Game 30: Reds 3, Astros 2

This is probably how Aneury Rodriguez feels right now.

So maybe I'm not a prophet after all.

After decrying Aneury Rodriguez and his potential in the starting rotation multiple times, I was stunned by the kid's fantastic debut, as he gave up only one hit (a glancer off of Hunter Pence's glove) and one walk over 5 innings. This game hurts, surely, but I have to start this post by looking at Rodriguez and how well he pitched, because he might be just what the Astros need to turn this season around.

Due to the stupidity of the networks in Austin, this game wasn't broadcast on TV (probably due to the fact that it started at 11:35 am local time) so I was forced to watch the proceedings on ESPN Gamecast, meaning that I stared at a bunch of dots running around a virtual diamond on my computer screen. But honestly, when I kept looking at Rodriguez's stats, I thought there was a computer glitch. Let's face it, if Pence had gloved that liner, the kid had the chance to throw a no-hitter. And I mean a serious chance. Just look at Francisco Liriano. Who expected him to throw a no-no last night? Anything is possible in baseball. All in all, I'm not comfortable judging Rodriguez off of just 5 innings of work, but if he continues to pitch like that, the Astros will be able to boast a formidable rotation. In the past 4 games, the starters have combined to give up just one earned run. Everyone knows that Brett Myers, Wandy Rodriguez, Bud Norris, and perhaps even J.A. Happ have the stuff to succeed, and if all 5 guys can start consistently throwing good outings, well, this team might be a force to reckon with after all. Either way, Rodriguez looks like he'll be an improvement over Nelson Figueroa in the starter's role.

It was good to see the Astros jump out to an early lead against the young Travis Wood, with Jason Bourgeois coming through again (he's 9 for 17 in the past 4 games that he's started) by singling up the middle to score the surprisingly hot J.R. Towles. Pence later singled to score Michael Bourn, and the Astros were seemingly sitting pretty with a 2-0 lead. However, I can't deny that I was disappointed that the bats shut down for the rest of the day. Brett Wallace's career-long hit streak ended at 11, and Clint Barmes went back to his old ways with a 1 for 4 day with 2 strikeouts. If the boys had been able to tack on a couple more runs, maybe there would have been no Brandon Lyon meltdown in the 9th, purely because he wouldn't have been out there if the lead had been more than 3.

Which brings me to the subject that everyone's talking about. Once again, Lyon came in having to face the 1-2-3 hitters in the Cincy lineup, something that he's had to do multiple times this year. He then proceeded to give up the following sequence:

Walk
Wild pitch
Single
RBI single
RBI single
RBI double. Game over.

That's right, he didn't even record an out. Give him the benefit of the doubt on Joey Votto and Brandon Phillips, and that's still terrible. I've come to Lyon's defense the past couple blown saves and stated that the BS is an overblown statistic, that he's had to face the toughest hitters in the lineup, that no one else in the bullpen is ready to take his spot, etc. But this simply cannot happen anymore. I don't know if Mark Melancon or Wilton Lopez or even Figueroa (he did look sharp in his first inning of relief the other night) is right for the job, but I would experiment with one of them the next time the Astros are in a save situation. When a guy blows 50% of his save chances, he just doesn't belong on the mound in the 9th. Period. Houston fans have seen enough Brad Lidge and Matt Lindstrom meltdowns to know that it's not just one day gonna click in the pitcher's head and everything starts going right. I'll admit that Lyon looked fantastic in 2010 as the setup man for part of the year and the closer for the other part, but he looks absolutely lost on the mound right now, and should be relegated to 7th or 8th inning duty at this point, at least temporarily to let him regain his focus. This young team simply can't have losses like this; they're the kind of games that start extended losing streaks.

The Astros still have a good chance to win the series, as Brett Myers goes up against the newly recovered Homer Bailey tomorrow in the rubber game at Great American Ballpark. Be sure to tune in at 11:35 am and come back here for the postgame report.