Astros can't squeeze past
.500
Astros Report
Aditya Godse
The Astros have lost this same game about
a dozen times this season. They've lost it because a starting pitcher couldn't
get the crucial out or
because the bullpen blew up or because
the offense wasted one too many chances.
On one night, though, the stars were aligned,
the pitching and defense were terrific, and the Astros defeated the Milwaukee
Brewers 3-1 Monday
in front of 27,515 at Minute Maid Park.
Right-hander Wade Miller ran his career
record against the Brewers to 10-1 by allowing one run in seven innings.
He was at his 95 miles per
hour best early in the game, and then
hung on through some rough spots to run his record to 7-3 for the season.
For those who don't want to hear about
another dominant Wade Miller performance over the Milwaukee Brewers, now
would be a good time to
stop reading.
Miller has pitched his last 14 innings
against the Brewers, and during that stretch spanning two starts, he has
allowed exactly one run.
In Monday's 3-1 win over Milwaukee at Minute
Maid Park, he improved his career record vs. Milwaukee to 10-1 while lowering
his ERA against
the Brewers to 2.63.
Imagine what that ERA would look like right
now if he hadn't given up seven runs to the Brewers on opening day this
year.
Sunday action
With the wind blowing out at Wrigley Field
and the temperature pushing into the high 90s Sunday afternoon, Lance Berkman
envisioned a
high-scoring game between the Cubs and
Astros.
Surely, Berkman thought, the heat would
get to the pitchers. But as it turned out, there wasn't much offense.
The heat definitely played a crucial role,
though, as the Cubs came from behind to beat the Astros 3-2. Feeling weak
and on the brink of vomiting
several times, ace right-hander Roy Oswalt
unraveled.
Given an early 2-0 lead, he gave up solo
home runs to Mark Bellhorn and Fred McGriff in the fifth inning, but the
Astros made absolutely no
excuses for their loss to the Cubs.
Obviously, there were outside factors that
contributed to both sides' sluggish offenses. The Cubs announcers mentioned
on WGN-TV that the
heat index on the field was 112 degrees.
From the looks of the players, it was obvious both sides were suffering
through what might have been
by the hottest day either team had endured
this season.
Along with Bellhorn and McGriff's homers,
Alex Gonzalez hit a tie-breaking RBI double to power the Cubs to a victory
over the Astros.
Houston's Lance Berkman hit his 30th home
run to break a tie with Chicago's Sammy Sosa and take over the National
League lead. The home
run, a two-run shot off a 0-1 pitch from
Cubs starter Jon Lieber in the first, sailed into the center field juniper
bushes to give Houston a 2-0 lead.
The Astros are 7-33 when they score three
or fewer runs.
What's next
While he's not ruling anything out just
yet, Astros general manager Gerry Hunsicker doesn't foresee the club making
any splashy moves before
the July 31 trade deadline.
"We have identified some players that we
feel could help us and we've got some ongoing discussions, but there's
not a whole lot more to say
about it," Hunsicker said. "We don't feel
like anything's imminent."
The Astros entered Monday's game against
the Brewers three games under .500 and seven games behind the Cardinals
in the NL Central
race.
At this point, Hunsicker does not see the
logic in giving up prized prospects for a veteran player who may or may
not be able to put the Astros
over the hump.
Lance Berkman drove in his Major League-leading
85th run on Sunday.
He leads the NL with 51 extra-base hits
and ranks second with 211 total bases.
If all goes well this week, Dave Mlicki
should be ready to take the mound Friday against the Pirates for his first
Astros start since May 25.
Mlicki threw five innings of one-hit ball
in his third and final rehab assignment at Double-A Round Rock Sunday,
allowing two walks with five
strikeouts to get the win in the first
game of a doubleheader.
He threw 57 pitches plus another 20 on
the side after the bullpen took over in the sixth frame. Manager Jimy Williams
said that if Mlicki does well
in his side session this week, he will
pitch Friday.
Roy Oswalt, Friday's scheduled starter,
will move to Saturday with Wade Miller wrapping up the four-game series
with the Bucs on Sunday.
Seeing that he logged his first big league
hit against Glendon Rusch last week, it only made sense for Barry Wesson
to get the start against the
left-hander again for Monday's series
opener with the Brewers.
Though he played left field mostly for
Triple-A New Orleans this year, Wesson has been used in center during his
limited playing time for the
Astros.
Wade Miller is once more looking like the
guy the Astros believe is capable of being one of baseball's most dominant
right-handed pitchers.
He already has perhaps the N.L.'s best
curveball, and with a 95 mph fastball, it could be just a matter of putting
the entire package together.
After a dominant 2001, Miller has been
slowed this season by a neck injury that sent him to the disabled list
for six weeks.
Now he looks as good as ever; he's allowed
five earned runs in his last 25 innings.
