We won! We won!! In doing so we avoided being swept by the (now) 5th place Pirates and also broke a 3 game losing streak. The Astros started off in the 1st inning with a 3 run bomb to left field by Geoff Blum who was subbing for Miguel Tejada(I still don't see the point in Tejada sitting...) and gave the ball to Moehler in the bottom half of the 1st with a 4 run lead. Unfortunately that 4 run lead wasn't enough as the Bucs chipped away at the lead scoring a run in the 2nd, 2 in the 34d and another in the 5th before Moehler left after 6 innings with 3 strike outs, a walk and 4 earned runs against. Lucky for Moehler, the Astros came back in the 7th inning and scored 2 more runs on a ground out RBI by Pence and then an RBI double by Matsui which sealed the deal for the "good guys" as they finished the game off 6-4.
Nice outing by Sampson tonight who came in for the 7th and 8th innings and got out all 6 batters he faced, throwing just 23 pitches. Sampson has been outstanding since being moved to the pen. In his 13 games pitched as a reliever, he's thrown 16.2 innings, allowing just 12 hits, 2 walks while striking out 8, to give him a 2.16 ERA. Not too shabby for a guy who was demoted to the bullpen due to high 5's ERA as a starter. JD has mentioned multiple times how Sampson seems to be more aggressive as a reliever, going at hitters more and it's turned out for excellent results. Maybe Sampson is destined to be a bull pen guy...
Welcome back Kazuo Matsui who went 2 for 6 tonight with 2 doubles and an RBI.
Those who know how to get on base:
0 recs | 9 comments
Maybe Sampson is destined to be a bullpen guy...?
We could us a good bullpen guy.
entropic soul - July 9, 2008
Yep
especially if he keeps this up
Stros Bro - July 9, 2008
Does he have Closer mentality?
Joe in Birmingham - July 10, 2008
He doesn't have anything close to closer stuff....
even though you can never say never, when guys like Joe Borowksi have been closers. Low velocity closers like Doug Jones and Trevor Hoffman have been successful, but they have trick pitches, which Sampson doesn’t. However, if Sampson just can be effective in the 7th/8th inning, that will be plenty helpful.
clack - July 10, 2008
As for Tejada sitting...
maybe Cooper is reacting to media criticism which blames him for Tejada’s slump because he treats Tejada like an “iron man.” Such as:
Officially, Cooper said this last day off is due to the fact that Tejada didn’t get a full day off on Sunday (due to the extra inning game).
clack - July 10, 2008
Hmmm....intended to put in link after "such as"
http://blogs.chron.com/stevecampbell/2008/07/astros_deserve_a_break_from_te.html
clack - July 10, 2008
Today is an off day
there’s his break..
Also, the Astros have 3 more games before they get a 4 day break for the All-Star game… Yes I realize Tejada is on that team, but it’s not like he’ll be playing 4 games during that time.
Stros Bro - July 10, 2008
Roy Oswalt - Tim Redding
Here’something i never expected to read:
Tim Redding, pitching for the lowly Washingotn Nationals Friday, has a better W-L record and lower ERA than Roy Oswalt:
HOU: RHP Roy Oswalt (7-8, 4.60 ERA)
WAS: RHP Tim Redding (6-3, 4.06 ERA)
Joe in Birmingham - July 10, 2008
Yes, very interesting match up.
Those two guys came up through the minors together and combined to be the No. 1 and 2 starting pitchers on their AA and AAA teams. Both guys were rated with similar high ceilings as prospects. Some scouts even thought Redding would be better than Oswalt. (I guess they didn’t know that they would have to wait 6 or 7 years for that to happen.) In any event, both guys were expected to anchor the Astros’ rotation for many years. And, yes, it is shocking that Redding has better stats than Oswalt. However, by year end, I would expect Roy to be in sub-4 ERA territory.
clack - July 10, 2008
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