Why They Won
Well, they almost didn't. If Chris Sampson hadn't come in to clean up Brandon Lyon's mess, that might have been it. But Roy threw a gem, and the Astros got some clutch hits - including a homer from J.R. Towles in the midst of a 3x4 day.
Astros Pitching
| Name | IP | H/ER | K:BB | Pit-Str | CS/SS |
| Oswalt | 7 | 5/0 | 6:0 | 101-67 (66.3%) | 19/10 |
| Lyon | 0.2 | 4/3 | 1:0 | 20-14 (70%) | 2/2 |
| Sampson | 0.1 | 0/0 | 0:0 | 9-6 (66.7%) | 0/2 |
| Lindstrom | 1 | 0/0 | 2:0 | 16-10 (62.5%) | 3/2 |
What the heck, Lyon? Roy left with a 4-0 lead and in comes the $15 Million Man:
Theriot: 2-2 ground out to first
Fukudome: 1st-pitch single to center
Lee: 1-2 double to left center
Ramirez: 1st-pitch double to left, Lee and Fukudome score (4-2)
Byrd: 6-pitch swinging strikeout
Soriano: 1-1 double to left (4-3)
And Sampson came in and got Fontenot to ground out to second, with the tying run in scoring position. All the hits that Lyon gave up were pulled to left, except for Fukudome's single up the middle.
The Cubs got an extra out when Tommy Manzella made an error that allowed Theriot to get on base, and then Lindstrom's wild pitch sent him to second. Thank God Fukudome struke out swinging to end the game with, again, the tying run in scoring position. And the Cubs were 2x9 w/RISP.
Astros hitting
Pence and Lee had back-to-back hits for the first time this season, so that was nice, but 3-4-5- were a combined 2x12. Amazingly, that's an improvement.
The Astros again saw fewer pitches than the Cubs, but hey, Roy drew a walk. So that walkless streak ended at 81 plate appearances, but that was the only walk. If we're going by position players without a walk we're sitting at 108 plate appearances, and counting...
Let's hear it for J.R. Towles, though, huh? Credit where it's due. That dude was 3x4 with 2 RBI and two runs scored. He raised his batting average from .056 to .182 (that's 126 points if you're lazy), and his 3RBI in 2010 match his 2009 total.
Keppinger continued his hot streak with a 1x4 day, extending his hit streak to three games, and his on-base streak to nine games. Keppinger was 0x1 in the season opener, and has been on base in every game since (didn't play on April 12). Towles and Keppinger also had 2-out RBI.
Pitch Count Hero: J.R. Towles (3x4) - 21 pitches in four PAs.
Pitch Count Punk: Hunter Pence (1x4) and Pedro Feliz (0x4) - 10 pitches in four PAs.
Man of the Match: Roy should get this, but it's going to J.R. Towles, because the blond fella deserves it.
Goat of the Game: Brandon Lyon. You're already up against a wall, you have to take it upon yourself to make the decision to sign you at least look like a wash.
