The back end of the rotation is going to have to do more than that. The Astros blew an early 3-run lead and a good little streak of wins (6 of 8) before running into the Buzzsaw formerly known as the New York Mets, losing - once again - 8-3 today at Minute Maid Park. The only good news of today is that the Cardinals got the piss kicked out of them again against the Phillies. Still, the Astros should be winning these types of games, against - I'm sorry, but it's true - a mediocre Mets team with ten players on the DL.
Despite the early lead, Moehler didn't make it out of the 5th, and then Arias came crashing back to earth. Here's the thing:
Moehler: 4.2IP, 8H/5ER, 2K:2BB, 15/25 first-pitch strikes, 20/57 non-contact strikes (17 called:3 swinging)
Wright: 0.1IP, 1K, 0/1 FPS, 3/3 NCS (2c:1s)
Fulchino: 2IP, 1K, 3/6 FPS, 5/14 NCS (3c:2s)
Arias: 2IP, 5H/3ER, 2K, 7/10 FPS, 8/22 NCS (7c:1s)
So yeah, not a good outing, and the Astros will need more out of Ortiz and Moehler to keep this interesting for much longer. This week is a brand-new week, however, with games against the Cubs and Cardinals. Still, the last two games were pretty bad.
The only offense came from 3-4-5 of Lee, Blum, and Pence, who combined for a 7x12 night - Lee getting three hits. Coste pitched in with a single, as did Tejada and a pinch-hit from Matt Kata (his second in two games). But add two baserunning outs - Blum thrown out at home, Pence thrown out at second, both in the first inning - and that's How to Kill a Rally 101.
Man of the Match: Carlos Lee, I guess. 3x4 with an RBI.
Goat of the Game: This one's going not to Brian Moehler, but to Pudge. 0x1 with RISP, 0x4 with 3Ks and an error.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
