Houston was swept again in back-to-back series but this time it was against the Baltimore Orioles. The 8th straight loss brings the ‘Stros record to a weak 33-40 as they continue to sit in 5th place and now are just .5 games away from being in dead last in the NL Central.
The offense actually came to play in this one but the game was once again fumbled by the poor game by the pitchers. Miguel Tejada had the best game for the ‘Stros going 2-for-5 including a homer with 2 RBI and a run scored. He now has his home run total up to 10 this season with a batting average of .294. Lance Berkman also pitched in with an RBI going 3-for-5 with 1 RBI. With the 3 hits he has his batting average at .366 with a total of 59 RBI. Kaz Matsui and Hunter Pence also contributed in the RBI stat as they both went 1-for-4 with the RBI.
Shawn Chacon took the mound for the Astros and had a very hard time getting any outs. He worked 5 innings allowing 8 hits, 6 runs, all earned and 4 walks. He was given the loss for the game bringing his record to 2-3 this season with a 5.04 ERA. Tim Byrdak came in for some relief work and pitched a solid 2 innings. He only gave up 2 hits and 1 run in that time.
Houston needs to figure something out, and fast. They have quickly gone from one of the hottest teams in the NL to one of the coldest in what seems like overnight. Cecil Cooper needs to get things together so he can get his guys out of this funk for the series they beging with the Rays on Friday.
