Bud Norris just might be the Ace, and Lance Berkman can get food poisoning, as far as I'm concerned. Astros win 4-1.
*Bud Norris took a no-hitter into the 7th before Berkman hit his 14th homerun (tying his total between Houston and New York in 2010, by the by) with two outs.
*Norris ended up throwing 8IP, 1H/1ER, 2K:5BB - but only throwing first-pitch strikes to 12 of the 27 batters he faced. He also only needed 104 pitches to get through those 27 batters.
*In three of the walks Norris allowed, he got a double play later in the inning to erase the runner.
*The two hits allowed tie a season best, when he gave up two hits in 6IP vs. San Diego in G13, and while it was the fourth time in his career of giving up just two hits - it's the first time he'd done it while throwing more than 7IP.
*Since April 30, Norris has thrown 53IP, allowing 42H/21ER, 49K:23BB.
*Jason Bourgeois made his first start - in place of Michael Bourn - coming back from his DL stint, and went 2x5 with a double and a stolen base.
*Hunter Pence was 1x4 with a triple, extending his hitting streak to 19 games. He was hitting .280/.332/.446 (.778 OPS) when the streak started, and is now hitting .313/.356/.488 (.844).
*Carlos Lee was 1x2 with two walks, giving him back-to-back 2BB games. Of the 15 walks he has drawn this season, seven have come in the past ten games.
*J.R. Towles was 2x4 with a double, getting his batting average over .200 for the first time since May 31. He has three hits - two doubles - in his past seven ABs.
*Jason Michaels got the start in LF, and responded with a 2x4, RBI game. When he starts, he's 8x33 (.242/.265/.394). But as the valued Bat Off The Bench, he's 0x12 with three walks.
*Man of the Match: Bud Norris!
*Goat of the Game: Lance Berkman.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
