houston @ New York Mets

Houston 6, New York 3

The Astros won their second consecutive road series tonight, with a unusual flurry of activity in the 11th inning, decent starting pitching, and five innings of excellent relief pitching. It was the first game this season that the Astros won after being behind in the 6th inning.

Andy Pettitte got the Astros off to a nice start, throwing 100 pitches in 6 innings, giving up 2 runs on 4 hits, 1 BB, and 5 Ks. But starting pitching wasn’t relevant tonight, as neither starter figured in the win-loss decisions. A great group effort by Qualls, Wheeler, Springer, and Lidge got the Astros through the last 5 innings, combining for 1 run, 2 hits, 1 walk, and 8 strikeouts. That kept the Mets score down, taking a tie game into the 11th inning. Then the combined efforts of Vizcaino, Berkman, Ensberg, and Everett put up 3 runs for the Good Guys, and Brad Lidge struck out the side to keep the Mets out of the game.

Once again I missed a lot of the game, due to events related to the Sunshine wedding. This time it was cooking for the Friday night Sheva Brachot dinner, coordinating a gang of women (Karen, Rosalinda, Nancy) and their daughters. I ran upstairs about every 5 minutes to check on the game, telling the ladies that I was going up to print more wedding photos for decorations. We finished with the score tied after 9 innings, and I sent them home so I could watch the end of the game. Like last night, the Astros waited until I was watching to do the fun stuff. What a team!

The Astros wore road greys, but the color definitely doesn’t reflect their mood tonight.

High points:

• Fourteen hits!
  

• Ensberg was only 1 for 5 tonight, but that one came at just the right time – a ground-rule double with runners on first and second in the top of the 11th, to put the Astros ahead. Two batters later, Everett hit a single to score the two remaining runners, giving the Astros a couple of insurance runs, which (thanks to Lidge) weren’t actually needed tonight.
  

• Lidge’s 3 Ks to close and save puts him in a tie for most strikeouts by a NL reliever.
  

• Berkman, Vizcaino, and Lane all had 2-hit games and scored a run tonight.
  

• Bidge had the night off, but came in to pinch hit, getting an RBI single.
  

Disappointments:

• Dan Wheeler gave up a run in the bottom of the 8th to tie the game and blow the save. But Springer (who got the win) and Lidge saved the day.
  

Notes on the Other Good Guys:

• The Nats continue to wow the crowds, with their seventh win in a row. Livan Hernandez got win #9, as Washington pulls ahead in the very competitive NL East.
  

Notes on the Other Bad Guys:

• The Reds won in another high-scoring game, 14-5, over Tampa Bay. Come on, guys, the Astros are winning too – give us a chance to get out of the cellar!
  

Final 11th123456789      10      11       RHE

Houston           100000200036      14       0

New York         01010001000361

W: R. Springer (1-2) L: H. Bell (0-3) S: B. Lidge (15)

Interesting Baseball Draft Factoid

There has never been a first-round draft pick who has gone on to make the Hall of Fame.

Quote of the Day

Brad Ausmus, remarking on his RBI single tonight, after going 1 for 38 against Glavine: "A blind squirrel found an acorn."

HUH?

Fashion Statement

The Astros wore road greys. Pedro wore asymmetrical undershirt sleeves for much of the game, with his sleeve down on his right (pitching) arm, and his sleeve up on his left arm. Garner protested this fashion statement before the game, but to no avail. Pedro's blue glove provided a coordinated fashion accessiory for the Mets' jersey.