2005 SEASON
MAY 17-19: ARIZONA @ HOUSTON
TUESDAY, MAY 17, 2005 (Game 38) – Arizona @ Houston
Houston 3, Arizona 0
Roy Oswalt was amazing tonight, as the Astros won their second shutout in a row, extending their winning streak to tie their season high – THREE! Hey, ya gotta be thankful for small favors. Astros pitchers have now thrown 24 consecutive scoreless innings, a critical success factor for a team that isn’t scoring much this season! Oswalt pitched eight innings, giving up only 5 hits (all singles) and 1 BB, and striking out 8. Lidge pitched the 9th for his 8th save. He wasn’t lights-out; he gave up a walk and a hit, but no runs, and got his 30th K in 17.1 innings (that’s 15.8 Ks per 9 innings).
The Diamondbacks starting pitcher, Javier Vazquez, was also impressive, but got stuck with the loss after giving up just one run in 7innings of pitching. The reliever that followed him in the 8th, Mike Koplove, was sloppy, loading the bases on two walks and a hit batter. Then, with two out, pinch-hitter Vizcaino’s single knocked in 2 insurance runs. But it turned out that the first run that Vazquez gave up was all the Astros really needed, when Lidge came in to finish it off.
Side note: Koplove sounds like a Jewish name, and the pitcher “looks Jewish” (or maybe Lebanese). The last name comes from his Jewish dad, but he was raised in his non-Jewish mother’s faith. Shawn Green is the only actual Jewish player for Arizona.
The Astros wore home stripes.
High points:
- The Astros hitting wasn’t a match for the high-quality pitching. But a few high points…
- Ensberg’s hit in the 4th inning extended his hitting streak to 8 games, and raised his batting average to .328. He subsequently scored on Everett’s sac fly. He’s HOT in May!
- Vizcaino’s pitch hit single in the 8th, scoring 2 insurance runs, turned out to be gravy, but it’s nice to see the Good Guys put up some crooked numbers now and then.
- Bagwell’s “replacement,” Todd Self, pinch ran for Berkman in the 8th, and scored his first major league run on Viz’s RBI single.
- Lidge is the only reliever to make an appearance in the three consecutive Astros wins.
Disappointments:
- Taveras was 1 for 4, leading off for Houston with another infield single – but no steals today.
- Lamb was 0 for 4, batting in the number 2 spot tonight, dropping his batting average to .221. He’s only got 3 hits in his last 32 at-bats – none of them in the past 4 games.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats lost to Milwaukee, 8-2.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- YES! THE CARDS LOSE! Phillies beat them 7-5. WOO HOOOOOOOOO!
- Chicago beat Pittsburgh, 4-3. Since they are both just ahead of Houston in the standings, it’s a wash.
- The Reds lost to the Wonderful Mets. (Short reprieve for the Mets while they play NL Central teams.)
- Florida pitcher Dontrelle Willis got kind of clobbered in the 1st inning of the Marlins’ game against the Dodgers, giving up 4 runs, 3 of them earned, and pushing his ERA to 1.45. I like Dontrelle, but I don’t mind that he got hit on; it leaves the best ERA (1.11) in Roger Clemens’ very capable hands.
Final123456789RHEArizona 000000000062Houston 00010002x380W: R. Oswalt (5-4) L: J. Vazquez (4-3) S: B. Lidge (8) ==============================================================================
WEDNESDAY, MAY 18, 2005 (Game 39) – Arizona @ Houston
Arizona 7, Houston 6
Awwwwwww! So close, so many chances to win… and the Astros lost by one run, ending their winning streak at 3. The game didn’t start out looking too promising, as Pettitte gave up 7 ERs in 5 innings, leaving the game with the Astros down 7-1. It doesn’t matter that many of the Arizona runs were scored on blooper hits; the Good Guys just didn’t manage to keep them from scoring. And it doesn’t help that Houston was robbed of hits (some of which could have scored runs) on sharply-hit balls that got snagged by Diamondback fielders – or even worse in the two cases where the first base runner was running and got doubled up. Or that Taveras got what should have been a standup triple, but was stopped at second base by the 3rd base coach – and then was picked off.
But despite the Astros looking decidedly unlucky tonight, they managed to almost come back from a 6-run deficit, ending the game down by just one run with the bases loaded. They didn’t just lie down and die. They looked more like contenders in the last few innings than I’ve seen in a while. They scored three in the 6th, one in the 7th, and one in the 9th. So yeah, they lost – as they have lost every single game this year when they were behind in the 6th inning. But they managed to keep the game alive until the very last pitch. They’ve lost a ridiculous number of one-run games this year. But losing by one, especially in a game that isn’t a pitchers duel, isn’t exactly the same as being trounced. Except in the standings, unfortunately.
Garner, for the 11th game in a row, mixed up the starting lineup.
The Astros wore home stripes.
In other news, Bagwell is tentatively scheduled for surgery on June 3.
High points:
- Excellent Astros relief pitching tonight. Harville, Qualls, Burns, and Astacio each pitched one scoreless inning, giving up no more than one hit each, and no walks. That’s right: Qualls did not give up a run tonight!
- Mike Burns, newly up from Round Rock in his second Astros relief appearance, struck out 2 in his inning.
- Astacio, apparently skipping his starting rotation slot this week, pitched a perfect 9th.
- Biggio had another great night at the plate, singling and doubling before his 9th inning 2-out homer ignited a resurgence of Astros hopes. He scored twice, and got 1 RBI, ending the game with his batting average at .310. He also got hit by a pitch (#261 career), continuing to edge up on that career record held by Don Baylor (267). At least tonight he wasn’t injured, unlike last time when his right arm was trashed.
- Todd Self got his first major league homer, a 2-run blast to right in the 6th.
- Palmeiro, batting in the number 2 spot tonight, went 3 for 5 (but no runs or RBIs – bummer). According to Garner, Palmeiro (batting .375 in May) and Lane (struggling at the plate) will split the right field duties.
Disappointments:
- Andy Pettitte had a lousy start, breaking the string of very hot Astros pitching. The Astros had gone 24 innings without being scored on, coming into this game. Pettitte only held on to that for 2 innings. He allowed seven ERs on 11 hits, 1 BB, and 4 Ks, giving up 1, 4, and 2 runs in the 3-5th innings, respectively. The Diamondbacks batted around on him in the 4th. (That might have been the right time to pull him, Phil. Maybe then Lidge would have been pitching in the 9th…?) Pettitte is now 2-5, with three straight losses.
- Lamb had another hitless night, although he got on base 3 times – all on walks.
- Ensberg, coming into the game batting .520 in his 8-game hitting streak went 0 for 4, breaking his hitting streak. But worse – he stranded 4 runners (3rd out with runners on first and second on in the 3rd, 3rd out with a runner on third in the 5th, strikeout with a runner on first in the 7th). He did get on base twice, once on a walk and once on an error. But he was caught stealing after the walk – and Lamb walked on the very next pitch. What a waste.
- Taveras only got one hit, but it was a very good one – a double that was bobbled by the fielder, which would have allowed Willie to get to third. But he was stopped at second, and then ranged too far off base (despite pickoff attempts) and was caught.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats beat Milwaukee, 1-0, in the bottom of the ninth in a pitchers duel, with both starting pitchers – Loaiza and Capuano lasting at least 8 innings. Loaiza won the battle, but the Nats reliever won the game.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- The Cards beat the Phillies, 8-4. Wahhhh
- Chicago beat Pittsburgh, 3-2.
- Those nice Mets boys beat Cincinnati again 10-6. (I’ll start hating them again tomorrow.) At least the Reds are still behind the Astros in the standings.
Final123456789RHEArizona « 0014200007 141Houston 0100031016 130W: R. Ortiz (4-2) L: A. Pettitte (2-5) S: B. Bruney (3) ==============================================================================
THURSDAY, MAY 19, 2005 (Game 40) – Arizona @ Houston
Arizona 6, Houston 1
Roger Clemens continues to get paltry run support from the Astros, as he loses his second game of the season tonight. He earned the loss in the first inning, when a combination of 3 hits and 2 errors allowed the D-backs to put 3 runs (1 unearned) on the scoreboard. But after that, he settled down, and did not give up any other hits or runs in 6 innings, with 2 BBs and only 3 Ks on 101 pitches. His ERA is now up to .129, still the best in the NL.
But even those 2 earned runs in the first inning would have been enough to beat the Astros tonight, as they only scored 1 run in the game. New total: In Clemens’ 9 starts this year, the Astros have only scored 16 runs.
The cause of the drought on runs tonight was Diamondback rookie lefthander Brad Halsey (doesn’t it seem like there are an awful lot of young ball players with names like Brad and Chad?) – a 24-year old UT Austin grad, like Clemens, only a full generation later. He pitched 7 innings, with only 79 pitches (only 53 in the first 6 innings!), giving up only one ER on 6 scattered hits. No BBs, and not even one K – which probably explains the low pitch count. He pitched so well, he deserves to have his picture here more than Clemens tonight.
Meanwhile, the Astros were uncharacteristically sloppy on the field, with a season high five errors. Amazingly, only the one in the first inning factored in an unearned run.
High points:
Really hard to think of any tonight. A losing homestand (3-4) sucks, when the team is doing so outrageously terrible on the road. And tomorrow they’ll be playing in Arlington, Texas, against the Rangers, in the first interleague series of the year.
Okay, one high point: Franco, Qualls, and Wheeler put their hands together to pitch 2 scoreless innings in relief.
Disappointments:
- Painful fielding – 5 errors, setting a new season record for errors in a single game. Clemens made a wild and crazy pickoff throw in the 1st, allowing the runner to advance to third base. The runner scored on a ground out by the next batter. Viz missed a catch at first base later in the 1st inning (but it wasn’t a very good throw either). Biggio made a fielding error in the 4th inning. Everett made a wild throw to first in the 6th inning. Ausmus overthrew to second, trying to keep a runner from stealing in the 8th.
- Mike Burns, the new kid, pitched the ninth, letting 8 D-back batters come to the plate, as he gave up 3 runs on 5 hits. After 2 clean relief appearances, his third one tonight gave him a taste of the big bad leagues. The 3 runs scored on two singles and a homer, all before even getting one out.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats beat Milwaukee, 3-2, in an afternoon home game – attended by my cousin Danny, who is in town for a gig at Iota.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- The Cards lost to the Phillies, 7-4, giving Houston the chance to get its Games Behind number back into single digits. But that would require the Astros to WIN!
Final123456789RHEArizona « 300000003691Houston 000000100175W: B. Halsey (3-2) L: R. Clemens (3-2)
