Jump to content

.45th Anniversary - A Houston Astros Dynasty


NYY_rich

Recommended Posts

Game 1

Pirates (0-0) @ Astros (0-0)

The Houston Astros began their 45th Anniversary campaign with lots and lots of optimism and lots and lots of new faces. The only two that remain from '06 is the bat of second baseman Craig Biggio and the golden arm of southpaw Andy Pettitte. But today, it was all about the new centerfielder. Yes, he's in center field now... Alfonso Soriano. Not only did he blast a 460-foot rocket out of Minute Maid, but he proved all the critics wrong.

sorianowebgemsh3.jpg

In the top of the third, Soriano chased the ball down that was launched off the bat of Jeff Cirillo and made the unbelievable grab - on the hill, over the shoulder almost 435 feet away. On the other hill, Justin Verlander had a somewhat solid debut in Minute Maid surrendering 3 runs over 6 innings and the first of two taters from Nick Swisher. The Astros' offense turned out to be more potent as former Astro and new Bucco Roy Oswalt only lasted 3 2/3 innings while giving up 7 runs on 10 hits. Wily Mo Pena pretty much sealed it in the third when he hit a skyscraper off Oswalt that dropped 332 feet away in the short porch at Minute Maid for three big runs. To top it all off, Mariano Rivera got his first save as an Astro and his 414th of his career.

Tomorrow, Andy Pettitte gets the nod against his former teammate in New York, veteran Mike Mussina.

BOX SCORE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 2

Pirates (0-1) @ Astros (1-0)

After a day that featured every hitter 1-8 getting at least 1 hit, the Astros' major display continued. Only this time, they were outhit and outscored 9-5 as they fell to Pittsburgh. Andy Pettitte was shaky from the 2nd inning on as hit after hit went by him. Michael Young ended up being the biggest thorn in Andy's side going 4-for-5 with a pair of short porchers. The crowd at Minute Maid was very surprised to see Pettitte go five innings, and the bullpen didn't really offer much support as both Aaron Sele and Hideki Okajima both had one shot leave the yard. On the defensive side, Jose Reyes was a major disappointment as he turned two routine plays into errors. That on top of Brandon Inge's error let to the 4 unearned runs that cost Houston the ballgame.

pettittereachingiq0.jpg

Andy Pettitte going to second on a throwing error from Tadahito Iguchi.

Tomorrow, it's the rubber match with John Patterson of the Buccos facing off against Gil Meche of the Astros. The link to the full broadcast of the game will be available below the box score link for Game 3.

BOX SCORE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 3

Pirates (1-1) @ Astros (1-1)

It was a little bit of everything at Minute Maid with the rubber game between Houston and Pittsburgh. Homers, errors, K's, and double plays. Craig Biggio, the constant of the Astros for the last 20 years hit his first home run of the season, over the tracks, in a uniform that was worn 13 years before he even debuted in the Majors. Both teams sported some fashionable throwbacks - the Pirates wore their road gold from the World Champion 1979 "We Are Family" club and the 'Stros had their 1975 unis from the days of J.R. Richard, Joe Niekro, and Enos Cabell.

It was a lot offense for both sides as Jorge Posada and Dmitri Young hit their first for the Pirates, and Brandon Inge and Alfonso Soriano hit their second for Houston. Defensively, Jose Reyes picked up another error (3 in 2 games), and Soriano botched up a catch that led to an unearned run in the third.

Happy that they took two out of three, Houston welcomes Roger Clemens and the St. Louis Cardinals to three at Minute Maid, including the Colt. 45 Celebration for the finale on Sunday. In game 1, sophomore sensation Anthony Reyes will go toe to toe with veteran lefty Randy Wolf.

BOX SCORE

BROADCAST OF THE GAME

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 4

Cardinals (2-1) @ Astros (2-1)

This was an up and down game all around. A little bit of good and a lot of bad if you're Randy Wolf as the Astros dropped the opener to St. Louis, 10-6. The Astros southpaw surrendered a total of 3 homers in 3 2/3 innings, including a 3-run homer to counterpart Anthony Reyes. Yes, the pitcher Anthony Reyes.

reyesdx2.jpg

Anthony Reyes puts one inside the pole for his first career homer and first career RBIs (3).

sfirsthomerix7.jpg

On the positive side of things, rookie Felix Pie hit his first Major League home run, a 3-run shot, into the right field sheets.

In game 2, the Cardinals will send Mike Maroth, former Tiger, to the hill against Josh Fogg and the Astros.

BOX SCORE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 5

Cardinals (3-1) @ Astros (2-2)

Everything was going well for Astros starter Josh Fogg. In five innings, he only gave up a total of six hits. Pujols' home run total is now 4 as he hit a pair. Houston had a two run lead in the top of the sixth, then it went downhill from there. Lefty reliever Hideki Okajima gives up a homer on to Brian Roberts and a triple to David DeJesus on his first two pitches. In only a third inning of work, 3 runs were on Okajima's tab. St. Louis was in the lead, and they wouldn't look back. Mike Maroth had a strong outing only giving up two runs on five hits and seven strikeouts over seven innings.

pujolshrxf2.jpg

Pujols points to the baseball gods in appreciation of his big home run.

Losers of three of their last four, the Astros look to go .500 on the first homestand, and they send Justin Verlander to the hill. But it won't be that easy. On the other side is future Hall of Fame pitcher Roger Clemens. Look beneath the box score link for the full broadcast link once Game 6 has been posted.

In other news, RP Hideki Okajima and LF Gabe Gross were sent down to AAA Round Rock and replaced by veteran left-hander Mike Stanton and former White Sox speedster Scott Podsednik.

BOX SCORE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 6

Cardinals (4-1) @ Astros (2-3)

Houston celebrated 45 years of Astros baseball Sunday with a tribute to the 1962 inaugural team. The days of Jim Umbricht, Bobby Shantz, and Roman Mejias took the Houston faithful back to those days at Colt Stadium and the original Astros, the Houston Colt .45s. The first game in history was a victory against the Cubs 11-2 on April 13, 1962. This game was a slugfest! A total of 10 home runs were hit by both teams as the Houston Astros and St. Louis Cardinals went back and forth until the Astros pulled it out at the end with a game-winning blast by Alfonso Soriano for the 9-8 win.

Now, the Astros, for the first time in '07, head out on the road and they start tomorrow afternoon with a matinee game against Piniella's Pack of Chicago Cubs at Wrigley. Andy Pettitte, coming off a decent performance against Pittsburgh, will go for Houston and the Cubs will send John Lackey, the former LA Angel, to the hill.

BOX SCORE

BROADCAST OF THE GAME

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You built your team good for that short porch in left. Looks like a good dynasty.

Yeah, there's a whole mess of good right handed power hitters. The few lefties we have (Pie, Stewart, Podsednik) will mix it up for us if we need it out on the road.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

man rich everything seems just right except for the graphics.... what graphics do you have? did you use that mod that makes your graphics card go to "Xpress"?

I have an Intel® 82852/82855 GM/GME Graphics Controller... the computer's two years old, but it still runs pretty good...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 7

Astros (3-3) @ Cubs (1-5)

It was more of a pure hitting display than a power display at Wrigley Field Monday afternoon. A combined 28 hits were accounted for. Both sides had everything going for them, but on the side of the Houston Astros, veteran pitching and skilled defense shut down the Cubs on this day. Jose Reyes capped off the day with a 3-run shot in the sixth as the Houston Astros defeated the Chicago Cubs by the score of 8-2. Andy Pettitte was the catalyst that lead to the Houston victory as he only surrendered two runs over 6 2/3 innings.

pettittessnaghg9.jpg

Andy Pettitte snags a liner off the bat of John Buck.

The bullpen of Rasner, Stanton, and Zumaya picked up the pieces and only allowed 1 hit each in their appearances. Albert Pujols extended his hitting streak to nine straight games with a single in the top of the first. In Game 2 of the series, Gil Meche looks to rebound from his last start as he goes up against Kyle Lohse, whose ERA at the moment is an embarrassing 18.90.

BOX SCORE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BREAKING NEWS:

Cubs SP Kyle Lohse has been taken out of the game due to an injury to his right foot. The injury occurred in the top of the third when Astros SP Gil Meche hit a sharp liner off the foot and Lohse looked to be in quite a bit of pain. Jake Woods has replaced him on the mound. Lohse will be out a total of four weeks.

Astros RF Wily Mo Pena has an inflamed right elbow and will need a week for the injury to heal. Houston has placed Felix Pie in RF for the time being.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 8

Astros (4-3) @ Cubs (1-6)

In a nutshell, Houston had its opening, but they couldn't take advantage. And to make matters worse, P Jake Woods hit a solo shot to pretty much seal it. The Cubs put together 15 hits and won this one by the count of 8-3. Gil Meche had another rough outing and his 8.68 ERA is nothing but terrible. Aaron Sele, the primary candidate to take over a rotation spot, closed the door for 3 1/3 of his own and only giving up 1 ER. The lineup was stagnant, and because of the lack of production for Scott Podsednik in the two hole, the Astros sent him back to Round Rock and brought up former Yankee Bubba Crosby. On top of that, Wily Mo Pena will be out for the next week, due to an inflamed right elbow.

zumayaandtheballmc8.jpg

Need I say more?

In the matinee tomorrow, Randy Wolf will go toe to toe with the young southpaw Elizardo Ramirez.

BOX SCORE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 9

Astros (4-4) @ Cubs (2-6)

Yes, it got bad. It got bad very quickly. How bad? 4-0 after two. 7-1 at the end of five. Randy Wolf got shelled - no question about it. But the Astros saw the light at the end of the tunnel...

nearthetarpxi2.jpg

Pujols also has the glovework, too. Very nice.

headsupplayvw8.jpg

Piazza sacrifices his body and makes the "Catch of the Year".

Other than the Web Gems, Houston came all the way back to take a 9-8 lead in the top of the eighth. Pujols pounded a pair out of Wrigley for 5 RBI total. The bullpen almost bailed us out; Eyre, Broxton, Stanton, and Rasner were superb. But Phil Garner decided to go to Mo with 2 outs in the ninth with the score at 9-9. Rivera hung a 2-seamer up in the zone, and that was that. Just as quickly the light at the end of the tunnel was gone, and Houston was left in the darkness.

walkoffbuckfk5.jpg

John ******* Buck celebrates as he hit the game-winning HR off Mariano Rivera.

MLB has already postponed Friday's game against the Phillies due to heavy thunderstorms moving into the area. Saturday will be a day-night doubleheader with former Cub Carlos Marmol pitching in Game 1 and Cy Young Award winner Chris Carpenter in Game 2. The Astros will respond with Josh Fogg and Justin Verlander, respectively.

BOX SCORE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

BREAKING NEWS:

Astros SP Josh Fogg was taken to the hospital due to a concussion he suffered when hit by a Cesar Izturis line drive. Aaron Sele has taken over the pitching duties in the bottom half of the second. Our prayers are with Fogg and we hope that it isn't as serious as it initially looked.

Additionally, we report that Astros MGR Phil Garner has been ejected due to a blown call at first base with the umpire saying that Pujols never touched the bag.

Finally, Carlos Marmol's bid for a perfect game has ended after 7 1/3 innings. Shannon Stewart stymied it with a single to right center.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Game 10

Astros (4-5) @ Phillies (3-6)

Remember what I said about that whole "light at the end of the tunnel" last game? Well, the Astros found it and seized the moment. It didn't come without its fair share of suffering though. Pujols' 11-game hitting streak came to an end. Josh Fogg came out of the game with a concussion. A perfect game bid was all the Astros needed to wake up, smell the pine tar, and get back in the game. They were only down two runs. So the struggling Shannon Stewart came through with a sharp single to right center. In the top of the eighth, Soriano led off with a homer. Then the next thing you know, Marmol's out of there and it's a whole new ball game.

Then Philly scored again in the bottom half of the inning. OK... Reyes starts with a single. Stewart and Pujols come up short. Last chance, 2 strikes...

sorianogw2si5.jpg

Soriano, once again, proved to be the difference.

SORIANO!!! SORIANO!!! Rivera shuts the door in the ninth for his second win of the year, and Houston's back at .500, baby!

Between games, the Astros learned that Josh Fogg will only miss his Wednesday start against Cincinnati. The confident Aaron Sele will fill in for a spot start that may lead to a lock for the rotation.

BOX SCORE

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just wondering, but how could Pujols have an eleven game hitting streak 10 games into the season? Is it continued from last season?

Yes, I personally checked the numbers from last year. Pujols hit a HR against the Brewers on the second to last game last year and that started the streak.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...