Why They Lost
Because Bud Norris was completely ineffective. In 2.2IP, Norris gave up six hits and four walks. And because the two pitchers behind him were completely ineffective. Wilton Lopez gave up 2ER in 1.1IP and Brian Moehler gave up 6H/3ER in 3IP. Jeff Fulchino was the only Astro pitcher to not allow a baserunner.
And because the Astros offense was ineffective. Again. This time, they went 0x10 w/RISP (Pence and Lee both going 0x3 w/RISP), and leaving ten men on base.
Phillies' pitcher J.A. Happ wasn't killing them, either. He needed 103 pitches to get through 5IP, and only threw first-pitch strikes to 12 of the 24 batters he faced.
Astros Pitching
Notice there's a different category below: CS/SS. This is the number of called strikes/swinging strikes by each pitcher, to see how filthy their stuff was.
| Name | IP | H/ER | K:BB | Pit-Str | CS/SS |
| Norris | 2.2 | 6/3 | 3:4 | 82-44 (53.7%) | 13/4 |
| Lopez | 1.1 | 3/2 | 1:0 | 28-19 (67.9%) | 5/5 |
| Moehler | 3 | 6/3 | 1:1 | 54-34 (63%) | 9/4 |
| Sampson | 1 | 1/0 | 0:0 | 7-5 (71.4%) | 2/0 |
| Fulchino | 1 | 0/0 | 1:0 | 13-10 (76.9%) | 2/1 |
Meanwhile, seven of the Phillies' extra-base hits were for extra-bases: six doubles (two off Norris, two off Moelher, two off Lopez) and a homer (Utley, off of Lopez). Five of the Phillies' eight runs came with two outs, and they still left 11 on base, as they went 6x17 w/RISP.
Astros hitting
Unbelievable. At least Hunter Pence got his first hit, an infield single. The pitch count with these guys is incredible. Astros hitters got ahead of J.A. Happ in half of their plate appearances. When starting out with a ball, Astros hitters were 5x18, 2BB, 5K (including one Chris Johnson AB in the 4th where he started with a 3-0 count, and struck out on seven pitches.
The only guy hitting for this team is Jeff Keppinger. If Keppinger comes out of the lineup anytime soon, then Brad Mills has cut a deal to get a part of that $1 million to the first person to throw a perfect game sweepstakes that MLB2K10 is putting on. Keppinger was 3x4 with the only extra-base hit of the night for Houston. Tommy Manzella had the other multi-hit game. Could you have imagined a start to a season where the hottest hitters were Jeff Keppinger (.545) and Tommy Manzella (.300)?
Pitch Count Hero: J.R. Towles (0x4) - 25 pitches in four PAs
Pitch Count Punk: Tommy Manzella (2x4) - 12 pitches in four PAs. But whatever works.
Man of the Match: Jeff Keppinger. He was on base three times this game, and it's not his fault that nobody knows what to do with him on base.
Goat of the Game: Bud Norris. Give me a break, man.
