Astros News

"Dodgers starting pitcher Hiroki Kuroda no-hit the Astros for 6 2/3 innings Sunday. After giving up a single and a hit, though, he was pulled. He lost the decision when the Astros scored six runs in the eighth inning to rally for an 8-5 victory."

"Shawn Chacon, who allowed two runs in six innings Sunday, tied a major league record by starting a season with eight consecutive no-decisions. "Today was a case of us facing a pretty doggone good pitcher (Hiroki Kuroda) and the offense picking me up late," Chacon said. "The last couple of times, I think we've been behind, and they've come back late and scored some runs, and we ended up winning the game. "It's pretty weird. I definitely want to get a win before I get a loss. I'll keep taking them (no- decisions) as long as we're winning." Chacon is tied with Dick Stigman, who started the 1965 season with eight consecutive no-decisions for Minnesota."

"As Shawn Chacon iced his right arm Sunday afternoon, he wondered if he were destined to suffer a tough defeat despite a strong outing. The Astros righthander had pitched well, but Hiroki Kuroda of the Los Angeles Dodgers was untouchable for 6 2/3 innings. One inning after Hunter Pence broke up Kuroda's no-hit bid in the seventh, however, the Astros took Chacon out of the decision with a six-run rally to complete an 8-5 come-from-behind victory at Dodger Stadium."

"You can complain all you want about the Dodgers offense, and rightfully so. But there won't be much to play for this summer until the starting five gets used to going more than five. The Dodgers' starting pitchers have thrown the fewest innings of any major league team this season, an enormous problem for a club that fancies itself a contender. Chad Billingsley took his turn Saturday, briefly. Chris Sampson did the Dodgers in, scattering three hits over seven innings and leading the Houston Astros to a 5-0 victory over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium."

"The Dodgers completed their one-week transformation, displaying more ineptness just one weekend after breezing through the schedule. They were dispatched early Saturday and never mounted much resistance in a 5-0 defeat to the Houston Astros, the Dodgers' third consecutive defeat in which the offense was in a slumber. Could this really be the same team that won its 10th game in 11 tries with a victory Tuesday?"

"This coming Friday marks for some the first of 18 dates to circle on the baseball calendar, the first of 18 blemishes for others, as interleague play begins its 12th season. Equal parts, or unequal parts to some purists, postmodern innovation, television gimmickry and cash grab, interleague play has another side to its unfair scheduling. It is not baseball's only avenue to unfair scheduling, but it is the most blatant. For instance, because of the unbalanced schedule, teams competing for the same wild card spot from different divisions play vastly different schedules."

"Darin Erstad was the starting right fielder Saturday as manager Cecil Cooper continued a string of days in which he intended to play his veteran backups. Geoff Blum started Friday, and utility infielder Mark Loretta likely will start today. Jose Cruz Jr. likely will start Monday against the San Francisco Giants. "There's no big, big mystery there," Cooper said. "Just playing Erstad. Getting my veterans a chance to play."

"Lance Berkman continued to sizzle at the plate Saturday night, going 2-for-3, giving him 18 hits in his last 22 at-bats and 20 in 26. "Every day it's something," manager Cecil Cooper said of Berkman before the game. "For the last 10 days, it's been something happening to him. It's just been incredible. I don't know how to explain it. I was never in a streak like that. Never, ever." With his 18 hits before Saturday, Berkman broke the franchise record for hits in a five-game span. That mark belonged to Derek Bell (August 1999) and Julio Lugo (September 2000), who each had 17 in a five-game stretch, according to the Elias Sports Bureau."

"By the time Chris Sampson took the Dodger Stadium mound Saturday night, his Astros teammates already had handed him three runs worth of cushion. An inning later, his offense had given him two more runs to work with against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Sampson did not need that much support on a night he threw seven scoreless innings as the Astros beat the Dodgers 5-0 before a crowd of 45,212."

"Troy Percival is on bonus time and he knows it. "I definitely appreciate it a lot more. I don't ride the highs as high or the lows as low," the former Angel closer said Friday. "I didn't ever figure I'd play again." After blowing out his elbow with the Detroit Tigers then blowing it out again after trying to return, Percival retired to a life of coaching -- both his son's team and as a guest instructor for the Angels last spring. But then a funny thing happened -- his elbow got better. Completely better, in fact."

"In their last 20 outings combined, the top four Dodgers starters have pitched seven innings on only three occasions. Lowe has not reached the seventh inning in his last five starts, and he was done after only 5 1/3 innings Friday as the Dodgers lost to the Houston Astros, 7-1, at Dodger Stadium."

"A chorus awaited Brian Moehler as he walked up the visitors' dugout for batting practice Friday at Dodger Stadium. "Brad! Brad!" his teammates chanted as the Astros' righthander passed by unaware he was being taunted... When he turned to acknowledge his teammates, they pointed up to the scoreboard that declared "Brad" Moehler was starting for the Astros. Moehler looked up at the board and smiled. Then, he re-introduced himself to the Los Angeles Dodgers with five scoreless innings and a 7-1 victory Friday night before a crowd of 52,658."

"It was hard to go anywhere in the Astros clubhouse Thursday without hearing someone praise the instincts of Kaz Matsui, who stole two bases Wednesday and took third on a wild pitch in the ninth before scoring the winning run. "He's energized us," manager Cecil Cooper said. "It almost looks like no contest the way he steals those bases. He reads the pitchers very well and has a knack for doing it.""

"After thrilling Minute Maid Park crowds for five consecutive games with dramatic comeback victories, towering home runs and an exciting brand of baseball, the Astros were rather ordinary Thursday night. That was perfectly fine with the Washington Nationals, who struck the Astros in the jowls and stole the final game of the homestand with an 8-3 win."

"Another loss, and this club would head home on an all-night flight to the District on a three-game slide and rightfully feeling glum. Instead, manager Manny Acta got another gutsy performance from left-hander John Lannan and a surprisingly productive hitting display from a makeshift lineup, all of which resulted in a satisfying 8-3 victory before 33,433 at Minute Maid Park."

"So if the Nationals seemed relieved after an 8-3 victory over the Astros on Thursday night -- ending Houston's five-game winning streak -- forgive them. They know that because John Lannan allowed just one run over six innings, and because they got home runs from the most unexpected of sources -- reserves Willie Harris and Rob Mackowiak -- they prevented the start of what could have become a tailspin."

"Astros pitcher Brian Moehler threw 40 pitches in two innings in a simulated game Wednesday afternoon in preparation for his start Friday against the Los Angeles Dodgers. It will be his first start since Sept. 29, 2006. "I told them I would start or relieve or whatever," said Moehler, who threw 65 pitches in a simulated game Saturday. "I've been playing for 11 years now and have never been in the playoffs, so I'll do whatever it takes." Moehler, who is 64-83 in 257 career appearances (189 starts), is taking the rotation spot of Wandy Rodriguez, who could be out for another two weeks with a strained groin."

"From the window of his 22nd-floor downtown office, Bob McClaren can see the scoreboard at Minute Maid Park. It's not quite the same view he once had from his office at Union Station as the Astros' president of baseball operations. McClaren, 49, still works in the neighborhood, but his career crossover from baseball executive to sports agent has taken him to the other side of the ballpark's railroad tracks. "You're going to the dark side," longtime friend and sports agent Barry Axelrod told McClaren. "If you come over to the dark side, you may never be able to go back.""

"Well aware of the danger red-hot Lance Berkman brings with a bat in his hands these days, the Washington Nationals twice decided to take their chances with Carlos Lee in the late innings Wednesday night. The strategy of walking Berkman intentionally worked out when Lee struck out in the seventh, but Lee made the Nationals pay with the game on the line in the ninth. Lee hit a line-drive single to center field to score Kaz Matsui from third base to send the Astros past the Washington Nationals 4-3 at Minute Maid Park."

"There was a dominant performance from Roy Oswalt, though not dominant enough to keep Ryan Zimmerman in the ballpark. There was a surreal encounter between Paul Lo Duca and a group of fans seated behind the third-base dugout that started razzing the veteran catcher after he reinjured his right hand. And there were any number of unusual plays in a ballgame filled with unusual moments. In the end, the Washington Nationals were done in again by some late heroics from the Houston Astros and were left to contemplate a demoralizing 4-3 loss at Minute Maid Park."

"But in the half-hour after the 4-3 loss at Minute Maid Park -- one that ended when Houston left fielder Carlos Lee hit a line-drive single to center with one out and runners at the corners in the bottom of the ninth -- Joel Hanrahan sat at his locker, his back to the visitors' clubhouse. An ice pack wrapped around his right elbow. His teammates ate quietly, showered, watched video. Hanrahan sat still, bare-footed, silent."

"Fifty years after he broke into the big leagues as one of Major League Baseball's first Spanish-language radio announcers, Rene Cardenas makes his U.S. television play-by-play debut today as the Astros and FSN Houston launch a 15-game schedule of Spanish broadcasts to air in Houston and across South Texas."

"Jose Valverde's worst night became his best. At least that's the way it looks three weeks later. He parked himself in front of a video machine that night in Philadelphia and began looking for a flaw he assumed had developed in his delivery. He saw it almost immediately. Simple, huh? "When I figured out what I was doing wrong, it was easy to fix," he said. He couldn't have known it at the time, but he was on the road back and so were the Astros."

"Astros manager Cecil Cooper let out a huge sigh of relief and finally allowed himself to smile. The previous three hours spent in the tense home dugout offered few chances for him to do either. "First let me say, I can't keep going through this," Cooper said. "This is killing me. It's pretty nerve-wracking sitting over there praying for base hits, but they kept coming, though." And coming and coming. There were enough of them for the Astros to come from behind four times Tuesday night before finally putting away the Washington Nationals 6-5 at Minute Maid Park."

"The Washington Nationals arrived at Minute Maid Park a team on a roll, having just completed a highly successful homestand to resurrect their wayward season. Last night's unsightly 6-5 loss to the Houston Astros quickly took the luster off that feel-good story."

""I thought I could catch it," Kearns said. The ball sank. Kearns dove. Not only did it fall to the Minute Maid Park turf, but it trickled past his glove. Kearns popped up, but the tying run scored easily, and lumbering Lance Berkman scooted all the way home from first with the run that gave the Astros a 6-5 victory over the Nationals on Tuesday night. "

"Astros lefthander Wandy Rodriguez, who is on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin, will throw a bullpen session today at Minute Maid Park. "I don't know if I'm healthy yet, because I have to see after I throw," Rodriguez said via phone Monday. "I have to see if I feel it when I throw. I have to pitch because that's when I can see how I feel.""

"Thirty-two games into his first full season as manager of the Astros, Cooper is searching for the balance when weighing his instincts against the advice of his coaches. But in his mind, his most difficult task, in contrast to his playing days, has been controlling his emotions. Although he spent the last month of the 2007 season as Astros interim manager, Cooper is a rookie manager. He's a freshman skipper trying to work three young players — center fielder Michael Bourn, catcher J.R. Towles and right fielder Hunter Pence — into the everyday lineup."

"In spring training, manager Cecil Cooper envisioned righthander Oscar Villarreal potentially serving as the Astros' seventh-inning reliever. The righthander from Monterrey, Mexico, got off to a rough start, making it difficult for Cooper to settle on his bullpen order in front of setup man Doug Brocail and closer Jose Valverde. Villarreal atoned a bit Saturday when he relieved Brandon Backe with the bases loaded and two out in the sixth and stranded the bases loaded. Afterward, Villarreal said he appreciated the chance to regain his manager's confidence. Cooper would love for Villarreal to help solidify his bullpen."

"Even Berkman on one of his best days couldn't drive in runs quite as fast as Chris Sampson was allowing them. The Astros needed every contribution - big or small - they could get from Berkman, every clutch pitch they could get from their bullpen, every pinch hit they could squeeze out of their beleaguered bench players to pull out an 8-6 victory. The Astros had to work 12 innings to give a crowd of 38,301 a happy ending. Cooper used seven pitchers and all 13 position players in pursuit of the Astros' third consecutive victory. "

"As Hunter Pence strolled to the plate in the 12th inning, his focus was on the Astros' bullpen and finding a way to reward it for a masterful performance on a glorious Sunday afternoon at Minute Maid Park. Knowing one swing could decide the outcome, Pence saw no reason to dwell on his 0-for-5 collar. On a day Lance Berkman and Astros relievers stood out, Pence drilled a walk-off, two-run home run to beat the Milwaukee Brewers 8-6 in 12 innings to complete the three-game sweep that evened their record at 16-16."

"Say what you want about close plays at first base and tight strike zones but Eric Gagné has become a crap shoot when the Milwaukee Brewers summon him to close games. Gagné blew his major league-high fifth save Sunday by surrendering two runs in the bottom of the ninth in a game the Brewers eventually lost to the Houston Astros, 8-6, on Hunter Pence's two-run homer with one out in the 12th inning."

"Since beginning their inaugural season in 1998 as the Tampa Bay Devil Rays, the newly christened Rays hardly limped as they were bedeviled with injuries in April. Led by a 31-year-old general manager from Houston with a lineup anchored by All-Star left fielder Carl Crawford of Davis High, the Rays finished the month atop the difficult American League East for the first time."

"Following Friday's play, Houston was in a lock with San Diego, St. Louis and Kansas City with an MLB-low 12 misplays. In addition, Houston's .989 fielding % is fourth in MLB. But is this akin to saying that Houston's cow-skin work in tops of innings on Crawford St. and bottoms of road innings is outstanding? So far, Houston is slightly south of midpack in outs as a comparison with normal outs for a squad with similar balls hit at it, according to The Hardball Times. According to THT, Houston has cashed in 11 outs short of what a normal squad would with that combination of ground balls, fly balls and pop-ups coming off opposition bats. A disparity of 11 outs sounds minor but only San Francisco's, Pittsburgh's and Florida's totals trail Houston's through Friday in NL play."

"While Wandy Rodriguez continued to feel discomfort in his strained left groin muscle, long reliever Brian Moehler threw a simulated game Saturday afternoon at Minute Maid Park to prepare for the possibility of making a spot start. Because of the day off Monday before starting a three-game series against the Washington Nationals, the Astros won't need another starter until Friday. With the exception of Chris Sampson, who starts today, the other three starters can start on regular rest through the series finale Thursday against the Nationals. If Rodriguez isn't ready by Friday, though, a decision will be made."

"Brandon Backe isn't sure if his bat provided the spark the Astros needed Saturday night against the Milwaukee Brewers. He would like to think so, but he was modest enough to wonder if it was just a matter of time before his teammates got the offense rolling. This much is certain. As the hanging curveball approached in the fifth inning, Backe poked a home run into the Crawford Boxes and pushed the Astros toward their 6-2 victory at Minute Maid Park. With that home run from their starting pitcher, the Astros began a five-run rally in the fifth."

"Manny Parra understands that baseball is a nine-inning game. It's the concept of getting through the fifth and sixth innings that has flummoxed the 25-year-old left-hander. Continuing a pattern that has plagued him throughout his six starts this season, Parra ran into a mid-game buzz saw from which he could not escape Saturday night. The Houston Astros scored five runs before making an out in the fifth inning and went on to a 6-2 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers at Minute Maid Park."

"The ninth inning is Jose Valverde's. That was made clear the second he was acquired from Arizona in the offseason. The eighth inning belongs to Doug Brocail. That was made clear as soon as he broke out of his spring training slump. The seventh is anybody's guess. Seven relievers have thrown in the seventh inning this season for the Astros, who average a shade under 52/3 innings from their starters. But manager Cecil Cooper hopes to have his seventh-inning role defined soon like he has with his set-up man and closer."

"Jacob Scott, 8, and fellow muscular dystrophy patient Jacob Richard were among the loudest fans at Minute Maid Park as the Astros put on an amazing home run display Friday night. Yet, as Miguel Tejada tried to chat with Scott after the victory, the boy stood away from his walker and struggled to formulate a word. For Richard and Scott, the Astros' five home runs were more than just the key to beating the Milwaukee Brewers 7-4 before a crowd of 39,715."

"Every fly ball to left field in Minute Maid Park doesn't drop into the short porch known as the "Crawford Boxes" for a home run. It just seems that way. In a span of 11 pitches in the sixth inning Friday night, Milwaukee Brewers right-hander Carlos Villanueva watched three baseballs land in that cozy seating section. The three-homer barrage turned the game around and allowed the Houston Astros to make off with a 7-4 victory in a game they trailed at one time by four runs."

"Originally scheduled to throw a simulated game before tonight's series opener against Milwaukee, lefthander Wandy Rodriguez will wait to either Saturday or Sunday after experiencing more pain. He will be examined today by team medical director Dr. David Lintner. Rodriguez, on the 15-day disabled list with a strained left groin, threw a bullpen session Wednesday in Arizona and said he was sore. General manager Ed Wade said pitching coach Dewey Robinson wanted to push back Rodriguez's timetable."

"As perhaps the most hard-nosed player wearing an Astros uniform, third baseman Ty Wigginton was as restless as a caged lion for much of April while he nursed a broken bone in his left thumb. The injury wasn't serious, but the discomfort Wigginton felt in the thumb made it more difficult for him to catch the ball than it was to swing a bat... Wigginton, limited to playing in only six games before injuring the thumb April 6 in Chicago, will return to the Astros' starting lineup tonight against the Milwaukee Brewers after being activated from the 15-day disabled list."

"Micah Owings received the ultimate respect Wednesday, when Houston made a pitching change after Owings was announced as a pinch-hitter. Owings then proceeded to show why it was deserved. Owings hit the first pitch he saw from right-hander Dave Borkowski for a two-out, two-run, opposite-field home run to tie the game at 7-7 in the sixth inning. Chris Young then doubled and Eric Byrnes singled him home in an 8-7 victory over Houston at Chase Field."

"There was concern about Micah Owings' sore right ankle and whether he would be able to make his next start on the mound for the Diamondbacks. So with the blessing of his manager, Bob Melvin, he took a jog around the bases Wednesday. It appears that Owings is OK after his pinch-hit two-run home run in the Diamondbacks' 8-7 victory over the Houston Astros in front of 21,519 at Chase Field."

"This guy looks as if he can do no wrong. Micah Owings the pitcher has a 4-0 record. Micah Owings the hitter is batting .421, and his pinch-hit home run Wednesday just added to the folklore. He made it look easy, hitting the first pitch from reliever Dave Borkowski on a line over the right-field fence... His help was all the more impressive in the 8-7 win over the Houston Astros, because he did it on a sore ankle, and had he managed to reach base any other way, manager Bob Melvin was going to lift him for a pinch-runner - Max Scherzer, another pitcher."

"Lefthander Wandy Rodriguez, on the disabled list with a strained left groin, said he felt some minor pain in his left leg during his bullpen session Wednesday in Arizona. "Not as bad as when I threw at home," said Rodriguez, referring to when he suffered the injury April 18. Rodriguez is still scheduled to throw five innings in a simulated game Friday at Minute Maid Park with hopes he can return to the Astros' starting rotation next Wednesday."

"Astros manager Cecil Cooper was in no mood to discuss any silver linings Wednesday. Not after watching his team suffer what he categorized as easily the most frustrating loss of the year. "This won't go away soon," Cooper said. The image tormenting Cooper's mind was that of Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Micah Owings blasting a two-run, pinch-hit homer off Dave Borkowski that tied the game in the sixth inning. The Diamondbacks scored once more in the sixth and held on to beat the Astros 8-7 in the finale of an eight-game road trip at Chase Field. The Astros broke even at 4-4 on the trip, but that was no consolation to Cooper, either."

"Scherzer retired all 13 batters he faced in a relief role, although he did not arrive early enough to save the D-Backs from a 6-4 loss to Houston, entering as he did after Edgar Gonzalez gave up six runs in 2 2/3 innings."

"Not after Max Scherzer made his major-league debut. Firing fastballs up to 98 mph, the rookie right-hander threw an overpowering 4 1/3 innings in relief, retiring all 13 batters he faced while dominating the Houston Astros in front of 20,241 at Chase Field."

"Mired in an 0-for-14 slump entering Tuesday, right fielder Hunter Pence was held out of the starting lineup against Arizona. Jose Cruz Jr. started in right, giving manager Cecil Cooper four switch hitters in the lineup. Pence did not play; Cruz went 0-for-4 with two strikeouts and is hitting .074."