Colt 45s Blog

Houston lost the 3rd and final game of the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Wednesday 7-8. The loss brings the Astros record to 13-16 and has them in the middle of the NL central pack.

This loss wasn’t an ordinary loss though according to Manager Cecil Cooper who was very upset after Houston’s 16th loss of the season. He was extremely displeased with the way the bullpen handled the lead which the offense worked hard to get. You see, there cant be many more things frustrating in baseball then what happened in this game. In the bottom of the 6th inning, Houston leading by 2 runs, Arizona brought in a pinch hitter to fill in for one of their relievers. The pinch hitter called to the plate was a pitcher himself that goes by the name Micah Owings. Now many teams would considered this an easy out, which is why I think Cooper is so upset with the play that followed. Houston pitcher Dave Borkowski gave up a game tying 2 run home run to Owings evening the score at 7 runs a piece. Later in that inning Chris Young doubled on a fly ball to center scoring Jose Cruz Jr. making the score 8-7, which ended up being the final.

Cooper had plenty to say after the game, “We can’t get the stinking pitcher out, we’re in trouble,” he said. “My goodness. Two-run lead and we can’t even get out of the stinking inning. That’s unacceptable, and it won’t happen again, I can promise you that. You get these guys down, you’ve got them, 4-0, 6-2, and we let them back in the game. It won’t happen again. It definitely won’t happen again.” I hope not Coop, because the way Houston started the game, getting Randy Johnson pulled before he could get through 5 innings, it looked like we had a sure win.

Now that we’ve gotten through that I can throw you some actual statistics. Carlos Lee had the most impressive game for Houston going 1-for-4 with a 3 run shot in the 1st inning of The Big Unit. The homer is Lee’s 6th of the season and the RBI give him 16. Lance Berkman added to his RBI adding 2 more in this game hitting 1-of-4 with the 2 RBI and a run scored. He now has a team leading 25 RBI and his batting average is at .297. Miguel Tejada continued his hot streak going 2-for-4 with a run scored and he now has his batting average at a impressive .345.

Shawn Chacon took the mound for the Astros and pitched a solid game. He worked 5 innings giving up 7 hits, 5 runs, 1 walk and 7 K’s. His ERA is now at 3.32 but he received his 6th straight no-decision after the lead was given up by the 2 run homer from Owings. Dave Borkowski was given the loss and a blown save for giving up the lead pitching just 1/3rd inning allowing 3 hits, 2 runs and the homer. The blown save is his 1st of the year and his record now stands at 0-2. Randy Johnson got the start for the D-Backs and was tagged for 6 runs in 4 innings. He also gave up 9 hits in that time including the 3 run homer to Carlos Lee.

An interesting game considering how it played out. I am actually glad to see that Cooper got heated with the effort his pitching staff put forth. Hopefully they will get the message loud and clear and improve on the lackluster game.

The Astros evened the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks at a game a piece with a 6-4 win. The win snaps the 3 game losing streak Houston was stuck on. They now have their record at 13-15 with the win over the NL Central leaders.

The offense had their way with Arizona pitchers in the early innings getting a 2 run 1st and a 4 run 3rd. After that the bats went silent but luckily they already had enough runs to take game 2. Miguel Tejada has been on a tear and nothing was different in this one. He went 2-for-4 with his 22nd RBI and 2 runs scored. His batting average is well above the .300 mark now standing at .343. Geoff Blum hand an outstanding game of his own hitting 1-of-4 with 3 RBI and a run scored. He now has 12 RBI on the year and his batting average is now at .208. Carlos Lee also contributed for a RBI and a run scored going 1-for-3. J.R. Towles had a RBI in the game as well recording his 10th of the season.

Jack Cassel took the mound for Houston making just his 2nd appearance of the season. He only made his way through 4 2/3rds innings allowing 4 hits, 3 runs, 2 walks and 2 K’s. He didn’t receive the win for the Astros and now has an ERA of 5.59. Doug Brocail did get the win going 1 2/rds innings giving up just 1 hits striking out 2. The win is his 1st of the season and his ERA stands at a respectable 3.07. Jose Valverde came in to close out the game and did just that getting his 5th save of the season striking out all 3 batters he faced.

Its always good when you can a win from the division leader especially when they are playing as well as the D-Backs. We’ll see if they can take game 3 and the series from Arizona on Wednesday.

Houston lost on Monday in the 1st game of the scheduled 3 against the red hot Arizona Diamondbacks, 3-5. The loss is their 3rd straight and has seemingly negated the previous 6 game winning streak that brought them to .500. The Astros record is now 12-15 and they continue to slip away from NL central contention.

The offense seemed to struggle in this one only collecting 5 hits but 3 of them were doubles. Miguel Tejada was on of the hitters that recorded a double getting his 8th of the year. He went 1-for-4 getting his 21st RBI of the season and now has his batting average at .337. Carlos Lee also hit his 8th double of the season going 1-for-4 with a run scored. The 3rd double came from speedy Michael Bourn who also went 1-for-4 with a run scored. With the kind of speed that Bourn has you’d expect to see more then 2 doubles in his stat sheet but due to his inability to hit, batting just .198 this season, he’s had some trouble getting on base. But, to his defense, when he gets on base he makes opposing pitchers pay with his Major League leading 13 steals.

Chris Sampson took the hill for the Astro’s and had a rough night of work. He only pitched 4 1/3rd innings giving up 7 hits, 5 runs, all earned, and 2 walks. He was given the loss in the game bringing his record to 1-3 and brought his ERA up 7.15. Dan Haren started for the D-Backs and was pretty much lights out going 7 2/3rds innings giving up just 5 hits, 3 runs, and 5 K’s. He earned the win for his team and now has a record of 4-1 with a 3.13 ERA.

Houston just put together a lackluster performance from both pitchers and hitters. An improvement will be necessary if the Astros want to hit the .500 plateau and then elevate above it.

The Astros lost their 2nd game in a row against the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday 5-1. The 5th inning is where the Cards took control when they put up 4 runs to take a 4-1 lead. The loss brings the ‘Stros record to 12-14 and leaves them in 4th place of the NL Central just 4.5 games back from the division leading Cubs.

The offense seemed to struggle the most only putting up 4 hits and were pretty much handled by the Cardinal pitchers. The only RBI came off the bat of Mark Loretta in the 2nd inning. Loretta went 1-for-3 including his 7th RBI of the season. He has his batting average at .227 this season as he filled in for the injured Ty Wigginton at 3rd base. Lance Berkman scored the lone run for the Astros going 1-for-4 with the run scored and has continued to keep his batting average well above .300. The other 2 hits came from Miguel Tejada and Brandon Backe. Tejada went 1-for-4 keeping his batting average at .340. Backe, who was the starter for the Astros, went 1-for-2.

As stated above Brandon Backe took the mound for Houston and pitched an ‘okay’ 5 innings. He gave up 5 hits, 4 runs, 4 strike outs, 5 walks and gave up a homer to Troy Glaus in the 5th. He was given the loss bringing his record to 1-3 this season with a 4.65 ERA. Brian Moehler came in for the 7th and gave up 1 hit which was a homer to Albert Pujols. Kyle Lohse got the start for the Cardinals and pitched an effective 6 innings. He allowed just 4 hits, 1 run, 1 walk and 3 K’s. He was given the win for St. Louis making his record 3-0 and giving him a 2.36 ERA. Kyle McClellan came in to close the game and did exactly that getting his 1st save on the year striking out 2 in the process.

In the past 2 games Houston has slipped back into their bad habits they were showing before the 6 game win streak. They’ll need to end this little slide before it gets to serious because the NL Central leading Cubs are really playing well right now.

Houston had their 6 game winning streak come to an end against the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday. The Offense was shut down by Card’s starter Adam Wainwright. The loss puts them 1 game back from .500 leaving them at 12-13.

The offense never really got clicking and they only collected 5 hits. The only 2 guys who had good games were Kaz Matsui and Lance Berkman. Matsui went 2-for-4 including a homer off Wainwright. The homer was his 1st of the season and the RBI was his 7th. Berkman connected for 2 homers giving him 8 on the season. He went 2-for-3 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. The RBI give him 23 for the season and put his batting average at .326. Houston fell just 1 run short of moving over .500.

Roy Oswalt got the start for the Astro’s and had a strong game going 6 innings deep allowing 5 hits, 3 runs, and 5 K’s. He didn’t earn the win but his ERA is now at 5.75. Dave Borkowski came in for just 1/3rd of an inning but recorded the loss bringing his record to 0-1. Adam Wainwright took the mound for the Cards and pitched all 9 innings. He only allowed 5 hits, 3 runs, 6 strike outs and dropped his ERA to 2.79. He got the win for St. Louis making his record 3-1.

The loss ends the impressive winning streak but the victories brought them back into the NL Central race. Hopefully this game doesn’t become a streak of losses and the ‘Stros bounce right back.

The Astro’s continued their winning streak by beating the St. Louis Cardinals 3-2 in the 1st game of a 3 game set. The win is the ‘Stros 6th in a row and brings their record to 12-12 and puts them in 4th place in the NL Central.

The offense didn’t score any runs and were down 2 until the top of the 9th. Miguel Tejada put runs on the board first when he drove in Darin Erstad. Tejada went 1-for-3 with a RBI and a run scored. Lance Berkman also brought in a RBI. He went 0-for-3 with the RBI. The score was 2-2 when Carlos Lee came up to bat. He hit a solo-homer off Jason Isringhausen making the score 3-2. Lee went 1-for-4 with a RBI and a run scored. The homer is Lee’s 5th of the season. The offense couldn’t have come together at a better time putting up 3 runs to steal the 1st game against the Cards.

Shawn Chacon took the mound for Houston and pitched a solid game. He worked 7 innings giving up 5 hits, 2 runs, 6 walks, and 3 K’s. He didn’t earn the win but brought his ERA to 2.45 on the season. Wesley Wright came in for the 8th and earned the win bringing his record to 3-0 this season. Jose Valverde came in and got his 4th save of the season striking out 1in the process.

Once again the offense carried the Astro’s to a victory but they wouldn’t have been able to do it without a strong effort from the pitchers.

The Astro’s took the 2nd and final game of the series against the Cincinnati Reds in a 5-3 victory. The win brings their record to 11-12 this season and leaves them just 1 game away from breaking into .500 territory. The W also brings them into 4th place in th NL Central above the Pittsburgh Pirates and Cincinnati Reds.

The offense wasn’t as much of a force in this game as they had been in the last few but they did record the timely hits they needed to take the win. They put together 9 hits including 4 extra base hits off  Reds new star Johnny Cueto. Lance Berkman had a very good game going 3-for-3 with 3 RBI and 1 runs scored. 2 of the RBI came from a jack he hit in the 1st inning giving the ‘Stros a 2 run lead. He has 6 homers this season and now has his batting average at .325. Hunter Pence also had a strong game going 2-for-4 with 1 run scored. He is starting to collect hits and has brought his batting average to a solid .268. Darrin Erstad went 1-for-4 with 1 RBI and a run scored. He now has 4 RBI on this season and his average is at .286.

Jack Cassel made his season debut for Houston and played a very respectable game. He worked 5 innings allowed 7 hits, 3 runs and he struck out 1. He earned the win for the Astros bringing his record to 1-0 and his ERA at 5.40.  Jose Valverde came in to get the save and did just that earning his 3rd of the season striking out 2 in the process. Johnny Cueto got the start for the Reds looking to continue his strong performances. He worked 7 innings allowing 8 5 runs, all earned, walked 2 and gave up a homer. He was given the loss for the game making it his 2nd loss in a row. His record is now 1-2 and his ERA has climbed to 4.05.

The Astro’s are showing some strong improvements both on pitching and hitters. The pitching hasn’t become as much of a liability as many people thought, including me. It great news and are now making their way to becoming a contender in their division.

The offense stuck again against the Cincinnati Reds as the Astros pick up their 4th victory in a row. The win brings their record to 10-12 this season and brings them closer to being a contender in the NL central.

They tallied 14 hits in the game including 3 extra base hits. The most impressive part of the game was win they attack the Reds for 7 runs in the top of the 4th. Hunter Pence had a very good game going 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. The RBI bring his total to 8 for the season and his batting average is now at .256 as he attempts to bring himself out of his season beginning slump. Miguel Tejada had another good game as he went 1-for-5 with 1 RBI and a run scored. He is carrying this team right now with his impressive play and has his batting average at .360 so far this year. Kaz Matsui played his 2nd game in a row at the lead-off spot and went 1-for-5 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored.

Chris Sampson took the mound for Houston and had himself a very good game. He worked 7 innings allowed 8 hits, 2 runs, 1 homer, but he struck out 6. His ERA is now at 6.38 and he also earned the win bringing his record to 1-2. Wesley Wright came in for the 8th inning and pitched a scoreless inning giving up just 1 hit. Bronson Arroyo got the start for the Reds and was smacked around pitching just 3.2 innings allowing 10 hits, 8 runs, all earned and now has his ERA at 7.56 this season. He was given the loss and is now 0-3 this season.

4 wins in a row looks good no matter how you get them but the way the Astro’s are blowing teams out is beginning to look promising. Keep your fingers crossed that they can get 2 more in a row and bring their record to .500.

The Astros have won their 3rd game in a row as they took the 2nd and final game in the series against the San Diego Padres. The offense once again came through for Houston. The win brings their record to 9-12 this season.

The offense is beginning to show what people were expecting from them this season. They tallied 15 hits against Padre ace Jake Peavy as they tagged them for 11 runs. Miguel Tejada is playing out of his mind right now as he went 3-for-4 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored. His batting average is now at .370 this season and the RBI are now at 18. Lance Berkman also had a good game going 2-for-2 with 2 RBI and he was walked twice. Berkman has brought his average back over .300 and is now at .301. The best game probably came from Kaz Matsui who went 2-for-5 with 2 RBI and 2 runs scored but the best hits came when he hit a 2-run single in the bottom of the 8th inning to give the ‘Stros the lead and eventually the win.

Brandon Backe took the mound for Houston and pitched a strong game working 7 innings allowing 4 hits, 3 runs, and he struck out 4. His ERA is at 4.15 this season but he didn’t earn the win. Jose Valverde came in for the save but the save was blown. It is his 3rd of the season but he did earn the win ringing his record to 3-1. His ERA is at a ugly 9.00 this season and the blown saves are becoming a concern.

The wins are starting to roll in and I have nothing to complain about. They looked good and as we expected the average pitching is being carried by the well above average offense.

Houston Opened up the 1st game of a 2 game stand with the San Diego Padres with a 10-3 victory. The offense looked the strongest it has all season. The win is the ‘Stros 2nd in a row and brings their record to 8-12 this season.

The bats produced 13 hits against Padre pitching including 4 extra base hits. Miguel Tejada had another strong game going 4-for-5 with 3 RBI and 3 runs scored. He also hit a jack in the 2nd inning off Padres starter Justin Germano. The homer was his 4th of the season and his batting average is at an impressive .342. Lance Berkman also had a homer in the game going 1-for-3 with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. The jack is his 5th of the season and he has his batting average at a solid .282. Carlos Lee had a solid game as well going 1-for-3 with 1 RBI and 1 run scored. Michael Bourn stole 2 bases in the game bringing his season total to 13 this season which is tops in the MLB.

Roy Oswalt got the start for the Astro’s and had a very good game pitching 7 innings allowing 6 hits, 3 runs, 6 stike outs, but he allowed 2 homers. He did earn the win brining his record to 2-3 this season and his ERA is at a hefty 6.00. Justin Germano took the mound for San Diego and was absolutly punished by the ‘Stros pitching 3.1 innings allowing 10 hits, 10 runs, all earned, 2 walks and he gave up 2 homers. His ERA is now at 5.01 this season and his record is 0-2 this season.

Two games in a row looks good as the Astros inch their way closer to .500. If they can keep their winning ways going they will bring themselves out of the cellar of the NL Central.