Why They Lost
Because the Astros are 1-7 when facing the opposing team's ace (and that's subjective, I know). But the offense didn't get anything - the only hit they got off Jimenez was an infield single to third that could have been counted as an error. And even that was the only hit they got until Manzella's infield single in the 8th. So when Roy makes one bad pitch and Troy Tulowitzki tattoos it - ESPN says it was 414 feet - to left and makes it a 3-0 game, that's all there is to it.
Astros Pitching
| Name | IP | H/ER | K:BB | Pit-Str | CS/SS |
| Oswalt | 6 | 3/2 (3R) | 8:3 | 106-73 (68.9%) | 29/8 |
| Chacin | 1 | 3/1 | 1:0 | 30-19 (63.3%) | 3/3 |
| Lopez | 1 | 0/0 | 0:0 | 7-5 (71.4%) | 0/0 |
| Fulchino | 1 | 0/0 | 2:3 | 30-13 (43.3%) | 2/1 |
That's Roy's ninth straight complete game, and he now has a 2.66 ERA. So...bummer for him. He did throw first-pitch strikes to 18 of 25 batters. There were two errors made in the game - one by Oswalt himself on a catch that allowed Carlos Gonzalez to reach first and later score on that homer.
Oswalt needed 33 pitches to get through the first inning, and four of the six batters in the first saw a first-pitch ball.
2nd inning: 8 pitches
3rd inning: 22 pitches
4th inning: 9 pitches
5th inning: 12 pitches
6th inning: 22 pitches
The 3-4-5 of Helton/Tulowitzki/Hawpe were 6x10 with 4BB and 4RBI.
What's up with Fulchino? Needed thirty pitches to get his three outs, only threw 13 strikes, and walked the bases loaded before getting Tulowitzki to strike out looking.
Astros hitting
If we didn't have an "Astros hitting" section, would anyone notice? They were 3x28 on the night, and only drew two walks (Berkman and, unbelievably, Feliz). And again, the impatience at the plate is stunning. The Astros only saw 120 pitches all night - compared to 173 by the Rockies (six walks help.)
Check this: Hunter Pence has walked once this month, and that was on May 1. So he's had one walk in his last 82 plate appearances, dating back to April 27.
As a team, the Astros have drawn 79 walks. All season. One per 18.4 plate appearances.
Pitch Count Hero: Feliz (1x2, BB) - 17 pitches in three PAs
Pitch Count Punk: Pence (0x3) and Manzella (1x3) - 11 pitches in three PAs.
Man of the Match: Roy Oswalt, I suppose.
Goat of the Game: Everybody gets a goat. There's no way to just single out one.
