Game 46: Astros 3, Blue Jays 2

For once, it seemed that everything worked out for the Houston Astros. Wandy Rodriguez gave up just 2 ER over six innings while dodging a lot of bullets, Hunter Pence hit a two-run bomb to give the Astros the lead, the bullpen was able to hold things down this time despite getting into some sticky situations, and Houston won just its second road series of the year by beating the Toronto Blue Jays 3-2 on Sunday afternoon.

No, Wandy did not look like the same guy who threw eight shutout innings against Atlanta, but I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing. Good pitchers, even on their off days, will still get guys out and limit damage. Wandy seems to be able to do that this year. Brett Myers does not. Rodriguez used his nasty curveball effectively, striking out six Jays while walking just three. I've said it for awhile now: I do think Wandy should be the number one pitcher on this staff. While it doesn't matter all that much right now who is "the number one" guy, Rodriguez should be starting games against the aces of opposing staffs later on down the road. Whether it was the heavy workload from last year or simply a nagging injury, Myers is not looking good right now, and putting him on the hill (especially against home run hitting teams) seems to be a risky proposition.

Meanwhile, I'm wondering just how long the Astros brass are going to continue the J.R. Towles Project. While Towles was never supposed to be on the big league club in the first place- Jason Castro was tabbed as the starter at the beginning of the year, with Humberto Quintero backing him up- an injury to Castro provided an opportunity for Towles to show what he had learned from his stint in the minors, and instead he has seen a promising start fritter away into an ongoing 0-for-31 slump. Towles is essentially Wandy Rodriguez's personal catcher, so he doesn't take up all that much playing time, but having a black hole in the lineup is never comforting. It's always hard to give up on homegrown talent, but one has to wonder if Towles' days in Houston are numbered. While Robinson Cancel is an older player and has only 86 ABs at AAA Oklahoma City, he's still hitting .314/.372/.407, and would bring a certain amount of veteran know-how to the clubhouse. However, I'm more disappointed that the Astros did not go out and actively try to make a trade or sign a second-tier catcher, someone like Jesus Flores or Bengie Molina when Castro went down for the year. Neither would have cost much, and both are improvements over Towles behind the dish.

Yes, critics, I did see that Wilton Lopez looked a bit shaky on the mound today and that Mark Melancon looked very sharp, but I am still an advocate of the Lopez-for-closer party. However, for perhaps the first time this season, I have to commend Brad Mills in the way he handled his bullpen today. With just a one run lead going into the 7th, and due to the fact that he wouldn't have to pinch hit for a reliever because of the nature of the matchup, Millsie brought in Lopez to presumably go for the entire 7th and 8th innings. It didn't end up working out that way, as he faced only three Jays in the 7th, but got into some trouble in the 8th. Unlike his previous relief appearance in the series, Lopez couldn't find his command and was struggling to throw strikes. For once, Mills took his reliever out at the right time (in the middle of an at bat, no less) before more damage was done. Melancon came in for a five-out save, and despite loading the bases in the 9th after getting two quick outs, he induced a grounder by Aaron Hill to end the game.

Yes, we haven't seen too many games like this so far his season, but it sure was refreshing to see the ball bounce our way for once. Hopefully, the guys can keep the momentum going into the home series against the Dodgers.

Andre Ethier had been the hot stick, but he is now mired in a slump.

Series Preview: Houston Astros (17-30) vs. Los Angeles Dodgers (21-27)- May 23-25, Minute Maid Park

Game 1:
7:05 pm- Bud Norris (2-3, 3.93 ERA) vs. Clayton Kershaw (5-3, 3.09 ERA)

Game 2:
7:05 pm- J.A. Happ (3-5, 5.30 ERA) vs. Chad Billingsley (2-4, 3.47 ERA)

Game 3:
1:05 pm- Aneury Rodriguez (0-2, 5.72 ERA) vs. Ted Lilly (3-4, 4.71 ERA)

While Houston is at the bottom of their rotation, this is still shaping up to be a pitcher's series, as both Norris and Kershaw are high strikeout guys, Happ and Rodriguez have been pitching well lately, and Billingsley and Lilly are still better than average hurlers. I wouldn't look for too many runs scored in these three games, that is if the Astros' starters don't buckle.

Prediction: While I was pleasantly surprised to see the Astros take the series in Toronto, I'm just not sure that they'll be able to win this one at home. I'll take Houston to win one out of three, and I'll go with the wild card pick in tabbing An-Rod to get the win against Lilly. He looked good against the Jays, but ended up with a no decision. Even if Norris pitches well again, Kershaw will probably prove too much for the Astros lineup, and though Happ has seemed to be improving on the bump, there's no guarantee that he will be able to get outs against the likes of Andre Ethier, Matt Kemp, James Loney, and Jerry Sands.