Houston won the 2nd game of the scheduled 3 game series against the Boston Red Sox on Saturday, 11-10. The series is now tied at 1 game a piece with the final game on Sunday to be played. The Astros now look at a record of 37-41 as they continue to work their way back up the Central ladder.
The offense was once again carried by the play of Lance Berkman who came up clutch in the late innings to carry his team to victory. Berkman went 2-for-5 with 3 RBI in the game. His batting average now sits at .366 with a total of 66 RBI. Carlos Lee also played well going 3-for-5, including a homer, with 3 RBI and 2 runs scored. His home run total now stands at 18 with a total of 63 RBI. Mark Loretta also chipped in with 3 RBI hitting his 3rd home run of the season. Ty Wiggington also went deep hitting his 5th RBI of the year with a batting average of .277.
Brandon Backe took the mound for the Astros and had a shaky outing. He worked 5.1 innings allowing 9 hits, 6 runs, all earned, 3 walks and 5 Ks. He was relieved by Geoff Geary who also had a very rough night. He pitched just 2/3rds innings giving up 3 hits, 3 runs, and 1 walk. As bad as the pitching was early it was picked up by the showing of Doug Brocail who came in for the 8th inning allowing no hits, and no runs. He earned the win for the ‘Stros bringing his record to 3-3 with 3.18 ERA. Jose Valverde came in to close out the game and did just that getting his 20th save of the season, strking out all 3 in the inning.
A very good game for the Astros especially since it was against the BoSox in the late innings. The pitching was ugly but because the offense was so strong Houston now has a chance to win 3 straight series in interleague play. They will get that chance on Sunday in game 3.
