Houston took game 3 of a scheduled 4 against the San Francisco Giants on Wednesday 6-3. The win gives them a 2-1 series lead and puts them back in the win column after dropping game 2. Houston has continued to rise above .500 and now have their record at 23-18 putting them in 3rd place and leaving them just 1.5 games back from the 1st place Cubs.
The ‘Stros started the game off nicely getting a 2-run homer from Lance Berkman that contributed to the 3 the team recorded in the 1st inning. Unfortunately the Giants came into the bottom of the 2nd inning looking to even the score and did just that when Aaron Rowand hit a 2-run jack of his own, and the Giants finished the inning with 3 runs. The bats seemed to fall asleep from then until the 7th inning when Houston put up 1 run and then 2 more in the 8th making the score 6-3 which ended up being the final. Miguel Tejada had another great game for the club going 3-for-5 with 2 RBI and a run scored. He now has his batting average up to .345 and his RBI total is at 31. Miggy has continued to carry the ‘Stros through this winning month. Lance Berkman also had a good game going 1-for-4 with 2 RBI and 1 run scored. The hit was the 1st inning homer Berkman hit giving him a total of 14 on the season. He also has his bating average at an unheard of .388 and his RBI total is 40. If I were to pick an early season team MVP it would be Berkman by a landslide. Another solid game came from catcher Brad Ausmus who went 1-for-4 with 2 RBI and a run scored. His batting average is at a below average .240 and his RBI now stand at 5.
Brian Moehler took the mound for Houston and pitched a solid game. He worked 5 innings giving up 8 hits, 3 runs and 2 Ks. He didn’t earn the win because the game was still tied when he left in the 5th inning. Oscar Villarreal did earn the win though pitching just 1/3rd inning in the 6th and was the last player to pitch before the Astros took the lead. His record is now 1-3 this season and his ERA is at 5.48. Jose Valverde came in to close the game out and did, earning his 10th save of the seasoning and has continued to drop his ERA, which stands at 4.35.
I was a little worried that they wouldn’t recover from the game 2 loss and that the Astros might get back to their losing ways but they proved me wrong once again. The way the offense is hitting and how the pitchers are throwing give no reason why this team shouldn’t stay above the .500 mark.
