March 26, 2008
Lefty C.C. Sabathia pitc=
hed
seven fine innings, four perfect, striking out six and walking none. Bourn went 0-5 with a strikeout to
lead-off the first. Cruz had a
pinch-hit two-run double. Tej=
ada
went 2-3 with a double and an RBI. <=
/span>Loretta
and Lee went 0-3. Pence went =
1-3
with a walk and two runs scored.
Wright pitched to five Indians in an inning and a third, walking one=
and
whiffing one. Oswalt pitched =
three
and two-thirds innings, walking one and striking out none as he threw 91
pitches and booted a ground ball in the first. Please check back for more!
March 25, 2008
The ‘Stros take a =
loss
and a tie back to their final 2008 Grapefruit game in
The projected lead-off b=
atter,
Bourn, has 127 MLB at-bats. T=
he
right-fielder, Pence, has 456 MLB at-bats.=
Pence appears to be the real deal, but it takes about enough imagina=
tion
seeing Pence hobbled by injury as it does seeing Brittney Spears naked. Erstad and Cruz are necessities fo=
r the
Astros’ outfield and Jastro can only wish Bourn was a Rule V pick that
can be offered back to Philly. Newhan,
Abercrombie, Paronto, Hernandez and Chacon should be packaged for trade, but
together probably couldn’t get Burkypoo; thank God.
The central division is
completely up for grabs and Coop & Co. must be focused to win. Barring trades, nine players must =
leave
camp. Good-bye Newhan, Quinte=
ro, Hernandez,
Oh, the ‘Stros los=
t 10-9
in the bottom of the ninth-inning this evening (
Tomorrow at 1:05 EDT the=
Tribe
come to
March 24, 2008 Jupiter, =
Fl.
Chacon took the mound th=
is
afternoon in the bottom of the first inning with a 4-0 lead. The first five Marlins reached bas=
e and
the first three scored. Chacon
labored thru five innings, throwing 96 pitches, and left the game with a 9-6
lead. Michael Bourn came to t=
he
plate six times without reaching base and struck out once, making him 0-13 =
in
his last 13 at-bats with three strikeouts.=
Cruz homered and doubled, driving in two and scoring once. Erstad went 3-5, scoring twice, and
Perez added a solo homer. The=
Perez
and Cruz back-to-back homers to lead off the Astros’ fifth inning make
the third time the ‘Stros have hit back-to-back homers this spring.
Wesley Wright blew the s=
ave,
giving up two runs in the ninth to tie the game in this sandlot affair. After giving up only three hits th=
is
spring, the first four Fishies he faced singled. He struck out two and ended the ni=
nth
with the bases loaded and a full-count strikeout and was served a good dose=
of
major-league pressure that should provide great schooling. Please check back for more Astros
coverage!
March 23, 2008 Disney, F=
l.
Woody ran into trouble
immediately in the bottom of the first inning, allowing three earned runs,
before pitching the next five scoreless innings. Woody retired 15 Brave starters on
ground balls and three of the six hits he allowed were on ground
balls—including a bunt single by Gregor Blanco to lead off the
fourth-inning. Woody retired =
the
side in order twice and pitched to only four batters in two other innings.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> For more on the Astros’ pitc=
hing
please see The Re=
al
Story.
Of the Astros’ six=
hits—all
off of
Runelvys Hernandez gave =
up a
homer to McCann in the seventh and Chad Paronto pitched a perfect eighth,
striking out two.
Tomorrow, righty Shawn
Chacon—a “lock” as the Astros’ fourth starter by
many—will face righty Chris Volstad and the Marlins in Jupiter,
March 22, 2008
Just when you can smell =
the
beer and hotdogs from the first regular season game, less than a week away,=
the
Reds and Astros play like little-leaguers.=
Before the official scorer made changes in the sixth-inning, after t=
hree
innings of play the score was 3 unearned runs on three hits and two errors =
for
each team.
Pence had a couple of hi=
ts and
scored once, Tejada drove in two with a double and a single, and Wright loo=
ked
good in his perfect sixth-inning.
Towles had a double in his first start in a more than a week with the
Astros and Newhan added a couple of hits.
The Real Story
surrounds tomorrow’s start for Woody Williams, supposedly fighting for
the fifth-spot in the Astros starting rotation. He will face lefty Mike Hampton in
Disney at 1:05 EDT.
March 21, 2008
Roy Oswalt pitched to 25
Marlin batters in five innings and surrendered 10 hits and 4 runs. Including the Marlins’ start=
er
Andrew Miller, every starter except catcher John Baker had a hit off of Roy,
and Baker tagged Roy for a sacrifice fly RBI in the 4-run fourth inning.
Pence continued hitting =
the
ball well, going 3-3 with a stand-up triple. Cruz went 2-3 with a 2-run homer
(batting from the right-side) and a double (batting lefty) off of the
right-field wall.
The Astros were trying t=
o even
their spring record at 12-12, but the Marlins managed to improve their reco=
rd
instead, now 16-8 in the Grapefruit League.
The Reds come to
March 20, 2008 Viera, Fl=
.
Blum’s two-run hom=
er
with two-out in the top of the ninth secures another (5 wins in last 7 game=
s)
victory for the ‘Stros. Much
more coming, so please check back!
March 19, 2008
Righty Shawn Chacon stru=
ck out
four in five innings of one run baseball and Jose Valverde struckout Chipper
Jones and Mark Teixeira in a perfect sixth inning for the Astros. Miguel Tejada went 4-4 with a two-=
run
homer in the first. Pence wen=
t 3-4
with a two-run homer, a double and an RBI single. Cruz led off the Astros’ eig=
hth
with a double and scored the winning run on a fielders’ choice ground=
out
by Abercrombie.
Villarreal gave up a fiv=
e-run
eighth inning after he started the inning hitting a batter and striking out
one. Four straight grounders =
thru
the right-side of the infield (Ausmus/Newhan), a bunt-hit and a double chas=
ed
Villarreal. Wright whiffed th=
e only
batter he faced to end the inning.
Chris Sampson will start
tomorrow against the Nats’ lefty Odalis Perez in Viera, Florida, at 7=
:05
EDT. Expect to see a big dose=
of
Diaz, Abercrombie, Cruz, Q, Perez and Newhan as Coop & Co. sharpen the
razor!
March 17, 2008 =
Coop again demonstrated =
good
player management today, not making another round of cuts so many veteran
players could take advantage of the only day off this spring tomorrow with a
second day off today. Eight
homeruns were recorded in the game today as the wind was blowing out to
leftfield at over 20 mph. Eig=
ht of
the ‘Stros 12 hits went for extra bases and the ‘Stros only left
three men on base in the game.
Bourn and Pence had solo shots in the third inning, Newhan and Gorne=
ault
had 2-run shots and House had a 3-run blast. House also had a double in the
game. Perez and Diaz also dou=
bled
for the Astros.
Woody Williams got banged
around in four innings of work. He
was charged with 9 hits for 6 runs, 5 earned, giving up a homer and a tripl=
e to
Rafael Furcal (2-triples in the game), and a routine fly ball to left that
Abercrombie lost off of the bat of Ethier that was ruled a triple. Woody walked two batters and struc=
kout
one. Jastro watched the game =
on
MLB.TV and it looked like Woody and Q were not in synch most of the time.
Geoff Geary pitched to t=
he
minimum six batters over two innings of relief, striking out one. Ryan Houston pitched a scoreless
seventh, walking one batter.
Paronto pitched to five batters in the eighth, giving up three runs =
on
two homers and Furcal’s second triple, and recording two outs before =
Coop
pulled him for
Geary looked good in his=
two
innings and
March 16, 2008
Most of the healthy star=
ters
for the Mets were playing at home, in Port St. Lucie, supporting Pedro Mart=
inez
in his first spring start in two years.&nb=
sp;
So, no matter the outcome, Sampson had a tough start; since he’=
;s
expected to beat the minor-leaguers.
Sampson looked good over four innings, walking one and striking out
three. He was roughed up for =
five
hits—the last being an RBI triple--and five runs, recording only one =
out
on a sacrifice bunt, before being pulled for Lefty Wesley Wright in the fif=
th
inning.
Berkman hit a solo homer=
to
lead off the fourth and Cruz hit a 2-run shot in the three-run seventh. Quintero drove in Perez with a dou=
ble,
after Perez singled to start the inning.
Tomorrow the Astros will
travel to
Yesterday was the last
split-squad game for the ‘Stros this spring, so Jastro expects Coop &=
amp;
Co. will make some deep cuts from camp tonight. Jastro will make his cuts tonight,=
so
please check back!
Wasn’t
Sampson gets his first s=
tart
this spring and will oppose righty Nelson Figueroa.
March 14, 2008
Since this is a road gam=
e for
the Tigers, Wandy probably won’t face their projected starting
line-up. Lefty Nate Robinson =
should
face an Astros’ line-up of starters, except for Matsui (standing this
game out). Oh, Lee--not the b=
iggest
fan of spring training-- thinks he is in a hitting slump and said he will t=
ake
the day off. These are the do=
g-days
of the Grapefruit League.
After two balls to lead-=
off
batter Pudge Rodriguez, Wandy is pulled from the game with a pain in his
left-side.
Abercrombie led off the =
Astros
half with a called strikeout after looking at four pitches from Robinson.
March 13, 2008
With many Dodgers’
regulars in
Chacon retired the Dodge=
rs in
order in the second, striking out DeWitt swinging to start the inning. The Astros scored five runs in the=
ir
half of the frame and Chacon took the mound in the third inning with a 5-0 =
lead. Ethier walked with one out, went t=
o third
on a single by Martin and scored on a single by Loney. Martin scored on Sweeney’s s=
ingle
and Loney scored on Repco’s double.&=
nbsp;
DeWitt tripled in Sweeney and Repco, but was erased on DeJesus’=
;s
missed signal on a squeeze play.
Dejesus reached on a walk but was stranded on first.
Righty H. Kurado, the
free-agent from Japan signed to 3-year, $35 million contract by the Dodgers,
retired Bourn and Pence on groundouts before striking out Berkman on a
full-count called third strike.
After Lee was retired on a flyout, Tejada hit a bloop-double that was
trapped by Repco on the rightfield-line.&n=
bsp;
Repco had trouble with Blum’s double to right-center and Tejad=
a,
who was tagging on the play, took third.&n=
bsp;
Both scored on Loretta’s grounder up the middle and Loretta st=
ole
second before Cruz walked. Lo=
retta
and Cruz scored on Quintero’s double to right-center. Bourn reached on an infield hit an=
d went
to second on Young’s throwing error; Quintero scored on the error by =
the
second-sacker. Bourn took thi=
rd on
a Pence single. Pence was era=
sed by
fielders’ choice when Berkman grounded to the pitcher; Bourn held at
third. Lee whiffed to strand =
the
runners and end the threat.
Kurado allowed an unearn=
ed run
in the third inning after Tejada started the inning reaching second on
Young’s second error of the game.&nb=
sp;
Tejada took third on a Blum flyout and scored when DeJesus tried to
throw him out at the plate on Loretta’s grounder to short. Loretta received the RBI on the
fielder’s choice that resulted in no outs recorded.
Statistically, lefty
Geoff Geary pitched two
innings of scoreless ball, but gave up three singles and a walk. He struckout two and was aided by =
a hard
hit ball (on a full-count pitch) that Perez, playing short, turned into a
double-play. Ryan Houston gav=
e up a
homer to DeWitt, two singles and a walk, leaving the bases loaded in the ei=
ghth
inning. Carlos Hines pitched =
the
ninth and allowed a hit and a walk, but was also aided by a double-play and=
a
hard-hit ball to second.
March 12, 2008
Woody got a good look at=
the
projected Tigers’ opening day lineup, the same group you should see in
Houston for the last two spring games on the 28th and 29th<=
/sup>
of March: CF Curtis Gunderson=
, 2B
Polanco, DH Sheffield, RF Magglio Ordonez, 3B Miguel Cabrera, 1B Carlos
Guillen, SS Edgar Renteria, C Ivan Rodriguez and LF Jacque Jones. Every Tiger faced Woody twice and =
hit
safely except Gunderson, who was retired all three times. Woody gave up a one-out solo homer=
to
Polanco and a double up the third base line by Sheffield in the first, but =
Lefty Kenny Rogers pitch=
ed
five innings, retiring the ‘Stros in order in the first, third, fourth
and fifth. He struck-out Bourn
looking to lead off the game and Erstad looking to end the fourth. Berkman led off the second with hi=
s second
homer of the spring (batting from the right-side against the lefty. Wigginton reached on a grounder ru=
led an
infield hit to Cabrera at third.
Cruz smashed a ground-rule double that would have scored Wigginton, =
but
both runners were stranded by an Ausmus groundout.
Erstad homered to lead o=
ff the
seventh and Cruz doubled in Wigginton after Wiggy was hit by the righty Vir=
gil
Vasquez. The Astros scored th=
eir
final run off of Tim Byrdak in the eighth on another ground-rule double with
two runners on base, this time by Wiggy.
Please check back for mo=
re on
the game, and Woody.
March 11, 2008
Reds’ right-handed
starter Aaron Harang struck out Bourn (called) and Cruz (swinging) to start=
the
game and retired the next seven Astros over the first three innings. He pitched to five batters in the =
fourth
and gave up hits to Bourn and Pence, both hit out of the ballpark. Harang hung around to pitch the fi=
fth
inning and was tagged with an unearned run after Abercrombie reached on a
ground ball fielding error by second baseman Brandon Phillips stole second =
and
scored on an RBI bloop single to center by Quintero. Quintero took second on the throw =
to the
plate, but was stranded when Bourn ended the inning with a fly ball.
David Weathers (rhp) sen=
t Cruz
down on a called third strike before giving up a double to Pence in the
sixth. Pence took third on
Blum’s groundout and was left there on a popout by Wigginton. Lefty Ken Mercker gave up a lead-o=
ff
bunt single by Newhan in the seventh, but Perez grounded into the 6-4-3
double-play to end the inning after Abercrombie was retired on a flyout to =
deep
centerfield. With one out in =
the
eighth and closer Francisco Cordero on the mound, Bourn singles on a ground=
er
to left and steals second. Bo=
urn
takes third on Cruz’s groundout, but is stranded when Diaz ends the
inning with a flyout.
The Astros added an insu=
rance
run in the ninth off of righty Mike Lincoln. Maysonet doubled to right to lead =
off
the inning and took third on a wild-pitch to Joshua Johnson. Johnson walked and Newhan was scor=
ed an
RBI on his 6-4-3 fielders’ choice that should have been a
double-play. Abercrombie was =
out on
a fly to center and Newhan was caught-stealing on the first pitch to Perez =
to
retire the side.
Brandon Backe looked gre=
at as
he mowed thru the tough Reds’ line-up in order over three innings,
striking out Scott Hatteberg swinging and Andy Green on a called third
strike. Backe surrendered a h=
it to
Ryan Freel leading off the fourth inning, but a 4-6-3 double-play by Keppin=
ger
erased Freel. Griffey walked =
and
was stranded at first on a groundout by Brandon Phillips.
Lefty Wesley Wright reti=
red
Adam Dunn, Hatteberg and Jose Valentin in order in the fifth inning on a li=
ner
and two groundouts. With the
substitutes in for the Reds, righty Dave Borkowski worked two scoreless
innings. Green led off the si=
xth
with a ground-hit to right, took second on Perez’s fielding error on a
grounder by Tatum, and went to third on a walk to Stubbs. With the bases loaded and no outs =
in the
inning, Jose Castro grounded into the 1-2-3 double-play. Rios was retired on a groundout to=
end
the inning and strand Tatum on third and Stubbs on second. Borkowski pitched a perfect seventh
inning, striking out Janish and Barker swinging.
Lefty Mark McLemore was =
helped
by a 4-6-3 double-play after giving up a single and a walk in the eighth
inning. The runner was strand=
ed at
third on a flyout to end the inning.
Right-hander Mike DeJean=
took
the mound with the 4=3D0 lead in the ninth.
He pitched to five Reds and was pulled by Cooper with two runs in, t=
he
bases loaded and no outs recorded.
Castro started the inning with a triple and scored after three
consecutive walks. Another Red
scored when the next batter singled.
Righty Ryan Houston gave up a walk-off double to clear the bases and=
end
the game. DeJean’s
performance, or the lack thereof, will be hard to forget even though it is =
just
spring training.
Tomorrow, the Astros go =
to
March 10, 2008
The
With League pitching the
fifth, Pence led off with an infield hit and moved to second on Erstad̵=
7;s
single thru the left side of the infield. The Puma rested that big stick on=
the
previously mentioned full-count strikeout call; but Pence and Erstad were
running and each got credit for a steal.&n=
bsp;
Lee drove in Pence on the first of four-straight groundouts to short=
.
Lefty Stephen Randolph p=
itched
a lousy and lucky fifth inning, facing only three batters. After a ball and a called strike to
outfielder Buck Coats, Coats bunts for a hit. The bullpen begins activity after =
the
count to Alex Rios goes to 3-0, but Rios is retired on a fly ball to
center. Coats is picked off of
first (1-3-6) before Adam Lind sees a pitch. Lind pops out to Lee in shallow
leftfield to end
Quintero entered the gam=
e as a
pinch-runner after Berkman’s lead-off double (he removed himself from=
the
game) in the eighth. Quintero=
took
third on Abercrombie’s infield single. Newhan, with a 3-0 count, fouled o=
ff a
pitch and then popped out to short (a terrible at-bat). Blum was retired on a foul-pop to =
first
and Wigginton was called out on strikes after Abercrombie had stolen second=
on
the previous pitch.
Righty Carlos Hines reti=
red
three Jays’ prospects in order in the eighth on two groundouts and a
pop-up.
After Halladay struck out
Erstad swinging to lead-off the third
Tomorrow, Brandon Backe =
and
Chris Sampson will attempt to pitch a few innings in
Kudos again to skipper C=
ecil Cooper,
this time for his choices in trimming the Spring Training camp by 9, to 44
players. Jastro is quite
impressed.
March 9,
Five Mets pitchers held =
the
‘Stros to three singles and two walks over nine innings. Jose Reyes scored the winning run =
with a
homer over the rightfield fence on a 2-2 count leading off the first inning=
off
of Jack Cassel. Several veter=
ans
had the day off, not making the trip to Port St. Lucie, and the batters that
did make the trip were also off at the plate.
Second-sacker Newhan too=
k a
one-out walk on a full-count in the second, stole second and was stranded at
third after a wild-pitch and strikeouts by Victor Diaz (0-3, 2K) and Nick
Gorneault (1-3, 2K). Newhan w=
as the
only batter to reach base off of Mets starter John Maine (rhp) over four
innings. Gorneault hit a grou=
nder
off of third-baseman Wright’s glove with two-out in the fifth, ruled a
hit, and was stranded at first—the only baserunner allowed by Billy
Wagner (lhp), who worked one inning and struck out Newhan and Diaz before t=
he
hit. Aaron Heilman (rhp) work=
ed two
innings and faced the minimum six batters.=
He allowed a grounder up the middle for a hit by Erstad (1-3) that w=
as
erased on the 5-4-3 inning-ending double-play by shortstop Tommy Manzella (=
1-4,
GIDP), and struck out Wigginton (0-3, K) in the seventh. Ricardo Rincon pitched a perfect e=
ighth,
striking out Gorneault and House (0-3, K) swinging. Carlos Muniz pitched the ninth, al=
lowing
a two-out liner to left by Manzella and a walk to Thomas Perez (0-0, W) bef=
ore
ending the game with a fly ball to right by Y. Ramirez (0-1). Hunter Pence and Quintero were als=
o held
hitless by Mets pitching, both going 0-3 at the plate.
Righty Jack Cassel pitch=
ed the
first three innings for the visiting Astros. He pitched to 14 batters, giving u=
p 2
runs (1 earned) as the Mets hit for the cycle with 4 hits, an error (Wiggin=
ton,
fielding), an RBI sacrifice bunt, 3 swinging whiffs, 3 fly-ball outs and th=
ree
groundouts. The double, by
outfielder Angel Pagen, was of the hustling pop-up variety on a ball that
landed in shallow right-center.
Pagen took third on a groundout up the middle, 6-3, and scored on a
sacrifice bunt by middle-infielder
Righty Runelvys Hernandez
pitched the middle three innings.
He faced 12 batters, retiring the first 6 he faced and striking out
Pagen. Hernandez walked third
baseman David Wright to lead off the sixth and Wright advanced to second on=
a
passed-ball (in the dirt) by Quintero, and then went to third on a groundou=
t to
second. Hernandez walked Saen=
z and
Pagen to load the bases with one out.
Wright scored on Damian Easley’s sacrifice-fly to left. Castro popped out to Niekro at fir=
st to
end the inning and the day for Hernandez.
Righty Ryan Houston pitc=
hed to
six batters in the seventh inning giving up 3 one-out hits and a walk, but
allowing no runs thanks to an outfield-assist by Diaz on a play at the
plate. Quintero blocked the p=
late
nicely with his left-leg before applying the tag. Righty
Cooper and Company learn=
ed a
bunch this weekend, and should be ready to make the first round of cuts as
early as tonight. Please see =
The Real Story f=
or
Jastro’s thoughts.
The
March 8, 2008
Jastro will follow the N=
ats
game to look at ‘Stros pitchers Paulino, Valverde, McLemore, Brocail =
and
DeJean. Also, he doesn’t
really want to listen to the Braves’ radio guys. Abercrombie and Erstad will play t=
he
outfield with Lee and Victor Diaz will bat as the DH in the Nats game. Please check back for Jastro’=
;s
recap of today’s action.
March 7, 2008
The ‘Stros win 9-5= on 12 hits and committed 3 errors. = The Yanks had 13 hits and committed an error.&= nbsp; Diaz hit a 2-run homer for the ‘Stros and Betemit hit a solo s= hot for the Yanks. Houston had 18= total baserunners, 3 stolen bases (Newhan, Abercrombie, and Gorneault), a runner thrown out at home (Q) and 8 left on base.= There were 4 doubles (Bourn 2, Niekro, Perez), a triple (Newhan), an= d 6 singles (Pence 2, Quintero, Cruz, Niekro, Abercrombie). There were 2 walks (Manzella, Rami= rez), a hit batter (Blum by Pettitte), 2 runners reached on RBI fielders’ choices with no outs recorded (Newhan, Gorneault) and Quintero reached on t= he fielding error by Shelley Duncan playing first. All 9 runs scored RBI (Diaz 2, Nie= kro 2, Newhan 2, Cruz, Pence, and Gorneault) and 3 were unearned. Bourn was credited with a sacrifice bunt, moving Q to second on the 5-3 first out of the third inning off Petti= tte. There were 8 strikeouts recorded by Yankee pitching (Bourn and Newhan by Pettitte, Diaz and Newhan by Rivera, Q= by Steven White, Diaz by Brian Bruney, Y. Ramirez by Heath Phillips, and Manze= lla by Jose Veras). Please = see The Real Story.<= o:p>
Pettitte pitched to 11 b=
atters
over 2 1/3 innings and gave up 2 runs on 3 hits, including the 2-run dinger=
by
Diaz after Pettitte plunked Blum to start the second inning. Pettitte struck out Bourn swinging=
to start
the game in a 1-2-3 first. He=
also
struck out Newhan swinging in the second.&=
nbsp;
Righty Edwar Ramirez pitched to 2 batters and gave up a hit to Pence
before retiring Blum on a foul-pop to first to end the third inning.
Mariano Rivera pitched a=
1-2-3
fourth inning, striking out Diaz swinging and Newhan on a called third
strike. Both strikeouts were
3-pitch and Niekro hit the only pitch he saw for a groundout. The Yanks sent 5 pitchers more to =
the
mound over the game.
Righty Shawn Chacon reti=
red
the first and third innings in order on grounders as he pitched three
innings. He gave up 2 runs on=
3
doubles (A-rod, Lane-RBI,
Sampson also pitched thr=
ee
innings and retired the side in order in the fourth. He allowed 2 runs in the fifth inn=
ing
after a lead-off triple by
Righty-pitchers Ryan Hou=
ston,
Geoff Geary and Carlos Hines pitched to four batters each in the scoreless =
last
three innings for the ‘Stros.
Tomorrow the ‘Stro=
s play
two games in split-squad action, at the Braves in Disney and the Nats in
March 6, 2008
The ‘Stros got ple=
nty of
practice pitching and fielding today as the Tribe banged 19 hits, scoring 11
runs, while sending 47 Indians to the plate. Last year’s Cy Young winner,=
lefty
C. C. Sabathia, retired all nine batters he faced in three innings, striking
out Matsui, Pence and Towles swinging.&nbs=
p;
Six of the ‘Stros nine singles came in the four-run fourth off=
of
lefty Rafael Perez. Bourn gro=
unded
up the middle to start the inning and was replaced at first by Matsui on a =
6-4
fielders’ choice. Berkm=
an
singled Matsui to second on a liner to left. Matsui scored and Berkman hustled =
to
third on Tejada’s grounder to right.=
Tejada stole second and scored with Berkman on a hard hit to right, =
off
of first baseman Aubrey’s glove, by Pence. Pence went to third on LorettaR=
17;s
soft-liner to left and scored on Erstad’s single to right. Abercrombie hit a hard liner to Ca=
brera
at short that doubled Loretta off of second to end the inning.
In the fifth inning, Tow=
les
led off with a grounder to left off of lefty Fultz. Bourn makes the first out on a fly=
ball
to right. Towles stole second=
with
Matsui at the plate and moves to third on a grounder to short. With two out and a 2-2 count to Be=
rkman,
Fultz uncorks a wild pitch that allows Towles to score the ‘Stros fif=
th
and final run. Loretta collec=
ted
his second hit in the eighth and Gorneault singled in the ninth.
The best at-bat that
wasn’t came in the seventh inning.&n=
bsp;
With the Indians leading 10-5, righty Slocum loaded the bases with w=
alks
to Erstad and Bourn and hitting Perez with a pitch. Scott Elarton took the mound with =
two
outs and retired Manzella on a first-pitch grounder to third to end the thr=
eat.
Woody Williams pitched 2=
2/3
innings, giving up 5 runs on 6 hits, including a lead-off triple by Grady S=
izemore
and a 2-run double to Ben Francisco (4-4 in the game and a caught-stealing
second by Williams/Towles). W=
oody
recorded 4 strikeouts, 3 swinging, and walked two batters. He retired the side in order in the
second inning. Gervacio took =
over
for Williams with two out in the third and the bases loaded, facing only Jo=
sh
Barfield. Barfield knocked in=
2
runs with a single to left, but the inning ended with catcher Towles throwi=
ng
out Shoppach at third on Abercrombie’s throw to the plate.
Valverde pitched to 5 ba=
tters
in the fourth, giving up a run on 2 doubles (Andy Marte and Sizemore). Sizemore stole third but was left =
on
base. Backe pitched three inn=
ings,
giving up 4 runs on 7 hits including a 2-run homer (Aubrey) and 2 RBI doubl=
es
(Cabrera and Shoppach)—five consecutive 2-out hits in the sixth. Backe struck out two batters on ca=
lled
strikes and retired the side in order in the seventh. Paronto gave up a lead-off homer to
Snyder in the eighth, walked a batter and struck out Cabrera swinging. Villarreal pitched a scoreless nin=
th,
giving up singles by Marte and Brown and recording a strikeout.
Tomorrow the ‘Stros
travel to
March 5, 2008
The ‘Stros dominat=
ed the
scoring today after putting 17 runners on the bases by pounding 13 hits and
taking 4 walks. Eight runs sc=
ored, seven
were left on base (two on third, one on second), and two were doubled off (=
one
an outfield assist). There we=
re
five doubles, two each by Wigginton and Diaz (one by Perez) and three infie=
ld
hits (Quintero, Cruz, Newhan).
Seven RBI were scored to Cruz (2), Quintero (2), Newhan (2), Pence a=
nd
Wigginton. Quintero, Cruz and
Newhan recorded infield hits, the last two resulting in RBI. Pence and Newhan had RBI on sacrif=
ice
fly-outs, and Perez moved up to runners on a sacrifice bunt. Also collecting singles were Blum,=
Cruz
(2), Quintero (2) and Gorneault (currently 5-8 with a double, 5 runs scored=
, 2
RBI, no walks and a whiff—very curious stats for seeing only 13 total
pitches!). Having the pressur=
e from
not making the offensive highlights are Bourn (0-3, walk, 3 LOB—1 at
third), Manzella (0-1, K), Abercrombie (0-1, walk, LOB, base-running blunde=
r),
Niekro (0-1, 10 pitch fly-out: 0-12, RBI, SF, 3K, 2 foul-ball homers) and
Alberto Castillo (0-0, W, doubled off).&nb=
sp;
Isn’t it great, Jastro hardly mentioned Pence! Lee, Berkman,
Tejada, Towles and Ausmus were not to be found in this road-game.
Of note, Dan Wheeler cam=
e in
to pitch the fourth for the Rays and induced a ground-out to third by
Wigginton—two players traded for each other at last year’s trade
deadline. Diaz smashed a doub=
le off
of Wheeler, the only runner Wheeler allowed in his inning of work.
‘Stros righty Rune=
lvys
Hernandez, a long-shot for the final starter in the rotation, did not help =
his
chances in his 2 1/3 innings of work.
Only one run scored, in the first inning, off of a double, walk, dou=
ble,
fly-out (that Pence held the runners on second and third), whiff, walk and
ground-out. Hernandez pitched=
to 13
batters, allowing 4 hits, 2 doubles, 3 walks, 3 strikeouts, and leaving 6
runners on base. Of the two
ground-ball singles, second baseman Newhan should have made one of the
plays. Randolph took over and
impressed no one with a walk, ground-out, another walk and ground-out.
Lefty Jeff Cassel looked=
good,
giving up 2 unearned runs on a double, and 2 errors in the fourth inning.
The two players that Jas= tro consider the favorites to win the thirteenth position-player spot on the 25= -man roster, Cruz and Quintero, share honors for game MVP. Cruz went 3-5 with a run scored, 2= rbi, a whiff and was left on base twice. Quintero went 2-2 with a run scored, an RBI, a walk and left on base twice. He earned a tough erro= r when he was charged with missing a throw to the plate as he was trampled by left fielder Carl Crawford. See The Real Story.<= o:p>
Tomorrow,
March 4, 2008
Wow, what an offensive
show! The ‘Stros pulled=
off a
six run fourth inning yesterday, capped by a three-run homer by catcher J. =
R.
Towles. Towles also had two d=
oubles
in the game, going 3-3 with four RBI.
Blum, Tejada and Abercrombie also doubled in the game.
The ‘Stros travel =
to
Tigers 1st: Rodriguez ho=
mers
to center on the first pitch.
Polanco singles to center and takes second on Guillan’s 4-3
groundout. Ordonez pops out to
second. Cabrera reaches first=
on a
broken bat grounder that earned Tejada a fielding error and Polanco stays at
third. Renteria lines a doubl=
e to right-center,
scoring Polanco and sending Cabrera to third. Tito Perez grounds an rbi-single to
center, scoring Cabrera. Rent=
eria
is thrown out at the plate by Erstad to end the inning. 3 runs 1 earned run 4 hits HR 2B E=
6 LOB
‘Stros 1st: Robertson re=
tires
Matsui, Loretta and Tejada in order on a fly ball to right and two ground b=
alls
to third.
Tigers 2nd: Oswalt retir=
es
Clevlan, Guzman and Rodriguez on a groundout, fly out and strikeout.
‘Stros 2nd: Robertson
surrenders an infield hit to Lee (!) on a slow roller to third, but strikes=
out
Berkman, Blum and Erstad to strand Lee at First. 1 hit 1 LOB 3K
Tigers 3rd: Polanco sing=
les to
left and takes third on a double-play grounder by Guillan that earns Tejada=
his
second fielding error of the game.
Ordonez scores Polanco on a sacrifice fly to center and Cabrera hits
into the inning-ending 6-4-3 double-play. R H E6 GIDP
‘Stros 3rd: Cruz is out =
on a
fly to center. Ausmus lines h=
is
first hit of the spring to left and is left on first as Matsui whiffs and a=
fly
ball out by Loretta. H LOB K =
2AO
Tigers 4th: Brocail take=
s the
mound and retires Renteria on a 6-3 groundout. Perez lines a single to center and=
takes
second on Clevlan’s ground ball to left. Perez scores on Guzman’s gro=
und
ball to left and Clevlan moves to second.&=
nbsp;
Rodriguez whiffs and Polanco drives in Clevlan on Palonco’s
ground-rule double to center; Guzman to third. Guillan grounds out 6-3, leaving r=
unners
at second. 2R 4H 2B E6 2LOB
‘Stros 4th: Righty Todd =
Jones
retires Tejada, walks Lee and surrenders an infield hit to Berkman off of t=
he
pitcher; Lee to second. Blum =
knocks
both runners in on a double to right-center. Erstad lines a hit to right, runne=
rs on
first and third. Towles jacks=
a
3-run homer to left. Matsui g=
rounds
out and Loretta is retired on a fly to right. 6R 5H 2B HR W
Tigers 5th: Valverde reti=
res
Ordonez, Cabrera and Renteria in order on two grounders and a pop-up.
‘Stros 5th: Byrdak g=
ives
up a double off of the centerfield wall by Tejada, who takes third on a fla=
ir
single to right by Lee. Tejada
scores on Berkman’s sacrifice fly to deep center. Erstad reaches on an infield hit to
first that Byrdak was late covering the bag, Lee to second. Cruz whiffs, leaving two runners on
base. R 3H 2B 2LOB K
Tigers 6th: Borkowski str=
ikes
out Perez and Clevlan. Guzman
grounds a hit up the middle and is stranded by a grounder to first
unassisted. H LOB
‘Stros 6th: McBride comes =
in to
pitch and Towles leads off with a ball that one-hops off the wall in
left-center. Towles scores on
Matsui’s grounder up the middle; Newhan runs for Matsui and scores on
Loretta’s liner to right.
Manzella runs for Loretta and goes to third on a Perez liner to
center. Diaz pops out on an i=
nfield
fly and Berkman walks to load the bases for Blum, who grounds into the
inning-ending 6-4-3 double-play. 2R 4H 2B W GIDP 2LOB
Tigers 7th: Borkowski giv=
es up
a ball off of Manzella’s glove at short which is ruled a hit for
Sizemore. Sizemore scores on =
the
second of three straight groundouts.
R (s/b E) 3GO
‘Stros 7th: McBride gives =
up a
double to left-center by Abercrombie, who steals third. Ramirez whiffs. Towles doubles again, scoring
Abercrombie. After Newhan is
retired on a fly to center, Manzella scores Towles with a grounder to
left. Perez grounds out to th=
ird to
end the inning. 2R 3H 2B K LO=
B
Tigers 8th: Josh Muecke p=
itches
to 7 batters, giving up 3 runs on 5 hits, including a double and 2-run
homer. Muecke retires 2 batte=
rs on
a strikeout and ground out. G=
eary
takes over pitching with 2 out and runners on the corners, and retires the =
side
on a pop-out to second. 3R 5H=
HR 2B
2LOB
‘Stros 8th: Righty Beltran=
Walks
Diaz. House and Niekro whiff.=
Abercrombie walks and both runners=
are
stranded when Ramirez pops out to second.&=
nbsp;
2W 2K 2LOB
Tigers 9th: Geary gives u=
p a
line hit to center that is erased on a GIDP. Ramirez reaches on what is ruled an
infield hit to short and takes third on a ground-rule double that bounces o=
ver
the leftfield wall. Both runn=
ers
are stranded when Guzman pops out to short, ending the game. 3H 2B GIDP 2LOB
March 3, 2008
The Astros lost to the Y=
ankees
and showed some power from Lee on a third inning 3-run home run. Pence and Cruz both had two hits
including two doubles by Pence and one by Cruz. Both hits by Cruz resulted in RBIs=
. Other Astros collecting hits today=
were
Bourn, Matsui, Berkman, Manzella and Quintero (RBI). Bourn was caught stealing in the f=
ourth,
his second of the spring. Tho=
mas
Perez grounded into a game-ending double play.
Wandy gave up a double by
Cabrera off of the left field wall that Cruz played for the ricochet and fi=
red
to second just behind Cabrera on a close play. Jastro thinks Cruz should have pla=
yed to
catch the ball, but Wandy retired the next two batters leaving Cabrera at
third. Ensberg doubled on a <=
span
class=3DSpellE>catchable ball and Lane drove him in on a 6-3 groundo=
ut in
the second inning. Wandy was
squeezed at the plate by plate-ump Diaz and walked Cervelli, who was strand=
ed
at first. Please see Jastro&#=
8217;s
inning by inning summary below.
The ‘Stros visit t=
he
Yanks this Friday and should face Andy Pettitte.
Tomorrow, the Tigers com=
e to
More to come…..
Yanks 1st: Johnny Damon =
(LF)
grounds out to first base unassisted. Melky Cabrera (CF) doubles o=
ff of
the leftfield wall and advances to third on Robinson Cano’s (2B) grou=
nd
out to second. Shelly Duncan =
pops
out to left to strand Cabrera at third and end the inning.
‘Stros 1st<=
/u>: Bourn (CF) g=
rounds
out to Ensberg unassisted at first.
Matsui flies out to center.
Berkman, batting left-handed against the righty, reaches first base =
on a
fielding error by Ensberg on a hard-hit grounder. Lee flies out to center on a full-=
count
pitch to strand Berkman and end the inning.
Yanks 2nd: Ensberg doubl=
es on
a catchable fly ball that Bourn should catch in
right-center, takes third on a ground out to short by Betemit (3B) and scor=
es
on an rbi-groundout to short by Lane (RF).=
Cervelli is walked as Wandy is squeezed by plate ump Diaz, but is
stranded on a groundout to short.
‘Stros 2nd:=
Tejada flies =
out to
leftfield. Pence doubles to t=
he
leftfield corner. Wigginton f=
lies
out to left. Cruz hits an
rbi-single to rightfield and takes second on Lane’s overthrow to the
plate. Quintero scores Cruz o=
n a
2-1 count soft liner to rightfield and is stranded at first by Bourn’s
fly ball to rightfield.
Yanks 3rd: Damon grounds
out. Cabrera singles and Cabr=
era
takes third. On
‘Stros 3rd: Righty Jeff K=
arston
takes the mound and Matsui reaches on an infield hit up the middle and takes
third on another hit by Berkman. Lee plates them both with a 3-r=
un
homer to left. Tejada grounds
out. Pence doubles again, thi=
s time
to left-center, and is stranded by a foul pop to right by Wigginton and a
strikeout by Cruz.
Yanks 4th: McLemore take=
s the mound
and walks Cervelli. After Woo=
dward
strikes out, Damon’s broken-bat grounder forces Cervelli out at secon=
d on
the 4-6 fielders’ choice.
‘Stros 4th:=
Quintero grou=
nds
out. Bourn reaches on a nice
bunt-hit to third and is caught stealing on a pitchout, 3-4. Matsui is called out on strikes to=
end
the inning.
Yanks 5th: McLemore ret=
ires
Cano and Duncan on a fly ball and a pop-up.
‘Stros 5th:=
Karston retir=
es
Berkman, Lee and Tejada in order.
Yanks 6th: Cervelli rea=
ches
on a single and is thrown out stealing second. Woodward and Damon single. With runners on the corners, Cabre=
ra
drives both runners home on a fielding error by J. R. House at first base.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Cano walks, sending McLemore to the
showers. Righty Sammy Gervacio
gives up an RBI ground hit to left, scoring Cabrera and putting runners on =
the
corners with one out. Ensberg
whiffs, Betemit walks to load the bases and Lane is retired to end the top =
of
the inning.
‘Stros 6th<=
/u>: Lefty Edwar
Ramirez retires Pence on a grounder to second. Wigginton reaches on a hard ground=
er to
short that is ruled an error.
Wigginton takes second on a passed ball and scores on an rbi-double =
by
Cruz down the first baseline.
Quintero pops out to short and Gourneaux whiffs.
Yanks 7th: Righty Villa=
rreal
gives up a single and Ausmus throws the runner out attempting to steal seco=
nd
on a strikeout, throw out double play.&nbs=
p;
‘Stros 7th: S. Jackson r=
etires
Perez, House and Erstad in order.
Yanks 8th: Lefty Wesley
Wright walks Castro, who steals second and third. Wright issues another walk and a h=
it
batter to load the bases with one out, but gets out of the inning with a wh=
iff
and a grounder.
‘Stros 8th: McCutchen
pitches. Manzella reaches on =
a base
hit up the middle and moves to third on groundouts by Abercrombie and
Newhan. Ausmus whiffs to end =
the
inning.
Yanks 9th: DeJean pitch=
es the
only 1-2-3 inning of the game for the ‘Stros, striking out one.
‘Stros 9th: Melancon
pitches. Ramirez singles. Gorneault is out on a fly ball and=
Perez
grounds into a game-ending double play.
March 2, 2008
On AstroLaunch (KTRH AM =
radio
in Houston) before the game today, GM Ed Wade told Milo that spring trainin=
g is
for the pitchers and the Astros have some tough choices to make because they
have great players in camp; that some will eliminate themselves and others =
will
take advantage of the opportunity, making those decisions even tougher. Jastro thinks that spring training=
is
for management to solidify the pitching rotation, bullpen, batting order and
bench; and to create the 25-man roster for opening day. If there are no tough decisions to=
make,
the team is in trouble.
The Astros have won one =
of
five games this spring and have been outscored 36-18. Sure, it’s early into the
Grapefruit League, but all these position players are batting at a .263 clip
and have left 45 runners on base in the five games. The Astros have surrendered two un=
earned
runs and received three; 24 walks and received 16; four homers and hit one;
and, 22 strikeouts and struck out 33 times. Thirty-three strikeouts: Five each by Bourn (12 at-bats) and
Victor Diaz (0 for 8 at-bats); three by Abercrombie (9 at-bats); two each by
Niekro (0 for 10), Manzella and Blum (8 at-bats, each), and Tejada (7 at-ba=
ts);
and 12 other Astros have one each, Johnson and Castillo in their only at-ba=
t. Of Astros with more than one at-ba=
t;
Bourn, Niekro, Abercrombie, Diaz and Tejada have more strikeouts than hits
(17-7)!
Non-roster invitee Nick
Gourneaux (“Gorno”, per
Wade is correct, spring
training is about pitching, and Jastro thinks we are solid in that
category. Jastro thinks the 2=
008
Astros will contend for the NL Central if they don’t quit, again, in
August this year. Back to
today’s action…..Jastro flipped between the split-squad games on
Gameday Audio and offers the following summaries:
Astros =
at
Braves
Brandon Backe pitched to=
seven
batters over the first two innings issuing only a two-out walk to Prado in =
the
first. His outs were recorded=
on
three each, fly balls and ground balls.&nb=
sp;
Sampson, Paronto and Geary also pitched two innings each, giving up =
six
runs on 11 hits—including four doubles. Sampson coughed up six hits, inclu=
ding
two doubles (Escobar and Francoeur), and three runs while pitching to twelve
Braves. Paronto surrendered t=
wo
runs in the seventh after, retiring the side in order in the sixth, on a
single, RBI double (Josh Anderson, again) and two sacrifice flies (Shafer a=
nd
Diaz). Geary allowed a one-out
single (
Mike Hampton, the ex-Ast=
ro
lefty making his first appearance since an injury in 2005, allowed only a h=
it
to Cruz in the second while striking out one (Bourn) over his two innings of
work. Wigginton singled-in an=
RBI,
but was thrown out advancing. The
other three runs came on a sacrifice fly (Matsui), a ground out by House af=
ter
a Cruz double and stolen base, and on a bases loaded walk to Sutton.
The Astros were out-hit =
11-9,
but managed two more baserunners with four walks and a hit-batter. The Astros left two more men on ba=
se
than the Braves and lost two more baserunners (a pick-off of Bourn and the =
outfield
assist on Wigginton)—hmmmm.
Nationa=
ls at
Astros
The Astros out-hit the N=
ats
9-8, but the Nats out-slugged the Astros 5-2 and out-scored the Astros
8-3. Chacon surrendered a dou=
ble to
Milledge and a 2-run homer to Zimmerman in the first, facing eight Nats over
two innings. Paulino pitched a
perfect third and issued only a walk in the fourth. Valverde was all over the place wi=
th his
pitches as he gave up two walks, a single, a two-RBI single to Milledge and
struck out two in the fifth inning.
Brocail gave up back-to-back homers (Pena and Belliard) and a single=
in
the sixth. Muecke gave up two=
runs
over an inning and two-thirds on three walks, a hit, a hit batter and anoth=
er
double by Milledge. Hines gav=
e up
an unearned run in the ninth on a hit, walk, hit batter (Milledge!) and
fielding error (Newhan, fielding at second).
Berkman had an RBI doubl= e in the first after Loretta “tripled” to halve the Nats’ lead. Loretta hit an RBI grou= ndout in the fifth to score Erstad, who led off the inning with a triple to the r= ightfield corner. The Astros added a ru= n in the eighth on an RBI double by Maysonet, plating Gourneaux after a single.<= o:p>
The Yankees come to Kiss=
immee
tomorrow and Mike Mussina is expected to start against Wandy Rodriguez for =
the
Astros at 1:05 ET.
March 1, 2008
The Astros pitched and p=
layed
a great ballgame for eight innings on another beautiful day in
Woody Williams pitched t=
he
first two innings for the Astros.
He faced the minimum six batters, striking out Teixeira and Francoeu=
r in
the second, and surrendered a hit to Escobar in the first. Abercrombie threw out Escobar tryi=
ng to
advance to second on the single.
Williams was the workhorse that Jason Jennings was supposed to be la=
st
year for the Astros, though Williams’ numbers were not his best, and
Jastro expects that he will perform nicely for the Astros in the 2008 seaso=
n.
Runelvys Hernandez pitch=
ed two
innings for the Astros and gave up a two-out triple to Blanco in the third,=
but
stranded the runner. After an
infield hit by Escobar to lead off the fourth, Hernandez retired two batter=
s on
fly balls to center, gave up a soft liner to center and surrendered a 3-run
homer to Francoeur on a 2-2 count that gave the Braves a 3-2 lead. Kotsay grounded out to Niekro unas=
sisted
at first to end the inning and the game for Hernandez. Oscar Villarreal and Dave Borkowski
retired the Braves in order over the fifth and sixth innings, and Gervacio
struck out two batters in the seventh as he worked around an infield double=
to
first by Kotsay (Niekro should have stopped the bad-hopper). Brad James pitched the eighth inni=
ng,
giving up a two-out walk and then catching the runner stealing on a pick-of=
f.
Tom Glavine pitched to s=
even
batters over the first two innings for the Braves, striking out Bourn and
Matsui. He surrendered a two-=
out
homer to left by Ty Wigginton in the second, giving the Astros their first
homer of the Grapefruit League and a 1-0 lead. Royce Ring pitched two innings for=
the
Braves, giving up a run in both.
Abercrombie lead off the third with a grounder to third and reached =
on
Chipper Jones’ fielding error.
He stole second and continued to third on catcher McCann’s
throwing error; scoring on an RBI groundout by Quintero. After Tejada grounded out to start=
the
fourth, Carlos Lee singled on a liner to leftfield. Gourneaux ran for Lee and scored t=
he tying
run from first on an RBI double by Pence.&=
nbsp;
Pence reached third base on a passed-ball, but he was stranded by
Wigginton and Niekro.
The Astros wasted
opportunities to gain the lead in the fifth and sixth innings. Abercrombie walked to lead off the=
fifth
and was picked off stealing second on a 1-0 count to Quintero. Quintero, who lost 28 pounds and l=
ooks
good, promptly singled to left and was stranded at first. Tejada singled to lead off the six=
th
inning and, after Gourneaux struck out, Pence lined a single which put runn=
ers
on first and second; but, Cruz whiffed and Niekro grounded out to end the
threat.
The Astros scored twice =
in the
eighth off of a hit to lead off the inning by Newhan, an RBI double by
Gourneaux, and a two-out throwing error on Cruz’s grounder to third.<=
span
style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> Josh Johnson, who came in to catch=
in
the seventh, walked and he and Cruz were balked to second and third. Abercrombie, the only Astro to pla=
y the
complete game, ended the inning with a foul-pop behind first.
Reineke took the mound f=
or the
Astros in the ninth with a 5-3 lead and walked the first two Braves
batters. After retiring Sammo=
ns on
a full-count liner to first, Reineke surrendered a 2-RBI single to center by
ex-Astro Josh
Tomorrow the Astros will=
host
the Nationals and play a split-squad game visiting the Braves, both startin=
g at
1:05 ET. Mike Hampton will st=
art
for the Braves against Brandon Backe at Disney Stadium and in Kissimmee, Ch=
acon
will start for the Astros against John Lannan for the Nationals. Berkman will get his first Grapefr=
uit
action against the lefty in Kissimmee, batting right-handed. Jastro intends to follow and post
comments on both games.
February 29, 2008
The Astros threw the los=
s back
to the Tribe on a sunny afternoon in
Jack Cassel pitched the =
third
and fourth innings for the Astros, giving up two runs on five hits with a w=
alk
and a strikeout. Cassel faced=
seven
Indians in the third inning, allowing a run on three singles and a walk, and
struck out Cabrera with the bases loaded on a called third strike to end the
inning. He gave up a run in t=
he
fourth off of two doubles—the Tribes’ only extra-base hits of t=
he
game—but the third groundball out of the inning stranded another Indi=
an
at third base. Folks may know
Cassel from last year, when he split time between the Padres and the Portla=
nd
Beavers, or because of his star quarterback brother (Tom Brady’s
back-up).
The Astros used a differ=
ent
pitcher for each of the last five innings.=
Brocail put down the side in order in the fifth and Valverde struck =
out
two of the three Indian batters in the sixth. Moehler pitched the seventh, allow=
ing a
run on three hits and stranding two baserunners. DeJean pitched the eighth, allowin=
g a
hit to Chavez (who was thrown out stealing by Towles) and a strikeout. Hines pitched to the final three I=
ndian
batters, giving up a single that was erased on a 4-6-3 double play and stri=
king
out the third batter in the ninth.
The Astros were more
productive at the plate today, totaling 15 baserunners on 12 hits, a walk a=
nd
two batters reaching on infield errors.&nb=
sp;
The Astros collected three extra-base hits, all doubles with two com=
ing
in the ninth inning, by Erstad, Perez and the game-winner by Abercrombie.
Brad Ausmus caught Oswal=
t and
Cassel during the first four innings, Towles caught the fifth thru eighth
innings and Castillo caught the ninth.&nbs=
p;
Ausmus took lumber to the plate once and grounded out to short, but =
he
will be best remembered by
After Byrd pitched the f=
irst
two innings for the Tribe,
Tomorrow, Tom Glavine an=
d the
Braves make the short trip to
February 28, 2008
The Astros faced a new p=
itcher
starting each of the nine innings this afternoon and lost to the Indians in=
a
12-2 rout. The Astros scatter=
ed six
hits with six walks but could produce only two runs, leaving eight runners =
on
the bases and losing two to around-the-horn double-plays. The Astros waited until sixth inni=
ng to
collect their first hit and run of their 2008 Grapefruit League. Bourne led off the inning with a s=
ingle
up the middle, stole second base and scored on an RBI soft looping-liner by
Loretta.
Astros skipper Cecil Coo=
per
replaced the line-up in the bottom of the sixth inning, with the Astros los=
ing
3-1. The Astros managed one
extra-base hit, a hustling triple by second baseman Newhan leading off the
eighth, who scored on an RBI single by left-fielder Gorneault. The other two Astro hits were a se=
venth
inning lead off single by Abercrombie, playing center, and a two-out single=
by
Quintero in the ninth.
Starter Wandy Rodriguez
pitched to seven batters in two innings, giving up only a broken-bat single=
to
Loretta at shortstop to open the ballgame.=
Rodriguez, who is not guaranteed a role as a starting pitcher (that
should change quickly; heck, the Astros guaranteed Burke a starting spot for
the 2007 season way before Grapefruit League play last year), struck out th=
ree
batters, induced two fly ball outs and a soft liner to Loretta at
shortstop. Rodriguez looked g=
ood
enough to win with two runs of support when the “real” baseball
begins.
But this is the Grapefru=
it
League and six Astro pitchers gave up 14 hits, ten walks, a hit batter, a
stolen base and 12 runs in the final six innings. The Astros committed two errors in=
the
field, one throwing and the other by third baseman House on a potential dou=
ble
play grounder that opened the floodgates in the eighth with
The Indians replaced
two-thirds of their line-up in the fifth, giving
The same teams match up =
tomorrow
in