Game 50: Astros 2, Dodgers 1

Towles probably felt like doing this after breaking his slump in a big way on Wednesday

The Astros scored in their first at-bat and their last at-bat, and that ended up being enough as they won their second straight series by taking the rubber game against the Dodgers on Wednesday afternoon in front of a half-empty ballpark. Michael Bourn's first homer of the year was a nice one, as he powered a pitch from the typically treacherous Ted Lilly into the right-field seats to begin the game. After that, it was a pitcher's duel between Lilly and Aneury Rodriguez for the rest of the day.

Rodriguez only had the best start of his young career, going six strong innings with 1 earned on 4 hits with 5 K's and only one walk. I had my doubts at first about An-Rod, but he really looks like he's beginning to settle into the fifth starter's role. Six of the nine Dodgers starters did not get a hit, and with the exception of a hanging slider to Matt Kemp, Rodriguez was nearly perfect in this one. He now sports a 4.98 ERA and a 1.73 WHIP, though he has yet to earn his first career win, thanks to the Houston bats' dormancy throughout much of the contest.

That all changed in the ninth as Brett Wallace nearly won the game with what looked to be a homer to the bullpen in right, but ended up glancing off of the glove of Kemp for a double. J.R. Towles, who had started the day in an 0-for-32 slump, ended the game with his third hit of the day, singling to center and bringing pinch-runner Brian Bogusevic home for the walkoff win.

The only other observation I have about this game is one that I've had in, well, just about every game. Bill Hall stinks. And I realize that management is paying the guy $3 mill this year to "rake", so I've given up on the fire sale option of releasing him. However, I feel like a more moderate approach is one that could really bring some benefits to the Astros lineup. While it's true that Hall singlehandedly lost the game for the Astros on Tuesday night because of an egregious error, he did go 4-for-4 on Monday, along with setting up the game-winning rally in the ninth. I don't necessarily think he's a totally worthless player, but 52 strikeouts in 50 games just isn't going to cut it. So, now with Jeff Keppinger back and Angel Sanchez playing well again, why not platoon Hall, Keppinger, and Sanchez? I would rather see Kepp play full-time at 2B and have Hall be his backup with Sanch backing up Clint Barmes, but Brad Mills and Co. understandably want to give everyone some playing time. So, let's put Hall in against lefties, Kepp in against righties (or lefties when he wants to) and Sanchez whenever someone else needs a break? It's at least something to think about.

All in all, the Astros have won two series in a row, and will be looking to take a third as the Arizona Diamondbacks come into town this weekend. Before we do the series preview however, I have a little announcement to make. I'm going to be joining the illustrious Austin Swafford over at his fantastic Houston Astros blog, astros290.com. I'll be a guest writer on the blog, with a lot of similar ideas to the ones that are going down here. Don't get your heads all spun around, I will still be updating the Juicebox quite regularly, but if you want to check out some additional Astros news and notes, head on over to Astros 290 and enjoy yourself.

SERIES PREVIEW: Houston Astros (19-31) vs. Arizona Diamondbacks (24-24), May 27-29, Minute Maid Park

Game 1:
7:05 pm- Brett Myers (1-4, 5.00 ERA) vs. Daniel Hudson (5-5, 3.82 ERA)

Game 2:
6:05 pm- Wandy Rodriguez (3-3, 3.41 ERA) vs. Greg Reynolds (2-0, 3.07 ERA)

Game 3:
1:05 pm- Bud Norris (2-3, 3.77 ERA) vs. Joe Saunders (1-5, 4.65 ERA)

While the D-Backs have been hot of late, they could still be known as the Baby Backs, as almost all of their roster is constructed of guys age 26 or younger. Former big leaguer Kirk Gibson has definitely turned the club's attitude around however, acting like Buck Showalter did for the Orioles at the end of 2010. The Snakes won't be as easy of an opponent as Houston fans usually think, but with the top of the rotation to play with, this three-game set should still be interesting.

Prediction: Dare I say it? I think the 'Stros will win their third straight series by taking two out of three against Arizona. Myers will either pitch poorly again, or even if he doesn't, Hudson will continue his stellar rookie year by holding the rather flat Astros bats in check for the night. Rodriguez and Norris should continue their hot starts and rebound against Reynolds and Saunders, giving the home club wins in both of the last two games.