Recap for G99 - Astros @ Cubs

Are. You. Kidding. Me. At the time, both the Astros and the Cubs were 8x41 on the night. But when Alfonso Soriano got done trotting around the bases in the bottom of the 13th with three Cubs ahead of him to seal a 5-1 win, the Cubs were 9x42.

All of the Astros' runs came on one swing of Carlos Lee's bat, who's been doing that a lot lately, and he and Tejada were the only ones with more than one hit. Wandy pitched well, and so did Zambrano. Let's just do the thing:

Wandy: 7IP, 6H/1ER, 7K:2BB, 19/27 first-pitch strikes, 30/67 non-contact strikes (18 called:12 swinging)
LaHawk: 0.2IP, 1BB, 1/3 FPS, 4/10 NCS (3c:1s)
Valverde: 1.1IP, 1K:3BB, 2/6 FPS, 5/11 NCS (2c:3s)
Arias: 1IP, 1H, 1K:1BB, 3/8 FPS, 6/17 NCS (5c:1s)
Sampson: 1IP, 2H/4ER, 0K:2BB, 2/7 FPS, 4/11 NCS (4c)

Maybe if LaHawk hadn't argued balls/strikes, he could have stuck around a little bit and spelled out the relief a little bit. But he didn't, and while the impact is hypothetical, it did mean a 4-out outing for Valverde. Then Arias, then Sampson completely nutted the 13th inning, walking the leadoff batter, giving up a single, an intentional walk, and then Soriano's long fly ball that made Santo absolutely explode. Yep, 4 batters faced in the 13th, 0 outs.

Not that the Astros didn't have a chance. If Carlos Lee could have gotten his third hit in the 9th OR the 12th, we might not be having this conversation. With Tejada on 2nd with 1 out in the 9th, Lee grounded out to third (and Blum struck out looking). With Bourn on 2nd and Tejada on 1st with one out in the 12th, Lee GIDPed to short, ending the inning. But that wasn't the only chance. The Astros were 0x7 with RISP, leaving nine on base. Coste, Matsui, and the aforementioned Lee GIDPed on the night.
Oh, and Bourn got thrown out at 2nd for another basepath out.

Man of the Match: Wandy. Gave the Astros a chance to win, and it didn't happen.

Goat of the Game: The 0x7 with RISP gets spread around a little bit, but this one goes to Sampson, even though I feel bad about giving it to him a day after he comes off the DL. So much for putting him in those "low-pressure situations." Still...