Astros trump the Dodgers, but at what expense?

by Stephen Higdon on Apr 21, 2009 11:12 PM CDT

I didn't get to see all of tonight's action as I bounced around from meeting to meeting, but the parts I did see were encouraging...well if you discount the fact that I think Valverde has a broken bone somewhere on his right leg.

Ortiz had luck on his side as he battled through is five innings, allowing just the three runs in the first, but escaping danger on his 5 BB to 2 K. Luckily the fielders backed him converting his 11 Ground Outs. Hopefully Ortiz will continue to adjust to his normal life as a starter and continue to provide solid outings with less free passes.

Kershaw finally came back down to earth tonight, and I think there was not better signal of that then the ball that Carols Lee absolutely tattooed onto the rail-road tracks in the bottom of the 3rd. Jeff Keppinger continued to do what we traded Drew Sutton away to do—crush left handed pitching, and the rest of the offense just clicked tonight.

Jeff Fulchino let things get interesting for us, and I look forward to Doug Brocail's rehab starts being over and done with.

The real story is whether or not Jose Valverde will be healthy or not after his gutsy performance tonight. I'm not sure what I'm more impressed by: Gutting it out after taking a ball to a face last year? Or gutting it out on one leg tonight? As impressive as his performance was, I'm genuinely frightened to find out his diagnosis. I don't blame Coop for keeping him because Coop really had no other options, and I get the feeling Valverde was insistent on continuing and that the trainers signed off on it. Also, whatever damage had been done, had been done. I just truly, truly hope he'll be OK.

Come back tomorrow as the Astros attempt to go on something called a winning streak.

Box Score and Dodgers recap can be found here.

via www.fangraphs.com

Dear Baseball gods,

Please let Jose Valverde be OK.

Love,

Astros Fans

0 recs | 4 comments

Comments

for anyone interested:

rockets game:

http://www.kgw.com/video/?nvid=57406&live=yes

Evan Hochschild - April 21, 2009 reply

I like Kershaw's reaction to the game.

OK, part of my reaction is based on irritation at national web sites which don’t give the Astros any credit for the the win, but say it was just a “down day” for the Dodger. (Examples: ESPN BBTN; also,baseballmusings’s headline—“Even Good Baseball Teams Have Bad Days.”)

Joe Torre, as well as the LA press, tried to say that Kershaw had a off day. However, he disagreed and gave credit to the Astros. From the LA Times:

It was clear from the outset that Kershaw was not in control of the hitters as he’d been in his last outing against the San Francisco Giants, when he struck out 13 and allowed just one hit and one run in seven innings.

Kershaw overall gave up eight hits and six runs in 4 1/3 innings, sending his earned-run average soaring to 4.41 from 1.50.

“As far as getting ahead of hitters and throwing strikes with off-speed pitches, I probably had better command today than I had the other day against the Giants,” Kershaw said.

But the Astros “hit some good pitches, and other times they just capitalized a lot more,” he said.
It was clear from the outset that Kershaw was not in control of the hitters as he’d been in his last outing against the San Francisco Giants, when he struck out 13 and allowed just one hit and one run in seven innings.
…
“As far as getting ahead of hitters and throwing strikes with off-speed pitches, I probably had better command today than I had the other day against the Giants,” Kershaw said.

But the Astros “hit some good pitches, and other times they just capitalized a lot more,” he said.

clack - April 22, 2009 reply

sorry about the repeated lines in the quote...

clack - April 22, 2009 reply

Very illuminating, thanks

Let’s hope it bodes well for the offense!

Xan - April 22, 2009 reply

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