Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Recap for G62 - Astros @ Rangers

There it is. 6-1 loss to the Rangers, and that's four straight Ls to the in-state rivals.

Let me tell you what's killing me about this. After Wandy's last, brilliant start, Coop comes out and says: Quintero catches Wandy. So last night, needing two games to break Fisk's all-time games caught record, Pudge gets the start. Not Quintero. And Wandy gives up 6ER in 4IP. Now I'm not saying - at all - that what happened to Wandy is Pudge's fault. The Rangers can, and did, hit the ball all over the place. But a little bit of consistency would be nice. Fact: Wandy has had one good start in his last five. Fact: Quintero caught Wandy in that one good start. Fact: Coop went back on what he said.

I understand Pudge deserves to set this record in Arlington. But he very easily could have caught tonight/tomorrow's game to break the record in Arlington, and still let Quintero catch Wandy.

So Wandy was bad. Control issues all night long - allowing 11 baserunners in 4IP, four extra-base hits and three of those home runs. 103 pitches, and the thing was, Wandy got in front of a lot of them - 14 of 23 batters saw first-pitch strikes. And 14 Rangers had ABs of 5+ pitches. All three Rangers home runs came on first-pitch balls.

But let's give it up to Arias for throwing 37 pitches to get through three innings. Good outing from him.

Offensively, Bourn and Tejada provided 80% of the offense. Four of the five hits. Tejada now hitting .348, with Bourn now at .294. Lone HR from Pudge, his sixth of the year. The Astros again took themselves off the basepath, in the first inning. Setting? Bourn on 2nd, Tejada on 1st. Lee up with one out. Lee struck out, Bourn was caught stealing third.

Why in the world was Bourn stealing third with Lee up to bat? Bourn is so fast, it's not like he needs the four extra steps to make it home on a single.

Man of the Match: Miguel Tejada. On base three times, with two hits and a walk.

Goat of the Game: It has to go to Wandy. Now he's just being silly.