Lee's 2-run double in 8th gives Astros 6-5 win
Carlos Lee hit a 2-out, 2-run double in the 8th off Luis Ayala to lift the Astros to the 6-5 win.
After getting the first two batters to ground out, Ayala gave up singles to Miguel Tejada and Lance Berkman. Ayala got ahead of Lee 0-2, but Lee hit a sinking liner to right and Austin Kearns gambled, dove for the ball and missed it, allowing both runners to score.
Jose Valverde retired the side in order in the 9th for his 7th save of the year.
Post Game
Final Score
Nationals 5-9-1
Astros 6-12-1
WP-Brocail (2-0)
LP-Ayala (1-2)
Sv-Valverde (7)
Sir Lance Alot
As I pointed out in "Inside the Numbers", when Lance Berkman gets a hit, the Astros win. Tonight Berkman went 5-5, 2 2B, RBI and 4 runs scored.
In Game Updates
Bullpen not so Bullish
The Nationals bullpen pitched 2 2/3 innings and gave up 3 earned runs on 4 hits, 3 walks and a balk. Both Saul Rivera blew a save and Luis Ayala was credited with the loss. He falls to 1-2. The 'pen couldn't hold leads of 4-3 and 5-4.
Austin Powers
Doug Brocail came in to pitch the 8th for the Astros and was greeted rather rudely by Austin Kearns. Kearns hit the first pitch from Brocail into the seats in left to break the 4-4 tie.
Balk on the wild side
Saul Rivera releived Jesus Colome to start the 7th. Lance Berkman greeted him with a double to center. One out later, with Hunter Pence at the plate, Berkman stole third.
After Pence walked, Rivera balked to force in the tieing run.
Nats scoring update
Aaron Boone, pinch-hitting for Jesus Colome, hit a solo home run over the wall in left field to give the Nationals a 4-3 lead in the 7th.
Colome came on in relief for Shawn Hill in the 6th inning after Hill walked Astro pitcher Shawn Chacon with 1-out.
Pitching Update
Shawn Hill got pulled with 1-out in the 6th. His line for the night:
5 1/3 IP, 8 H, 3 ER, 4 BB, 3 K. 107 pitches, 58 strikes.
Shawn Chacon's line through 7:
7 IP, 8 H, 4 ER, 4 BB, 8 K. 115 pitches, 67 strikes.
Astro's scoring
Hunter Pence's bloop single, in the 5th, scored Lance Berkman to tie the game 3-3. Hill threw a good pitch to Pence, but he faught it off and fisted it into short right field for the RBI.
Hill has thrown 94 pitches through 5 innings.
Nats scoring
Cristian Guzman and Ryan Zimmerman hit back-to-back doubles in the 5th to give the Nationals a 3-2 lead.
Wily Mo Pena singled to lead-off the inning, was sacrificed to second by Shawn Hill and driven home by Guzman with two outs.
The Nats almost got a 3rd run in the inning, but Zimmerman was thrown out at the plate by Hunter Pence on a single by Lastings Milledge.
Hit by Pitch or Strikeout
A bizarre thing happened in the 5th to Felipe Lopez. With a 1-2 count, Shawn Chacon threw a breaking ball that appeared to hit Lopez in the foot. As he tried to get out of the way, his bat went across the plate and the home plate ump, Brian Runge, called him out on strikes because the bat broke the plane. Replays showed that ball hit Lopez, but Manny Acta never came out of the dugout to argue the call.
Pitchers through 4 innings
Hill: 4 IP, 5 H, 2 ER, 3 BB, K. 73 pitches, 39 strikes
Chacon: 4 IP, 2H, ER, 2 BB, 4 K. 61 pitches, 37 strikes.
'Stros scoring
Lance Berkman singled home Kaz Matsui, who doubled to lead-off the inning, and the Astros lead 2-1 in the 3rd.
Carlos Lee doubled home Lance Berkman, who doubled to lead-off the inning, to tie the game 1-1 in the 2nd.
Outfield troubles
Wily Mo Pena misjudged a fly ball off the bat of Kaz Matsui and it was ruled a double. Pena got twisted around and tried to reach up for the ball but it glanced off his glove. It should've been ruled an error, but it wasn't.
Nick the Stick
Nick Johnson hit his 5th home run of the season, a solo shot in the 2nd, off Shawn Chacon, to give the Nationals the early 1-0 lead.
Starting Line-Up's
Nationals
2B Felipe Lopez
SS Cristian Guzman
3B Ryan Zimmerman
1B Nick Johnson
CF Lastings Milledge
RF Austin Kearns
C Paul LoDuca
LF Wily Mo Pena
P Shawn Hill
Astros
CF Michael Bourn
2B Kaz Matsui
SS Miguel Tejada
1B Lance Berkman
LF Carlos Lee
RF Hunter Pence
3B Ty Wigginton
C JR Towles
P Shawn Chacon
Pitching Match-Up
Shawn Hill (0-0, 3.50) is coming off his best start of the season where he gave up 1 run on 4 hits in 8 innings against the Braves. The Nats won 3-2 in 12 innings. Hill retired 16 of the first 18 batters he faced, and threw an efficient 94 pitches. This will be the first time Hill has ever faced the Astros.
Hill lost at Florida in his first road outing of the season on April 19. He gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in 5 innings in the Marlins 6-5 win. Last season, Hill was 3-1, 3.65 ERA outside of DC.
One stat to keep an eye on, is opponents average against Hill as the game goes deeper and they have seen Hill more than once. First time through the line-up, opponents are batting .154, second time, .217 and the third time .450.
Shawn Chacon (0-0, 3.32), making his 7th start of the season, is still in search of his first win. In his last outing, at Arizona, Chacon gave up 5 runs on 7 hits in 5 innings. In his previous 5 starts, Chacon pitched into the 6th inning and gave up less than 3 runs in each game.
Last season against the Nationals, 3-games and one start, Chacon gave up 4 runs on 8 hits in 7 innings. In his career, he is 3-2, 1 save, 4.30 ERA in 11 games vs. the Nationals.
Chacon's ERA at home is significantly higher then on the road; 4.50 to 2.77, but a lot lower at night versus duing the day; 1.71 to 5.29.
Inside the Numbers
The Nationals have won 6 of 7, including 2 in a row. The Astros have won 3 straight and have scored at least 6 runs in each of its last 5 games, going 4-1.
Dynamic Duo
Lance Berkman, 31, and Miguel Tejada, 25, have combind for 56 RBI, the most by any two teammates in the majors this season. Tejada is looking to extend his hitting streak to 10 games.
Chicks dig the long ball
The Astros use the long ball to drive in runs, while the Nationals use other means. 36.8 percent of the Astros runs have come off home runs, 5th highest in MLB, while only 21.6 percent of the Nats runs come from the homer, 4th lowest in MLB.
Left is right, right is wrong
The Nationals will send lefties Odalis Perez and John Lannan to face the Astros in games 2 and 3 in this series and the 'Stros couldn't be happier. Their team batting average is .067 higher vs. lefthanded pitchers, .305 to .238, the second biggest difference in MLB.
Turning the Corner
Since April 22, their last 12 games, the Nationals have improved not only their record, but runs a game and team ERA. Have a look: Before 4/22, 5-15 record, since 9-3. 3.5 runs a game prior to 4/22, since 4.6. The Nats team ERA is down a full run since 4/22, 4.87 to 3.81.
Berkman hits = Astros' wins
When Lance Berkman gets at least 1-hit, the Astros are 14-9, when he doesn't get a hit, they are 2-6. He is hitting .407 in Astro wins compared to .158 in losses.
Run Producer
Cristian Guzman has driven in 14 runs in the first 31 games this season, his highest RBI total of his career in the first 31 contests. Prior to this year, his highest total was 11 in 2000.
Austin Powers
Austin Kearns is off to a great start in May. He is hitting .429 with 3 RBI and a .529 OBP. This is no surprise since he has 98 career RBI in the month of May, the highest total of any month in his career.
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