Carlos Lee hit a grand slam in the fifth inning off of Cincinnati Reds starting pitcher Bronson Arroyo and the Astros went onto defeat the Reds by the score of 6-2.  The Astros have now won the first two games of the three game series and will be going for the sweep on Wednesday.  The way they are playing compared to the Reds, I think they will get that sweep!

Besides Lee going deep for the grand slam in the fifth inning, Miguel Tejada had a solo home run in the third inning.  The first run for the Astros came in the second inning when Hunter Pence tripled to deep center and Lee scored.  Those three swings of the bat were all the Astros needed because the pitchers shut down the Reds for the most part.

Brian Moehler came within one out of recording a complete game but still got the win.  Moehler pitched great as he gave up two runs on seven hits.  Moehler now has a 6-4 record on the season.  Wesley Wright came in to record the final out and record his first save of the season.

Let’s sit back and watch the Astros on Wednesday as they go for the sweep!  Astros Baseball

The Houston Astros lost to the Los Angeles Dodgers 7-6 in 11 inning of action on Tuesday night.  Astros relief pitcher Wesley Wright gave up a solo home run to Jeff Kent that proved to be the game winning hit and run for the Dodgers.  Wright took the loss for the Dodgers and is now 3-3.

Wandy Rodriguez started on the mound for the Astros and pitched five innings.  Rodriguez got the no decision after giving up six hits and five runs while walking four batters and giving up one home run.  Oscar Villarreal gave up one run in the sixth inning as he pitched in relief of Rodriguez.  Tim Byrdak and Geoff Geary pitched three combined scoreless innings after Villarreal left the game.

Ty Wigginton had the big hit for the Astros as he hit a three run home run in the sixth inning.  Hunter Pence had a rbi single in the first inning that scored Michael Bourn.  Carlos Lee got into the rbi column with a rbi double in the seventh inning but that would be the Astros final run of the game.

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The Houston Astros only had six hits in the game but they made sure that they all meant something as they beat the Los Angeles Dodgers by the score of 3-1.  Roy Oswalt pitched six innings and limited the Dodgers to only one run in the game and the offense did just enough to get the victory.

Oswalt gave up a rbi sac fly in the first inning to James Loney of the Dodgers but after that he settled down and when he had to he worked his way out of all the jams he got himself into.  Oswalt struck out nine batters over six innings of action.

Chris Sampson, Wesley Wright, and Jose Valverde all pitched in relief of Oswalt.  Valverde ended up picking up his 22nd save of the season.

Brad Ausmus led the Astros at the plate as he delivered in the fourth inning with a two run single.  Prior to Ausmus’s two run single, Mark Loretta had a rbi single in the fourth inning.  Lance Berkman hit his 22nd home run in the first inning when he took Eric Stults deep.

Astros will now try to go up 2-0 in the series on Tuesday night.  Astros Blog

** We should mention that Roy Oswalt left the game after six innings, but no reports have been released as to what kind of injury it is **  Let’s hope it isn’t to bad and he can make his next start.

The Houston Astros and Baltimore Orioles played ten inning on Wednesday night and it was the Orioles coming out on top.  The O’s pushed across the game winning run on a Kevin Millar single off of Jose Valverde in the tenth inning.  Valverde has now struggled a couple games in a row and he could really use a day off if you ask me.

The one run for the Astros came in the top of the seventh inning when Lance Berkman hit a solo home run.  However the Orioles answered right back with their own home run in the bottom of the inning to tie the game at 1-1.

Brian Moehler pitched 6 1/3 innings and only gave up five hits and one run.  It was a pretty good outing by Moehler besides the one pitch to Luke Scott that left the ballpark.  The Astros bullpen pitched well up until Valverde lost the game too.  Wesley Wright, Chris Sampson, and Doug Brocail all pitched before Valverde took the loss.

The Astros will now try to avoid the sweep as they will play the Orioles on Thursday.  Will the Astros come out and play like they are capable of?  I don’t think so as the Orioles are playing with a lot of momentum.  Leave us a comment and let us know what your thoughts are.

 Astros Blog

RECAP: Roy Oswalt looked strong in the first inning, but things quickly fell apart for the Astros ace, and he ended his outing after the 6th inning, having surrendered five runs to the Phillies. The bullpen stepped in but gave up an additional pair of runs in their collective three innings of work, cementing the Phillies 7-5 victory. Wesley Wright gave up one of the runs and was credited with the loss, and Fernando Nieve was tagged for the final run the bullpen allowed. Tim Byrdak continued to impress, coming in with two runners on and only one out, and managed to get out of the inning with only one of the runners coming around to score. Former Astros closer Brad Lidge came in and pitched a scoreless 9th inning, nailing down his 12th save of the season.

Michael Bourn recorded yet another multi-hit game, going 2-for-5 and stealing his 21st base of the year, tying him for the Major League lead. Ty Wigginton had the best performance of the night, going 3-for-4 with a pair of RBIs. Lance Berkman continued his hot-hitting ways as well, recording three hits in five at-bats and driving in a run.

THOUGHTS: The offense had a good showing tonight, but Oswalt and the bullpen both faltered. The Astros will have to pitch more effectively in the coming three games against the potent Phillies lineup if they’re going to do well in this series.

PLAYER OF THE GAME: Ty Wigginton; two singles, a double and two RBIs.

ASTROS RECORD: 27-22 (.551)

The Houston Astros fell to the Chicago Cubs by the score of 7-2 on Monday night.  The loss put the Astros 3.5 games behind the Cubs in the division standings.

Brian Moehler pitched five innings while giving up seven hits and three runs to take the loss.  Moehler is now 1-1 on the season.  Tim Byrdak pitched a scoreless inning of relief after Moehler exited.  That is when the wheels came off for the Astros bullpen.  Fernando Nieve and Wesley Wright both gave up one run each before Dave Borkowski gave up two runs on a home run.

Carlos Lee and Hunter Pence each had a rbi in the game for the Astros.  Lee had a rbi single in the fourth inning while Pence had a rbi single in the fifth inning.  Other then that, the Astros struck out nine times in the game.

The Astros will need to have a better showing tomorrow unless they want to fall 4.5 games behind the Cubs.  Astros Blog

The Houston Astros were going for the three game sweep against the Washington Nationals but they came up short on Thursday night.  The Nationals avoided the sweep as they beat the Astros 8-3.

Brandon Backe took the loss to drop to 2-4 on the season.  Backe pitched six innings and gave up six hits and four runs in the game.  Oscar Villarreal gave up three runs while Wesley Wright gave up another run.

Carlos Lee, Hunter Pence, and Ty Wigginton all had one rbi each for the Astros.  The Astros weren’t ablt to string together three or four hits in a row to have a big inning and that is why they lost the game in my opinion.  They just couldn’t come up with that big hit when they needed it as they left 21 runners on base.

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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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The Houston Astros had the Chicago Cubs right where they wanted them, that was until the 7th inning when the Cubs exploded for five runs and went on to win the game 9-7.

Roy Oswalt took the loss for the Astros.  He did not strikeout one batter which is unheard of for Oswalt.  I would have have figured he would would have struckout atleast give Cubs batters as they have a lot of free swingers on their team.  Instead of swinging and missing however, they were swinging and hitting the ball around the ballpark.

After Oswalt left the game, Oscar Villarreal came in and walked Aramis Ramirez and then Cecil Cooper decided to bring in Wesley Wright to face Kosuke Fukudome who then hit a double to left field that gave the Cubs the lead.

Carlos Lee went 3-for-4 with a home run and two doubles but it wasn’t enough.

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In a close game against the Chicago Cubs, the Houston Astros were able to come away with a two run victory.  Two runs in the 8th inning proved to be enough for the Astros as the held on for the win against the Cubs.

J.R. Towels connected for a two out, two run homerun in the 4th inning off Rich Hill that gave the Astros a 2-0 lead.   The Astros then gave up a couple of runs in the in the 7th inning when Geovany Soto hit a two RBI single to tie the game for the Cubs, but the Astros then came back in the top of of the 8th inning and scored two runs when Miguel Tejada tripled down the left field line and Ty Wiggington hit a sac fly to centerfield.  The Cubbies then scored one run when Mark DeRosa connected for a solo homerun in the bottom of the 9th innin.

Wesley Wright picked up the win for the Astros.  Cub killer, Jose Valverde picked up the save.

The Astros record now stands at 2-3.