Astros sweep Pirates out of town

The series win was a good one, but make no mistake the Pirates team is as poor as they've ever been. In two days the Astros march from the NL Central cellar to third place in the division, taking their tally to 8-10. Since starting the season 0-8 (scoring 1.75 runs per game), they have gone 8-2 (4.6), skinning the Cubs, then the Marlins and now the Pirates.

Apart from the Cardinals, there are plenty of teams to beat up in the Astros division if you play them at the right time. The Pirates franchise continues to resemble a car wreck, the Reds rotation is struggling horribly, as is the Brewers'. The Cubs bullpen is so troubled behind Carlos Marmol, that Carlos Zambrano is now acting as their setup man (the most expensive ever at a cool $18m a year).

Coming into the Pirates series a lot of the Astros bats still looked dormant, Carlos Lee had an absolutely terrible line of .136/.164/.153, and a dire .316 OPS over his first fifteen games.one extra base hit, one RBI, two walks and four runs scored. In the two games he played against Pittsburgh he was 4-9 with 4 RBIs and 3 runs.

Michael Bourn continued to stoke the Astros offence from the top of the lineup card, reaching base four times in five plate appearances, swiping three bases. Overall the Astros stole six bases on the day, doubling their tally of six coming into the game. The all-important stat for a leadoff man, OBP stands at .435.

Collectively the Astros had scored 41 runs in 15 games before the series at an average of 2.4. In three games with the Pirates they scored 19, an average of 6.3. Bar Keppinger it was the second straight night the entire lineup had contributed one hit. One the face of it Charlie Morton, the Pirates starting pitcher was an easy assignment. Considering he brought a 16.55 ERA into the game it is no surprise that the Astros jumped on him the way they did.

The Pirates will feel somewhat aggrieved that they actually outhit the Astros 14-10, but 13 of those were singles, and it was not until a Clement double in the eighth off Byrdak that they got an extra base hit. Brett Myers allowed 11 singles in his six innings of work, but limited the damage to two runs, picking up his first win in an Astro uniform.

The comfort of the win also gave Brad Mills the chance to spare his two most precious arms in the bullpen with Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom getting the afternoon off.

The Astros welcome Cincinnati to Houston (after an offday Monday), and first up is Aaron Harang, who owns a pretty dismal 8.31 ERA, with three losses to his name already. Bud Norris will face him, before Felipe Paulino takes on rookie Mike Leake. Reds killer Roy Oswalt, the proud owner of a 23-1 record against the Reds will face Bronson Arroyo in the finale. Oswalt had a 3.38 ERA in his starts against the Reds last year, but picked up no-decisions in all of the contests. After being bested by Tim Lincecum and Roy Halladay in his opening two starts, Oswalt picked up back-to-back wins for the first time since September 2008. Just illustrates how bad we were in 2009.

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The boys squeak another one

Another day, another very tight win for the Astros. After losing the finale to the Marlins on Thursday, they recovered to beat the Pirates on Friday 4-3, courtesy of another excellent pitching performance by Roy Oswalt, who churned out his fourth straight quality start of the season.

On paper this game should have been more of a cruise, as Oswalt baffled the Pirates offence for six innings before they finally got on the board, courtesy of two home runs in the seventh. Jeff Keppinger, Carlos Lee and Pedro Feliz doubles provided Houston with all four runs, while the duo of Brandon Lyon and Matt Lindstrom nailed down another win.

The win is the Astros sixth in eight games, recovering from their 0-8 start. Astros County mentions Justice's gushing article on the changes Ed Wade has made, but notes that it is a bit early to start judging him or this season. Yes, Michael Bourn is looking very nice in the outfield, while L&L have solidified the bullpen. Brett Myers is also looking like a good addition in the rotation, but it is still early. The offence has yet to really motor. They still average around 2.5 a game, easily the least in the majors. After the 2008 season the Bourn-Lidge trade might have looked better for Philadelphia after they claimed the WS, but after his 41-41 season, Lidge has gone missing, just like he did for the Astros in 2006 and 2007.

Really is strange what is happening over at Wrigley. The fans are none too happy with Alfonso Soriano, but that contract really was madness after his season with the Washington Nationals. His steals, and almost everything else has gone down. His legs have gone as he's crept into his mid-30s. As for Carlos Zambrano being demoted to the bullpen, heck, the guy's on a $91.5m contract, there isn't much else you can say about that.

Other factoids: the error was Oswalt's first in 121 starts (since May 2006), while he passed J.R. Richards in strikeouts on all-time Astros. Next is a certain Nolan Ryan with 1,866. The Brewers had whacked the Pirates 20-0 on Thursday, a franchise worst loss. Michael Bourn came up with two spectacular plays in the seventh and the ninth innings.

Wandy Rodriguez will pitch today, 6.05 CT against the Pirates.

And now we're rolling...

4-3 down and one swing of the bat from Geoff Blum later, the Astros had their fourth win in as many games. Having started the season 0-8, they are now 5-1 in their past six encounters, and can sweep the Marlins if Felipe Paulino can triumph against Anibel Sanchez tonight at Minute Maid Park.

The pitching has suddenly become better, as the starters are giving either leads or slim deficits to the bullpen, while the bats have come up with key hits late in the game on several occasions.

In the first eight games the Astros scored 14 runs at an average of 1.4 a game, while in their last six they have 26 at an average of 4.3. Not brilliant still, but far better.

In the first eight games the Astros conceded 44 runs at an average of 5.5 a game, while in their last six they have conceded 22 at an average of 3.7.

They might have felt aggrieved if they had let this one slip, as Bud Norris blanked the Marlins through the first four, leaving the visitors hitless until they pegged four runs on him in the fifth. They also had a little bit of luck. Blum's triple was probably a double if Cameron Maybin stops the ball in front of him, and might have only resulted in an RBI double, leaving the game tied at 4.

Make no mistake, the offence still looks a bit limp, averaging 2.9 runs a game overall this season, the team BA and HR composite totals are dead last in the MLB by far (the entire team has a .224 BA and 5 home runs in total).

Impressive points? Well Quintero hit a solo shot, and Carlos Lee picked up his first RBI of the season. Wilton Lopez pitched a fine two innings in relief of Norris, while Lyon and Linstrom, L&L locked down the win with style. Michael Bourn had another good game, and the first four innings by Norris were terrific. Some encouraging signs, and after the finale with the Fish, we have the Pirates in town.

Strasbourg is already tearing it up for the Nationals double A affiliate and I wouldn't be surprised if we see him in the majors in the second half. Maybe a month in August or something before they shut him down. You don't want a guy like that to suddenly pitch 200 innings and get his arm shot to pieces. You just have to look at Francisco Liriano, who has resurfaced with the Twins after Tommy John Surgery in 2007 to see what happens when you overtax a young pitchers' arm.

Astros take fourth of five

I remember Charlie Manuel saying that a mark of a great player is that he raises the game of those around him, and while no-one is ever going to compare Lance Berkman with the late great Kirby Puckett, the Big Puma's return galvanised the Astros lineup into a blow-out, at least in terms of how their season has gone so far. The seven runs they tagged on the Florida Marlins was their highest run total for the season, and having scored 28 runs in their first 12 games at an average of 2.33.

The only two stars in the lineup so far this season have been Michael Bourn, who walked twice and snagged two bases last night; and Jeff Keppinger, who has made himself indispensable at second base over the first month, his hitless night did not deter his .342 batting average. Last night it was the turn of the meat of the lineup, transformed by the addition of Berkman to do the lions' share. Berkman provided two RBI ground-outs, J.R. Towles added two RBI singles, Kaz Matsui gave the Astros a late game lead with a sac bunt which scored Pence, while Michaels gave the bullpen a 3 run cushion with a shot into the Crawford Boxes.

In the coming weeks Houston will need contributions from up and down the lineup, but I think Brett Myers will be happy with his seven innings of work against a Marlins offence that has been very high powered over the last few years and is fourth in the league in runs in 2010. Brandon Lyon will feel better about himself after pitching a perfect eighth, after some jittery performances of late in the bullpen. Matt Lindstrom picked up the save, his third of the season.

The win was the Astros first at home this season, after going 0-6 on their opening dismal homestand. And after that terrible start, they still sit in the cellar of the NL Central, but lo and behold, only half a game behind the Cubs.

Chris Johnson was put on the DL.

Astros take season first season win

They may be 16th (dead last) in the NL in almost every major category, runs, hits, home runs, walks, RBIs, BA, OBP, SLG%, but the Astros stole another precious victory from the Cubs at Wrigley Field Sunday night. Houston's offence will receive a shot in the arm, when the lineup's cornerstone, Lance Berkman returns from the DL, perhaps as soon as Tuesday in time to face the Marlins at Minute Maid Park.

2-0 down for most of the game, the visiting team scored one in the eighth, ninth and tenth innings to register an improbable victory, courtesy of Pedro Feliz's sac fly in the top of the 10th inning.

In what is a pretty telling statistic of how badly the Astros played towards the tail-end of last season, it was their first series win since beating the Pirates September 11th-13th 2009.

Wandy Rodriguez pitched well enough for the win, had he received any offensive support, and for the second straight afternoon the relief corps did a superb job in shutting things down. And yet Brad Mills has to be troubled at the ease with which Ryan Dempster shut the Astros down until a Jeff Keppinger RBI single in the 8th. Again the second baseman is the only reliable member of the lineup, Carlos Lee put up another 0-5 performance, stranding his hit tally on 5, all singles; Towles sat for Quintero, who rewarded his manager with three at bats, three strikeouts.

Justice points out the fact that in their first seven starts, Astros starters were 0-5 with a 6.50 ERA, but 2-1 in the last five with a 2.25 ERA. At the moment the pitching is winning the Astros games. Soon the offence will have to do its' bit.

The probables for the Marlins series are Chris Volstad, Josh Johnson and Anibel Sanchez; the Astros have the back end of the rotation Myers, Norris and Paulino up.

Second win on the board

They've still got the second worst record in the majors (an achievement in itself, Baltimore's 1-11 is a rather painful opening to their season), but the Astros doubled their win total last night and go into the finale with the Cubs hoping to win their first series of the season.

After leaving Felipe Paulino in the game for an inning too long the night before, Mills learnt from his mistake and pulled Oswalt after seven scoreless innings, just as the meat of the Chicago lineup came around. Brandon Lyon's performance hardly instilled confidence, and was summarily pulled before Chris Sampson cleaned up.

Lyon's erratic inning boiled down to this: at 4-0 with runners on second and third, with one down, he pitched to Aramis Ramirez, while I would have loaded them up, put my infield in DP depth and pitched to Marlon Byrd. Instead he served up a 2 run double, and then another double by Soriano, to make what had been a comfortable game into a bit of a nail-biter.

If the pitching has been mediocre by Houston (they've allowed 55 runs in 11 games, a nice neat average of 5), their offense has been truly rubbish, clocking up 25 runs in those 11 games, barely above 2. Towles 3-4 performance with an RBI single and a solo home run quadrupled his hit tally for the season, while Bourn (who sat out last night's game with some groin tenderness) and Keppinger are the only two regulars with an OPS above .600. The clean-up hitter Carlos Lee, has yet to post an extra base hit or an RBI, and has just one walk to his name. While Feliz our no.3 hitter in the absence of Berkman has yet to be driven in, while we have 9 walks to the entire team in 11 games, and four of them were by Keppinger, and one by Oswalt. Patience at the plate folks?

That is a lot to spin into something positive, because there are a lot of ugly, ugly statistics in there. Rodriguez will have to do better than his previous two starts, going up against Ryan Dempster.

Oswalt's win last night was his third straight quality start to begin the season, much more auspicious than last season. Lance Berkman is down in Triple A on a rehab assignment, and we need him back as fast as possible.

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Celebrate good times

Brad Mills is probably loving that W, and with the victory against the Cardinals Thursday afternoon, the Astros finally put themselves into the win column after eight straight losses to start the season, ending a very dubious and embarrassing streak of games.

Bud Norris notches his first win in a very good performance, giving up only the one unearned run in five innings, picking up nine strikeouts in the process. It is a start, but the last week has been truly horrific, and the long and the short of it is that the Astros aren't scoring enough runs.

Three of the five were driven in by Jeff Keppinger playing shortstop, and Mills is going to have to keep tinkering that lineup to get the best out of it. Humberto Quintero was playing catcher, while Chris Johnson was at the hot corner for Houston. Not sure if Manzella's going to get much playing time if he continues the season as he's started it, five hits all singles, no walks, no runs.

The most damning statistic is the fact that only two players have home runs, Hunter Pence and Jason Michaels. Meanwhile only Feliz, Bourn and Keppinger are doing anything with their sticks at the moment; prior to yesterday's win in eight contests Houston had plated 14 runs. That is not a flattering average. The pitching staff has shown glimmers, so we'll see if this team can get back to .500. That's the first goal. Myers looked sharp against Brad Penny in the 2-1 loss on Wednesday. A tough series in Chicago against the Cubs beckons.

The most important thing with yesterday's game was that once we got the lead we kept it. Going into the eighth, we only had a slender 2-1 lead, and Keppinger's 2 run single came at a crucial time to calm some nerves. Also Sampson, Linstrom and Lyon did well in combining for four shutdown innings.

0-3: not a good start

The underlying theme over the past three nights seems to be that our offence is very lightweight. The main thrust of the offence last night for the Astros was provided by pinch hitter Cory Sullivan, whose two-run triple brought the Astros within a run at 4-3. Brett Myers could have been far worse off, yielding 12 hits, but only four runs in six innings of work.

At least if he eats up the innings then the bullpen will be under less stress than it was last year, and the trio of Lincecum, Zito and Cain is a difficult one to start off the season. Although Bud Norris faces a difficult task tomorrow night against Philadelphia, with J.A. Happ facing him on the mound. Happ went 12-4 with a 2.93 ERA, and started 23 times in his rookie year, logging three complete games, two of those shut outs. Phillies fans must love watching Cliff Lee last year, and Roy Halladay this year, after enduring Adam Eaton and Joe Blanton before them.

Houston are going to miss Berkman, there is no question about that. He's the anchor in that lineup, the man that everyone turns around. Carlos Lee is still there, but without the first baseman the lineup just isn't as daunting for pitchers. Pence, in front of Lee at no. 3 is hitless in his first three games of the season. The two young'ens in the bullpen had evenings to forget too, Gervacio and Fulchino giving up the late runs that sank Houston last night in the finale against the Giants.

Six years ago in 2004, the Astros also lost their first two games of the season against the Giants, but a certain Roger Clemens pitched a beaut in his Astros debut. Later on Houston would pip those self-same Giants to the wildcard spot by one game. What a difference six years makes, eh folks?

Plenty of excellent sports viewing to be had this weekend with the U.S. Masters kicking off, with the return of Tiger Woods to action.

Lincecum stifles Astros

Oswalt turned in a decent start, but he was no match for the Giants' Tim Lincecum. The young ace limited the Astros to four singles in seven innings and Houston seemed to be sparked in the two innings afterwards, getting two runs on the board.

Wandy Rodriguez against Barry Zito in a match of the lefties will be a more intriguing contest tonight. Wandy reached 200 innings for the first time in his career and logged an impressive 3.02 ERA and should have had a better record than 14-12. He also had 192 strikeouts.

Roy Halladay looked immense for his first start for the Phillies. It was against the Nationals, but still he looked like C.C. Sabathia when he came to the NL Central with the Brewers. After a career in the big hitting AL East, Halladay will enjoy being in a proper title race.

More tomorrow after the game.

Opening day

Joyous of days, its opening day, and a dandy as Roy Oswalt faces reigning Cy Young winner Tim Lincecum. And while this is the first season in a while that I'm not too optimistic about the Astros chances, I'm still here for the ride and will be blogging daily for your delectation.

As always the season is going to depend largely on what the back end of the rotation can do. Whether Bud Norris and Felipe Paulino can step up to the plate, and Oswalt and Myers can have good years we could have two/three aces.

The lineup is weak, and even more so with Berkman currently on the DL (Blum will fill in until he comes back after arthroscopic surgery. Towles and Manzella are unproven, while Blum and Feliz are past their peaks. Matsui is in the final year of his $15m contract, and so far has been far too injury prone. The Astros went out and got Lindstrom and Lyon to fill the void left by Jose Valverde's departure, and on paper the bullpen has some very underrated arms.

We've had a lot of problems with the back end of the rotation over the past few years, and this is the first since good ol' Drayton has not signed a burnt out veteran. Here is a list of every starter and their amount of games in the last four years (2006-2009)

Now as you can see that is one pretty darn big list. Only Oswalt and Rodriguez have been starters for those four years, and I've only included 2006 because they are the years we have not reached the playoffs. Our rotation looked settled in comparison to the next three years, with Taylor Buchholz filling the fourth spot, with Clemens coming into the rotation in late May. Backe, Moehler and Sampson, all middle of the road pitchers are the next three with large start totals.

As for the rest, we've tried an awful lot of rookie pitchers without getting any settled in a big league capacity. This might say something for the drafting (not just Purpura's tenure as GM, but the end of Hunsicker's reign too), and maybe some of our pitching coaches were not up to scratch either. Either way stability equals success in most cases.

Some notes: I put Pettitte in decent, because he pitched ok in 2006, even though a lot of his performances were very frustrating that year. Cannot believe we gave Woody Williams 31 starts. Incredible waste of space.

Other notes on the opening day, I think I'm right in saying the Astros have lost every opening day since 2004, maybe even further than that.

Things the Astros need to happen to be successful in 2010: Michael Bourn had a great breakout year in 2009, but Hunter Pence seemed to take a step back in some respects. Roy Oswalt and Lance Berkman need to return to their former selves, and the Astros need something from third base, shortstop and catcher. Manzella won't be Miguel Tejada, but even Tejada was not really Tejada in his spell with the Astros. J.R. Towles needs to show he isn't just a placeholder for Jason Castro.

The Decent

Roy Oswalt 129

Wandy Rodriguez 110

Andy Pettitte 35

Randy Wolf 12

Roger Clemens 19

Veteran Washups

Brian Moehler 55

Woody Williams 31

Mike Hampton 21

Jason Jennings 18

Shawn Chacon 15

Russ Ortiz 13

Miscellaneous

Brandon Backe 45

Chris Sampson 33

Newboys

Felipe Paulino 20

Matt Albers 20

Taylor Buchholz 19

Fernando Nieve 11

Bud Norris 10

Jason Hirsh 9

Yorman Bazardo 6

Runelvys Hernandez 4

Jack Cassel 3

Juan Gutierrez 3

Wilton Lopez 2

Alberto Arias 2

Troy Patton 2