Jeez, Wesley Wright. 93 pitches to get 15 outs? Astros lose 5-2.
*Wright got his second start of the season, and his second start against the Cubs, and while he did manage to get one more out than he did on July 20, it still wasn't very pretty. Wright has now posted a 9K:3BB in his two starts, with 14H/5ER in 9.2IP.
*The honeymoon is over for Nelson Figueroa, who gave up a 6th inning homer to Ryan Theriot - Theriot's first of the season, and his first homer in 700ABs.
*Carlos Silva enjoyed the longest outing since July 6 - having not gotten out of the 2nd in his previous two starts. Just to give you an idea, Silva had allowed 13H/11ER, 2K:5BB in his last 2.2IP. Last night, he threw 5IP, 5H/1ER, 4K:1BB, and threw 15 of his 21 first pitches for strikes.
*The Astros got 11 hits and still lost. It's the fifth time they've managed to get 11+ hits and lose the game. It's also the fewest runs they've scored when getting 11 hits all season.
*Chris Johnson was 2x4, extending his hitting streak to ten games. Since the All-Star Break, Johnson is 15x37 with a double, triple, and three homers.
*Jason Castro was the only position player to not get a hit, going 0x4 with a strikeout. Just some scary splits for you: With RISP, Castro is hitting .048/.091/.190 (1x21, HR). Against LHP, he's hitting .000/.118/.000 (0x15, 2BB). In July, he hitting .128/.196/.191 (6x47). We're not advocating pulling him or sending him back to Round Rock, just pointing things out.
*Berkman was 2x5 with an RBI last night to improve his July average to .206. This would be the lowest batting average Berkman has posted in a month since April 2009, when he hit .162 to open the season.
*Carlos Lee was 1x5, and since the All-Star Break and his one-game suspension, Lee is 7x40.
*Angel Sanchez was 1x4 with the only walk of the game - he has hits in 12 of his last 13 games.
Pitch Count Hero: Angel Sanchez (1x4, BB) - 24 pitches in five PAs.
Pitch Count Punk: Chris Johnson (2x4) - 13 pitches in four PAs.
Man of the Match: Do we have to? How about Michael Bourn - two hits and a stolen base.
Goat of the Game: Jason Castro or Wesley Wright?
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
