Recap for G154 - Reds @ Astros

Just to put this in perspective, the Astros have lost nine straight against the Reds - dating back to April 28. Houston is 3-12 against Cincinnati this season. Oh, I guess maybe by now it's obvious that the Astros lost, again, 10-4 to Cincinnati. And here's something: Since sweeping the Phillies, the Astros have lost 12 of 15, taking themselves from a team three games under .500 to a team 11 games under .500. Let's do the thing:

Paulino: 5IP, 9H/8ER, 3K:4BB, 14/27 first-pitch strikes, 23/58 non-contact strikes (10 called:13 swinging)
Brocail: 1IP, 1/3 FPS, 2/7 NCS (2c)
Byrdak: 1IP, 1K:1BB, 2/3 FPS, 2/7 NCS (2c)
Gervacio: 1IP, 1H, 3K, 4/4 FPS, 7/10 NCS (2c:5s)
Fulchino: 1IP, 2H/2ER, 1K, 3/5 FPS, 9/15 NCS (2c:7s)

Paulino was able to recapture former Ugly in his worst outing since the San Francisco game that got his rear end demoted, allowing 13 baserunners to 15 outs. Surprising stat of the night: Brocail, with his scoreless inning, has lowered his ERA to 2.87. I still don't think it's enough for the Astros to exercise his option, where I think they'll instead go for the $250,000 buyout.

After throwing in six games from Sept 12-19, tonight was Fulchino's third game from Sept 20-present. Whatever. Francisco-Nix-Miller (#6-8 in the lineup), went 5x11 with three runs and seven RBI. That's brutal. Little Corky Miller raised his average to .192.

Offensively, it was pretty much Tejada. 4x4 with 2RBI. Otherwise, there were a whole bunch of 0-fers: Lee (0x4), Blum (0x4), Matsui (0x4) - and in a forlorn look at Whatmighthavebeen, Edwin Maysonet, in a ridiculously limited sample, got himself another hit, and is hitting .308. His batting average is 56 points higher than Matsui's, and his OBP is 42 points higher. I know. We're talking about a much smaller number of plate appearances, but it is worth noting that we're also talking about a difference in $5.1 million in salary. The following players are currently hitting below .260: Blum (.250), Matsui (.252), Quintero (.240), Erstad (.194), Coste (.225), Michaels (.238), and Keppinger (.257).

The Astros were 2x8 with RISP, with both hits coming from Tejada, and Lee and Berkman going 0x2 with the opportunities for the big hits.

Man of the Match: Miguel Tejada. Tonight was his 5th 4-hit game of the season, his 18th 3+ hit game, and his 54th multi-hit game of the season. He's making this really difficult.

Goat of the Game: Felipe. Paulino.