Thursday, June 3, 2010

Recap for G54: Astros v. Nationals

Jeebus. Carlos Lee went from Goat to MotM, because he couldn't field what MLB.com called "a soft fly ball" in the top half of the 9th to hitting the game-winning homer in the bottom half of the 9th. Astros win 6-4.

Why They Won

Because Carlos Lee redeemed himself with a walk-off two run homer to left.

Astros Pitching








NameIPH/ERK:BBPit-StrCS/SS
Moehler5.15/23:167-45 (67.2%)15/3
Byrdak0.10/00:03-2 (66.7%)0/0
Daigle0.12/00:014-7 (50%)2/0
Fulchino11/00:08-6 (75%)2/0
Lyon11/01:015-10 (66.7%)2/5
Lindstrom13/21:023-16 (69.6%)4/4


This game almost got away from the Astros. If it wasn't for some iffy defending - on both sides - we'd be looking at a series split. Instead, the Astros win their first series since the sweep at St. Louis from May 11-13.

Lindstrom should have recorded his 12th save of the season. Instead, with two outs, Willie Harris tripled because Lee let the ball drop in front of him, and roll past him, scoring Mike Morse for the tying run, and then giving up a Cristian Guzman single to score Harris for the 4-3 Nationals lead.

Incidentally, this was Lindstrom's third two-run outing in his last four games. In his first 19 games, he had given up five earned runs.

Astros hitting

Okay, Carlos Lee. Maybe you do want to get traded, after all. Lee goes 2x5 with 3RBI including the aforementioned walk-off bomb - his second of the season - and has homered in consecutive games for the first time since May 18-19 (I'll admit, I thought it would be longer than that.)

Kevin Cash hit his first homer since September 2008, and Berkman hit a big fly, as well, meaning that this was the Astros' first 3HR game of the season.

Had the game gotten away, it would have been a total team loss. From the start of the game until Berkman's 3rd inning homer, the Astros went 6x10 (with a reach on Guzman's error). From the next AB (Lee's) until the 9th inning, the Astros went 3x20, 2BB, ROE. And then got three runs in the 9th, thanks to Guzman's second error of the game (and Riggleman's decision to put him in right field, despite Berkman's aptitude to pull the ball). Lee homered, and there's your ball game.

Multi-hit games: Berkman (2x5, RBI), Lee (2x5, 3RBI), Cash (2x3).
0-fers: Manzella (0x4)

Man of the Match: As much as I don't want to, I have no choice. Carlos Lee.

Goat of the Game: Matt Lindstrom. The case could be made that the two runs should have been unearned because of Lee.