Astros Beat Mets, Look Towards Game 2
Thank you Mark Loretta!
Actually, you can pretty much thank everyone for the win in game 1, but obviously the play of the game was the PH grand slam by Mark Loretta. The game was pitched well, and the Astros offense did what was needed to earn the victory, so I can't really say anything negative about the Astros. If I'm reaching for something negative, I could state that they were outhit by the Mets, but that's pretty much it.
The pitching staff did exactly what we expect them to do. Backe pitched pretty solid, going 6 innings and giving up 3 runs(as well as hit a nice home run), keeping them in the game for the bullpen. In the 7th we got into some trouble, starting the inning off with bases loaded an no outs, but the bullpen did it's job and stranded all 3 runners to keep the game tied at 3. Byrdak, Sampson, Wright, Brocail and Valverde finished off the last 3 innings without giving up a hit and striking out 3.
On offense, the Astros has 4 home runs hit, 3 solo shots(Matsui, Backe and Lee) and then the Grand Slam in the 8th by Loretta to put the game out of reach for the Mets.
Kind of odd, but no Astros hitter had more than one hit on the night...
Next game should be a doozy! Roy Oswalt vs Johan Santana... pitching match ups don't get much better than this... Santana is having the better year though. Through 22 games, Santana has a 9-7 record and a 2.93 ERA. Santana is also coming off a complete game, 1 run win against the Cardinals.
Oswalt is 8-8 with a 4.67 ERA and has made 1 start since coming off the disabled list due to hip/back issues. In that 1 start, Roy went 5 innings and gave up 4 runs, but earned the win as the Astros put up 5 runs to beat the Reds. I remember that game well... I was there.
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With an Astros' vs. Mets' matchup, let's go back in time.
Just for the heck of it. And also to take me down memory lane. As a kid, I started following the Astros closely in the 1969 season, the first time that the Astros appeared to be in “contention.” I recall listening to all three August games against the Mets on the radio that year, partly because the Astros were facing a streaking Mets’ team . The Astros swept the Mets at the Astrodome on August 11th, 12th, and 13th. Tom Griffin took the win, 3-0, and Gladding got his 24th save on Aug. 11. On Aug. 12, Don Wilson faced Jerry Koosman and got the win (going to 15-7), 8-7, with Gladding getting his 25th save. Larry Dierker faced Gary Gentry on Aug. 13, and pitched a complete game win, 8-2, putting his record at 14-9 (Dierker would go on to win 20 games that year).
There was no Dierker-Seaver matchup in that series, which would have been comparable to Oswalt-Santana in today’s game. But Koosman was an excellent pitcher, and the Wilson-Koosman matchup would have appeared to be a great matchup, even though it turned out to be a high scoring affair.
At the end of the series, the Mets were 9.5 games out of 1st place in the NL East. The Astros were 3 games out of 1st place in the NL West. This Mets team, which would forever be known as the “Miracle Mets,” put on the afterburners and beat the Cubs out of 1st place in their division, and then won the World Series in what was believed to be a mismatch against the vaunted Orioles. The Astros went on to have a .500 season, after getting as close as 1 game out of 1st place late in the season.

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