New set-up here at Astros County for game recaps, as the ones that we have been posting for a season and a third have grown tedious for me. And that's not the point of doing this. You can find excellent recaps at other sites including, but not limited to, MLB.com and the Chronicle's website. You don't need to come here for the exact same thing - that was never the intention of Astros County.
So after each game the County Clerk, a mid-level up-and-coming politian, and a generally miserable bureaucrat, will email me with notes following each game. There will be some of the same features in the recaps: Pitch Count Hero/Pitch Count Punk, Man of the Match/Goat of the Game, but also some generally interesting notes about the game in question. For instance, today's game, G57: Astros v. Cubs.
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Interesting game, today, Citizens. The Astros scored in just two innings, but that was enough to beat the Cubs 6-3.
*1-5 in the order went a combined 8x19 with 1K:1BB, while 6-9 went 1x12 with 2K:2BB.
*Geoff Blum was 0x2 with 2BB in his fourth start at Shortstop this season. He was 0x3 against Los Angeles on May 17 in his first, and has played short three times in the last week. The Astros are 3-1 in games that Blum starts at Short. And they are 16-27 in games Manzella starts.
*Carlos Lee hit his 8th homerun of the season, 94th as an Astro, and 315th of his career. It was his 46th first-inning homer - the inning in which he has hit the most homers. His 32 HRs against the Cubs are the most against any other team.
*The Astros made two basepath outs on the day: Keppinger thrown out at third trying to take the extra-base in the 1st, and Blum doubled off first on Feliz's popup.
*Feliz had two RBI on the day, which was just his 4th multi-RBI game on the season, and his first since May 23, when he had three RBI. Since his OPS was at a season-high .684 on April 28, Feliz has hit .202/.244/.264 in 33 games, with four extra-base hits. He is on an eight-game hit streak, however, in which he has hit .393.
*Brett Myers went 6.2IP, 8H/2ER, 6K:1BB for his 4th win of the season, making him the rotation leader in wins, and tying him with Brandon Lyon for the team lead. It was his fifth straight game with a 50+ Game Score, and he has recorded 18+ outs in each of his twelve starts.
*Myers' ten swinging strikes marked the seventh time that he has made opposing batters swing and miss 10+ times. He gave up two doubles, the first time in three starts he has allowed more than one XBH.
Pitch Count Hero: Lance Berkman (2x4), and Hunter Pence (2x3, BB): 18 pitches in four plate appearances.
Pitch Count Punk: Carlos Lee (1x4): 8 pitches in four PAs
Man of the Match: Brett Myers!
Goat of the Game: Kevin Cash - 0x3 and three groundouts to the infield.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
