Why They Lost
Because the offense is bad. And if the pitching isn't great, the losses will mount up.
Astros Pitching
| Name | IP | H/ER | K:BB | Pit-Str | CS/SS |
| Wandy | 6 | 6/3 | 4:4 | 107-59 (55.1%) | 17/10 |
| Sampson | 1 | 1/0 | 0:1 | 20-9 (45%) | 4/0 |
| Lopez | 2 | 2/0 (1R) | 1:2 | 39-22 (56.4%) | 6/3 |
The pitching staff threw first-pitch strikes to 21 of 42 Rays batters, and the Rays have seen 323 pitches in two games. The Astros have seen 222.
That's pretty much all I have to say about that.
Astros hitting
Again, nothing really going on. The Astros let Niemann off the hook in the first inning, loading up the bases with one out. And then Pence and Blum grounded out to end it, having scored just one run. Berkman hit his 5th homer of the year, and that was it.
The Astros were 5x33 with 7K:1BB, and all five hits came from 1-4 in the order, with Berkman as your lone multi-hit gamer (his first multi-hit game in seven games - his 5th of the season). Lineup spots 5-8 were 0x15 and an RBI from Pence's groundout.
One thing I do want to point out is the offensive difference between these two teams. Let's look at the OPS of lineup spots 1-8, with the format going TB/HOU:
Leadoff: .679/.709
#2: .886/.702
#3: .798/.784
#4: .964/.572
#5: .672/.649
#6: .692/.667
#7: .661/.532
#8: .508/.585
Yes, that is correct. The Rays have some guys who are struggling, but it really helps when the Rays' clean-up guy (Longoria) has an OPS 392 points higher than Carlos Lee's.
Pitch Count Hero: Bourn (1x4) - 18 pitches in four PAs
Pitch Count Punk: Blum (0x4) - 9 pitches in four PAs.
Man of the Match: Jeez. Let's go with Berkman, shall we?
Goat of the Game: I don't even know. How about Blum?
