For the first time in many, many weeks, the contest at Minute Maid Park on Monday night actually meant something, to one of the teams involved at least. The Astros played their spoiler role well, as they knocked off the charging Cardinals to deny them a golden opportunity to tie Atlanta for the NL wild card lead.
What went right
- Starter Wandy Rodriguez had another solid outing, going 6.1 innings while allowing 8 hits and 2 earned with 3 free passes and 2 strikeouts. While he struggled with his location throughout the game and allowed heavy traffic in most of his innings, W-Rod got outs when he needed them. The highlight of his night came in the top of the fifth when he wriggled out of a bases loaded jam by inducing a double play and striking out Albert Pujols.
- Matt Downs yet again showed that he's not just running into bad pitches, as he took St. Louis starter Jaime Garcia deep in the home half of the fourth. The ball was a no-doubter, almost hitting the train tracks, and gave the 'Stros a comfortable lead that kept them in charge of the game. It was Downs' only hit of the night, and while he misplayed a routine fly ball that contributed to the aforementioned bases loaded jam, the man provided another key hit for his team, something he's done multiple times in 2011.
- J.D. Martinez showed that Brian Bogusevic isn't the only Houston outfielder with a gun of an arm, as Martinez cut down Pujols at the plate in the third, saving what could have ended up being the winning run. A perfect one-hop throw that bounced right into the glove of backstop J.R. Towles, Pujols was out by 15 feet, and the Astros came into the home half of the inning and scored some runs of their own.
- Angel Sanchez, who hasn't seemed to be able to do anything right all year (except in April) layed down a perfect bunt to score the walk-off run in the bottom of the tenth. Bogusevic came through in the clutch again, lacing a double off of Cards reliever (and former Astro) Octavio Dotel to start the frame. Jason Bourgeois attempted to sacrifice him over to third, but both men ended up safe as Dotel misplayed the ball. Enter Sanchez, who's had ten sacrifice hits on the season, and a perfect bunt was layed down the first base line, allowing Bogu to rush home and score the walk-off, subsequently placing a dagger in the heart of the St. Louis faithful. (Ok, excuse the hyperbole).
What went wrong
- The Houston bullpen was again unable to hold the lead eked out by the starter. Fernando Rodriguez entered in the top of the eighth to face the heart of the Cards lineup, and quickly gave up a single to Pujols and a walk to Matt Holliday. He was yanked in favor of Lil' Wesley Wright, who hadn't allowed a run in his last 17 appearances. Though he was able to turn former Astro switch-hitter Lance Berkman over to his weaker right side, the "right fielder" still smacked a double off of the left field wall, scoring both baserunners and tying the game.
- Conversely, the Astros were unable to touch the St. Louis bullpen, as they were held scoreless from the fifth until the walk-off bunt. Kyle McClellan, Mitchell Boggs, and Fernando Salas all escaped their respective innings unscathed, giving up just three hits between them.
- Martinez was forced to leave the game in the fifth with a bruised left foot. He fouled a ball hard of the top of his shoe, and laid down on the ground for a couple of seconds before finishing his at-bat. Bourgeois replaced him in left, and Jordan Schafer took over center field.
What we learned
- Maybe Downs does deserve more playing time in 2012. I'm still an advocate of him being a super-platoon man, as his glove is just horrid and he's a bit of a streaky hitter, but the man has shown he has some pop and isn't afraid of big situations. It's easy to admire someone who hits dingers, but I'm hoping that managment stays smart and gives the starting spot to someone they think has a long future with the team (meaning, if Brett Wallace or Bogusevic don't start in favor of Downs, I'll be pretty miffed).
- Drayton McLane and Ed Wade (or whoever owns and GM's the Astros in 2012) need to focus on one thing in the offseason: improving their pitching. Someone from the Houston bullpen alone has been pegged with the loss in 34 games, and remember, Brandon Lyon was out for the season by May. The starting pitching situation needs to be solved first, but the bullpen is certainly the area that could use a makeover, a la 2010-2011 Arizona Diamondbacks.
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