The Houston Astros played another bad game as they lost to the Pittsburgh Pirates by the score of 8-7.  It was the third straight day that the Astros lost the Pirates and they were swept in the three game series.  Now that is a very dissapointing series when you get swept by the Pirates at home.

The Astros were able to knock out Pirates starting pitcher after only three innings but they just couldn’t take advantage of the Pirates bullpen.  Mark Loretta led the Astros at the plate with two rbi and then five others had one rbi each.  Kazuo Matsui, Lance Berkman, Hunter Pence, Brad Ausmus, and Geoff Blum all recorded one rbi in the game.

Brian Moehler started the game for the Astros and really sucked it up as he only lasted 2 1/3 innings.  Moehler gave up nine hits and six runs and got a no decision in the game.  Geoff Geary ended up taking the loss and is now 2-2 on the year after he gave up three hits and two runs in two innings of action.

So now the Astros will be off on Thursday before they start off weekend series with the Milwaukee Brewers.  The Brewers have been playing some great baseball, so the Astros are going to have to bring their “A” game if they want any chance at winning a game.

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Today was a bad day all around for the Astros tonight. First, Roy Oswalt left the game after the first inning with his hip bothering him again. Then, the Astros got pummeled 10-0.

Right after Oswalt left, Chad Paronto came in and gave up a two-run homer to Ron Belliard of the Nationals. He gave up another run in the 3rd inning to end his night.

After a couple strong showings, Dave Borkowski went back to his old ways. He gave up 7 runs in only two innings. Just when you think our bullpen could turn into a strong point, they blow up.

There wasn’t too much on the offensive side of the game for the Astros either, the only strong points were Carlos Lee and Kazuo Matsui each had 2 hits.

I wish there was more to write about on this game, but really it’s embarassing to even write this entry. I hope this game sends a strong message to Ed Wade to wake up and realize this team is not built for the playoffs. I know that Oswalt got injured and that had a lot to do with the loss, but something needs to change. On the radio this morning Wade said he doesn’t think the Houston fans want to start rebuilding. News flash Ed, it’s not up to the fans, it’s up to you. Rebuild and be competitive in a couple years and you will have more fans. Right now people are just losing interest in this squad, and rightfully so.

Maybe we will wake up tomorrow and find a headline about some major roster moves. Atleast we can dream…

Well the Astros pulled one out against the Pirates tonight after disappointing losses in the first two games of the series.

Before the game the Astros activated Kazuo Matsui from the disable list by designating Chad Reinke, who was only called up for barely a day.

Now on to the game…The night started off great with a three-run homerun from Geoff Blum, who was starting at shortstop to give Miguel Tejada a day off. Brad Ausmus provided an RBI single later in the first to make it 4-0 after the first.

Brian Moehler had a decent start, giving up 4 runs over 6 innings. Pitching through the 6th inning gave the Astros exactly what they needed. The Astros rewarded Moehler with 2 runs in the top of the 7th on a Hunter Pence groundout and a Kazuo Matsui double. This proved enough to give Moehler the victory, as he moves to  5-4 on the season.

Chris Sampson had another strong showing out of the bullpen, pitching two scoreless innings to get it to Jose Valverde for the save.

Another good sign from the game is Michael Bourn went 2-5. If he can start hitting with some consistency, this offense could really pick it up. When this team hits, there is no doubt we can contend. With our pitching. though, we need the offense to be rolling all the time, which is hard to expect.

Some other news is that Oscar Villareal does not want to accept his assignment to AAA Round Rock. The Astros have until Friday to either release or trade him. We’ll see what Ed Wade will do about that.

Everyone say a prayer to the basball gods that someone sends us an ace for our rotation…

On a day when the Astros needed a big start from Runelvys Hernandez , because of the 17 inning game on Sunday night, they got just the opposite. In only 4 innings Hernandez gave up 10 runs on 13 hits and 4 walks.

In the top of the first Carlos Lee hit a 2-run homerun, followed by an RBI single by Ty Wigginton that put the Astros up 3-0 early. That lead did not last long as Hernandez gave up 4 runs in the bottom half of the first on four straight singles. After giving up two more runs in the second inning it looked like the Astros were done. In the top of the fourth the Astros came roaring back with four runs to take a 7-6 lead. Hernandez helped himself out with an RBI bunt single and Lance Berkman came through with an RBI double to headline the inning. What little hope that inning brought was crushed mintues later in the bottom of the fourth when Hernandez gave up another 4 runs to end his night.

Neither offenses did much after the first four innings. Recently called up Chad Paronto came in and threw four shutout innings in relief, giving up one hit and issuing one walk. If there is any positives to take away from this game it would be the strong showing of Paronto.

Kazuo Matsui should be coming off the disable list today, and my best guess would be that Runelvys Hernandez will be sent back down to AAA. He has shown some good stuff, but he needs to work on being consistent. His fastball has reached 96 mph on the radar, so I hope he can get it together and be a solid back-end rotation guy for us sometime.

Here’s to hoping Brandon Backe can come through tonight with a good start, because if he doesn’t, his future doesn’t look to bright either…

The Houston Astros got their 7th much needed win of the year over the Colorado Rockies at home on Sunday.  The Astros used three runs in the eight inning to go ahead of the Rockies and eventually win.  The Astros are struggling to get their season going as they have started off 7-12 so far.

Shawn Chacon opened up the night for the Astros pitching six innings and giving up seven hits and three runs.  Dave Borkowski, Wesley Wright, and Jose Valverde finished out the night with Valverde getting his 2nd save for the year.

Geoff Blum, Miguel Tejada, and Kazuo Matsui all picked up RBIs for the Astros.  Matsui and Tejada both had two RBI each while Blum had one RBI.

The Houston Astros will now take on the Milwaukee Brewers for a three game series at home.  Will the Astros have what it takes to keep the wins coming in and maybe get them back into the top of the standings?

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