The Astros came a Brandon Lyon away from their third shutout of the year, but the Astros win 8-3.
*That stops a four-game losing streak, and the Astros are now a stout 2-8 in their last ten games. Since May 13, the Astros are 11-19.
*It also gives the Astros their first win against the Braves. At 1-5, the Astros match their record against the Braves from 2010, meaning the Astros are 2-10 against the Braves in the last two seasons.
*Wandy Rodriguez had a triumphant return from the DL - throwing 6IP, 2H/0ER, 5K:4BB - and earning his 4th win of the season. One more win will bring Wandy's career record to 67-67 (so...he's now 66-67 on his career).
*Even more impressive is that, while the Braves were kicking the piss out of the Astros this season, Wandy's 2011 against Atlanta is as such: 14IP, 7H/0ER, 11K:6BB.
*Wandy hasn't allowed more than 2ER in an outing since April 24. In starts 6-11 of the year, Wandy has thrown 42IP, 35H/7ER, 31K:11BB.
*Wilton Lopez and Sergio Escalona each threw a scoreless outing. Escalona's ERA is now 1.74, and the hit he allowed is the first since May 30. He has allowed five baserunners in his last ten games (6.1IP, 3H/0ER, 4K:2BB). Since Escalona allowed a run in his very first outing on May 10 - he has thrown 10.1IP, 6H/1ER, 9K:3BB.
*Brandon F. Lyon. To be fair, it didn't have an outcome on the game. But what it did, for me, was prove that Lyon - as of right now - cannot be trusted in any situation of a game. Lyon walked one, allowed two hits - one of them a three-run homer from Jordan Schafer. Schafer did not have a homer coming into his 9th inning at-bat, and only had one RBI. He was hitting .224/.316/.324 before tagging Lyon.
*In the three appearances since coming off the DL, Lyon has thrown 2IP (14 batters faced), 6H/8ER, 1K:2BB. He has allowed earned runs in five straight games, and seven of his last eight. The five straight games are a career high (as a reliever), breaking a streak of four straight games with >1 ER from Aug 24-Sep 3, 2005.
*The eight runs the Astros scored are the fifth-most of the season, and the 14 hits tied the 2nd-highest hit total of the season.
*Hunter Pence got the Astros on SportsCenter before the Top 10 plays - which is nice - extending his hit streak to 23 games with a 3x4 (4RBI) that included his 9th homer of the year. All four of his RBI came with two outs.
*Brett Wallace was 2x2 with two doubles and two walks. It's the first time this season he has been on base four times in a game, and snapped a 2x16, 8K:1BB streak over the last five games.
*Jeff Keppinger was 2x5, and he has five hits in his last 14ABs.
*Carlos Lee was 0x4, but drew a walk, extending his on-base streak to 13 games.
*Man of the Match: Hunter Pence
*Goat of the Game: Carlos Lee! Was the only position player to not get a hit.
We didn't come out here to play tiddlywinks, son.
-Hal Smith
