Ah, baseball is a cold, cold sport, and just when you think it won't stab you in the back, it does. The Houston Astros' young phenom, Bud Norris, took a no-hitter into the 7th and continued his string of stellar performances against the Cardinals as the home team broke their 4-game losing streak by securing a 4-1 win on Wednesday night.
That the no-hit bid was broken up by none other than former Astro Lance Berkman doesn't diminish the fantastic performance that Norris turned in, particularly since his last outing against the Redbirds was uncharacteristically weak. The final line for Norris read like this: 8 IP, 1 H, 1 ER, 5 BB, 2 K. Bud is a power pitcher, but he wasn't exactly blowing by hitters tonight, relying more on ground ball outs and multiple double plays turned by Jeff Keppinger and Clint Barmes. Norris gave up multiple leadoff walks, and he never really looked comfortable out on the bump, but he managed to work through trouble and take one of the more surprising no-hit bids deep into a contest against what is perhaps the best offense in the majors.
The offense helped him out, as Hunter Pence extended his hit streak to a strong 19 games by hitting one of the deepest balls I've ever seen in Minute Maid Park- a triple that landed at the very peak of Tal's Hill, scoring Keppinger for the game's first run. Carlos Lee followed with a groundout, bringing Pence in from third. The Legend of Jason Bourgeois manufactured a run later in the 5th by singling, stealing second, advancing to third, and then scoring on a Jason Michaels single. After Puma's homer in the 7th, the 'Stros added an insurance run in the 8th when J. R. Towles doubled and was driven in by pinch-hitter Michael Bourn. Mark Melancon worked the ninth, giving up just a double to Albert Pujols, and securing his sixth save in eight tries. Don't even get me started on the impending ousting of Melancon from the closer's spot.
So here's my newest quandary: just how long will Brad Mills and Co. keep Bourgeois out of the starting lineup? I've already posted a rant about how much he belongs in the regular nine every single day, but I'm just not sure that the Astros' brass will have the guts to stick him in there in place of someone else. Keppinger is back and hitting fine, so second base isn't really an option. He can't reasonably play anywhere else in the infield. Bourn and Pence are pillars in their respective positions, and that leaves just Lee. While Ed Wade is hopefully looking to deal the left fielder at or before the deadline, I just don't see him or anybody else approving a move of Bourgeois into the starting left field spot and opting to sit the $13 million man who supposedly can still hit. It's a shame, because Bourgeois is picking up where he left off before the injury, and he's a huge upgrade defensively in the outfield. It's just another joy of being an Astros fan...but hey, we got through that whole Bill Hall thing didn't we?
The rubber game starts at 7:05 tomorrow, with J.A. Happ going against the rookie Lance Lynn.
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