Well, thank God that win streak ended. The Astros lose to the Pirates for the first time in a sloppy, sloppy game, 12-6.
*Let's get a few things straight here. Bud Norris sucked it up, that's a fact. We should also remember that he has made 23 career starts. This is on-the-job training for him. Norris allowed 9H/7R (4ER), 4K:2BB in 4.2IP, needing 98 pitched to get 14 outs.
*Tonight's start is the fifth start (out of 13) that Norris hasn't completed the fifth inning. His Game Score of 26 is the third-lowest of the season (25 against the Dodgers, 19 against the Braves).
*How about this: At home, Norris has allowed 33H/24ER in 29.1IP, 35K:17BB. With tonight's game, he's allowed 46H/22ER in 38.2IP, with 38K:16BB.
*Norris only threw 12 first-pitch strikes to 26 batters.
*The Astros allowed 17 hits to the Pirates tonight - a season high for them, as were the 12 runs. It's the 10th game this season that the Astros have allowed 15+ hits. Norris has started three of those games.
*Casey Daigle has had a rough time of it lately, especially tonight, when he allowed 5H/3ER in 1IP. It's a season-high for hits allowed, namely because relievers aren't normally allowed to remain in a game long enough to give up five hits. However, in the 12 appearances he's made, he's allowed 10 earned runs in 10 innings.
*In his 12 appearances, Daigle has allowed an earned run in seven of them, and the Astros are 4-8 in games in which he pitches.
*This is the 21st game in which the Astros have scored 6+ runs, and they are now 17-4 in those games. It's the 8th game that the Astros have allowed 10+ runs. They're obviously 0-8.
*Carlos Lee was 0x4, and looked like he was still suspended for missing a voluntary practice. It's the 31st 0-fer of his season. He only had 42 0-fers in all of 2009.
*Berkman was 0x1 with three walks drawn. His 50 walks push him to 14th in the Majors in walks drawn. Only Chipper Jones has more walks in fewer ABs than Berkman.
*Bourn was 1x5 with 2RBI on the night. It's the first RBI Bourn has recorded since July 1, which was also the date of his last extra-base hit before tonight's double.
*Of the 27 outs the Astros made, only five of them were outs recorded in the outfield. So if you can do math, 16 of the Astros' outs came in the infield, and six were by strikeout.
*The loss tonight drops the Astros to 20-20 since June 1, with 163 runs scored, and 188 runs against.
Pitch Count Hero: Lance Berkman (0x1, 3BB) - 22 pitches in four PAs.
Pitch Count Punk: Carlos Lee (0x4) - 10 pitches in four PAs.
Man of the Match: Uh...How about Berkman, who got on base three times.
Goat of the Game: Bud Norris.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
