2005 SEASON
SEPTEMBER 2-4: ST LOUIS @ HOUSTON
FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2005 (Game 134) – ST. LOUIS @ HOUSTON
Houston 6, St. Louis 5 [13 innings]
In practice, perhaps, for a post-season game next month, the Astros and the Cards see-sawed for 13 innings before the Good Guys pulled off a rare, 3X come-from-behind victory.
The Astros got a good start in the game against Cards’ starter Mark Mulder, when they loaded the bases with no outs in the 2nd inning on a walk, an error, and a bloop single. Berkman scored from third on Everett’s fielders choice, and then Lane scored on Ausmus’s single. But after that inning, Mulder kept them from doing anything at all at the plate through the 8th inning. Given the Astros’ terrible record for losing games when they are behind after 7 innings, it wasn’t looking good. Then came the heroics.
The Astros entered the 9th, behind 3-2, with Cards’ closer Jason Isringhausen on the mound. Ensberg hit a leadoff solo homer to tie up the game. The Cards came back in the 10th to go ahead, 4-3. Then with one out in the bottom of the 10th, Ausmus hit a solo homer to tie it up again. The Astros left runners stranded on 2nd and 3rd stranded in the 11th. They stranded runners on 1st and 2nd in the 12th.
The Cards scored again in the top of the 13th, to take the lead, 5-4. Ensberg led off the bottom of the 13th with a single, but was erroneously called out at second on pinch-hitter Chavez’ fielders choice. Even the St. Louis TV announcers were incredulous at the call; Ensberg was clearly safe at second in the replay. Then Lane singled and Vizcaino was intentionally walked to load the bases. The Cards brought in lefty Ray King to pitch to Palmeiro; on a 1-2 count, he hit him with a pitch to force in the tying run. Ausmus flied out for the second out. So it was up to rookie Eric Bruntlett, who hadn’t had a hit all night. Just like the 14-inning game in July against the Nationals, Bruntlett was the hero of the night: He hit a single to score Lane to win the game.
The Astros wore home stripes. I watched this Shabbat game late Saturday night on the mlb.tv Archive.
In other news, two Astros played for the Hooks Friday night. Backe started the game, pitching 5 shutout innings, with 2 hits and 7 Ks. Bagwell went 0-2, with a walk. Both should be returning to the Astros soon.
High points:
Ensberg’s home run in the 9th inning was his 35th of the year. With a month left in the season, he now holds the team record for most home runs in a year by a 3rd baseman.
Ausmus’ homer in the 10th was only his 2nd of the season. It was his 2nd RBI of the night. The little kick he adopted at the beginning of the season is gone from his swing, but he’s been great at the plate for the past two months: He’s batted over .300 in both July and August.
Astacio lasted into the 6th inning, giving up 3 runs. Then Springer, Wheeler, Lidge, and Qualls combined for 7 2/3 innings. Qualls pitched 2 innings, gave up one run, and got the win.
Disappointments:
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- The Phillies beat the Nats, 7-1, to stay ahead by half a game in the NL Wild Card race.
- The Marlins beat the F-ing Mets, 4-2.
Final 13th1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13RHE
St. Louis 0 1 0 0 0 2 0 0 0 1 0 0 1 5 131
Houston « 0 2 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 0 0 2680
W: C. Qualls (4-4) L: J. Tavarez (2-3)
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SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 3, 2005 (Game 135) – ST. LOUIS @ HOUSTON
St. Louis 4, Houston 2
What was supposed to be the pitching duel of the year – Clemens vs. Carpenter – came up short tonight, as Clemens left the game after 5 innings with a sore hamstring. Carpenter went on to pitch a complete game, to become the first NL 20 game winner this season. In a game that was characterized by numerous missed opportunities by both team to score runs, the Astros did just a little worse than the Cards. The biggest missed opportunity was the chance to pull ahead of the Phillies in the NL Wild Card race, as Philadelphia lost to the Nationals tonight.
Clemens apparently injured his hamstring when he was up to bat in the 2nd inning, trying to bunt. He stayed in the game for several innings before Garner pulled him. The Astros were behind, 2-1, when he left the game, but Berkman got a home run to tie it in the bottom of the inning, so Clemens had a no-decision. Clemens is day-to-day, and hoping to make his next start Friday.
In other news, the Astros added a couple of relievers to the bullpen: Brandon Duckworth (!) and Scott Strickland. Minor Leaguer of the day: Tim McClaskey (the pitcher I took that great picture of during Spring Training) pitched a terrific complete game for the Hooks on Saturday.
High points:
- •Berkman hit his 15th home run of the year in the 6th inning.
- Luke Skywalker hit a double to score Mike Lamb in the second inning, to get Houston off to an early lead.
Disappointments:
- Carpenter wasn’t perfect, but there were too many missed chances to score runs. In the first inning, Biggio was thrown out at the plate, trying to score from first on Berkman’s double. And Luke Scott was caught in a rundown attempting to score in the 2nd inning. The Astros also had runners stranded on 1st and 2nd in the 5th (Ausmus singled, Bidge was HBP), and on 2nd and 3rd in the 6th (Scott walked, Everett singled, and they both moved up on a ground ball). After that, Carpenter was mowing them down, 1-2-3, and it was too late.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats get to be Good Guys for a day or two, while they are playing the Phillies – a bigger threat to the Astros at the moment. The Nats beat the Phillies, just barely, 5-4, in 12 innings. They looked certain to end the evening much earlier, going into the 9th inning ahead, 4-1, but Chad Cordero gave up two homeruns, allowing 3 runs, to blow the save.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- The Marlins beat the F-ing Mets again, 5-4.
- Cincinnati continues on the skid that Houston put them on, losing to Atlanta, 9-3.
- The Padres beat the Brewers, 6-1, just barely keeping their heads above the .500 mark.
St. Louis « 0002001104110
W: C. Carpenter (20-4) L: R. Springer (4-4)
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SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2005 (Game 136) – ST. LOUIS @ HOUSTON
St. Louis 4, Houston 1
PHOOEY! The Astros squandered another opportunity to take over the NL Wild Card race, as they lost again to St. Louis in a poor-scoring game. This time it was Jason Marquis who pitched the complete game against the Astros. Houston started the “kids” lineup today, with rookie pitcher Wandy Rodriguez on the mound, Chavez (just back from the minors) behind the plate, and Burke, Taveras, Scott, and Lane in the field. They were joined by three recent minor-league relief pitchers --Duckworth, Strickland, and Gallo – before the end of the game.
Wandy got the loss. Wandy, who’s usually a very lucky guy with an average of 6.6 Astros runs in support, didn’t get much at all today. The only Astros hitting excitement was a Crawford Box homer by Berkman in the 4th. Wandy pitched great at the start of the game; he only faced the minimum 15 batters in the first 5 innings. But he fell apart in the 6th, giving up 3 runs on 2 walks, a hit batsman, and 2 singles. After grueling use of the bullpen in the past few days, Garner apparently decided to save his best (and now exhausted) relievers for the upcoming do-or-die series in Philadelphia.
The Astros wore home Sunday reds.
In other news, the Astros have contributed $200,000 to organizations assisting hurricane victims It’s kind of close to home with so many of the flood refugees living now in the Astrodome. Gary Gaetta, doesn’t yet know whether his home, just north of New Orleans, survived the storm.
High points:
- Berkman went 2 for 3, with a homer and a single.
- Relief pitcher Scott Strickland, just up yesterday from the minors, pitched perfectly for the second game in a row. He came in with one out in the 8th today, inheriting Duckworth’s 2 base runners. Strickland finished off the inning without allowing them to score.
- The sprinkler system in the visitor’s bullpen went on during the 8th inning, forcing the Cards relievers to scramble to avoid an early trip to the showers.
Disappointments:
- Taveras had a horrible series against the Cards – he went 0 for 14, and never got on base. The closest he came to a hit today was hit to right field, where So Taguchi made a sliding catch on his back to steal the chance. In the take-away department, Taveras got back at the Cards; he made a superb leaping catch up against the center field wall in the 4th inning.
- Duckworth was, alas, classically Duckworthy: In 1 1/3 innings, he gave up 1 run on 4 hits and a walk. It could have been worse, if Strickland hadn’t ended the 8th without allowing his inherited runners to score. Maybe they’ll send him back down?
- Ensberg is still in a batting lull. He went 0 for 4 today, finishing up the home stand with a 4 for 21 record.
Notes on the Other Good Guys:
- The Nats beat the Phillies again, 6-1.
Notes on the Other Bad Guys:
- The (temporarily) Wonderful Mets beat the Marlins, 7-1.
- The Reds appeared to be tired of losing: In the 12th inning, they scored 5 runs against Atlanta, for a 8-3 win. The last 4 runs were courtesy of Jason LaRue’s grand slam.
W: J. Marquis (11-13) L: W. Rodriguez (9-7)
