Well, that sucked. So did Nelson Figueroa. The Astros got doubled up by the Brewers, 14-7, to fall to 7-13.
*The two teams combined for 21 runs, 31 hits, and two errors in the longest game the Astros have played this season - 3:44.
*The Astros allowed double-digit runs for the second time this season. The Brewers' 14 runs are the most allowed by the Astros since May 31, 2010, when the Nationals beat the Astros 14-4.
*Dating back to 2010, the Astros are 1-21 when giving up 14+ hits (the Brewers had 17 hits)
*They are 0-13 when allowing four or more runs in 2011.
*Figueroa went 4IP, 6H/6ER, 2K:5BB for the 3rd Disaster Start (More ER than IP) in four attempts this season. The last time he walked five batters in a start was in August 2010 at CitiField.
*Incredibly, he threw 85 pitches - 43 of them were balls. On August 15, 2003, while with the Pirates, Vintage Figgy got the start against Milwaukee and threw 77 pitches - 42 strikes. But he got the win that time. I'm too angry to try to find the last time an Astros starter threw more balls than strikes in an 80+ pitch outing.
*Four Brewers (Gomez, Braun, McGehee, and Kotsay) each had three hits.
*Jose Valdez got another Ugly, allowing 3H/4ER, 2K:2BB, HBP in 1IP. And Enerio Del Rosario's wonderful magical outings streak came to an end. Prior to Del Rosario's 1IP, 4H/3ER, 1K:0BB performance last night, he had allowed 4H/0ER (1R) with 3K:2BB in his previous five outings (6.1IP).
*Brett Wallace was 3x5, and has had multi-hit games in three of his last four games (.471/.471/.588 - .571 BABIP in that span), and is now hitting .313/.387/.418 for the second-highest OPS among starters.
*Bourn leads the team in OPS (.840) after his own 3x5 (2B, SB) game, and is hitting .319/.395/.444 - and has a seven-game hit streak in which he's hitting .444, with a .522 BABIP.
*Our long national nightmare is over! Carlos Lee got an extra-base hit, going 1x5 with a double. It's his 2nd XBH in his last 52PAs. But it's still been 77PAs since he hit a homerun. It's not quite the 106PAs it took him to hit a homer to open the 2010 season, but it's PRETTY FREAKING RIDICULOUS.
*Hunter Pence was 1x5 with 2RBI, but more impressive is that he had two outfield assists.
*Man of the Match: Going with Brett Wallace and Michael Bourn
*Goat of the Game: Nelson Figueroa. I don't know how short your leash is, Vintage Figgy, but it better be growing shorter by the minute.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
