Cincinnati Reds at Houston Astros, Aug 26, 2008 7:05 PM

you mentioned Borkowski, and it brings to mind that he had an ugly game last night for Round Rock. He took the loss in the 12th inning, allowing a game winning HR to Chris Shelton.

knowing the Astros’ luck, it will probably cost them a game or two in the remainder of the season…which would be ironic, since the Astros have been on the bad end of more questionable HR calls this year than any season I can recall.

no hits either

It’s the Reds vs. the Astros

That looked for sure to be an RBI XBH.

and score

Single – double- ground out rbi to first

with an over the head catch starting up Tal’s Hill

Braves have the same record as the Reds and Pirates and are losing 6-3 in the fifth tonight.

before season started. The Braves pitching has been a real problem.

I may go to radio broadcast soon

I’m listening on radio and don’t know exactly what happened. but theball wa suppoed to e in Newhan’s glolve but was rolling in center somehow.

Berkman on 1st, and Loretta hit a grounder up the middle for what appeared to be a hit, but Reds’ Phillips dove and barely stopped the ball as he lay on the ground. He attempted a toss to shortstop from that position, but ball just slowly rolled toward the bad…shortstop picked it up in time to get Berkman out and almost got a DP.

That wasn’t a homerun

so officials in NYC are probably reviewing the play, even though it will have no effect. Cooper is arguing with crew chief, and JD jokes that Cooper is asking them to start the instant replay early.

too little room for error

one out

Two outs

Erstad (0 for 3) batting

Astros trail 2-1 after 8

Bourn

ground out to short

Flied to deep center
game over

to the Reds no less

:(

JD mentioned a couple of times that the umpire had an expansive strike zone. And BBTF quoted this excerpt from the Dayton Daily News, in which Arroyo credited the umpire’s strike zone with his dominance of the Astros:

The Reds certainly could use some heavy weaponry, even though they performed a major accomplishment Tuesday night by beating the Houston Astros, 2-1. This one was won because pitcher Bronson Arroyo cranked up a dandy, a five-hitter and the first complete game this year by a Reds pitcher — the Reds being the last team without a complete game.
…
Arroyo picked up a clue from home plate umpire Dana DeMuth when he batted in the third inning and DeMuth called him out on what Arroyo thought was a low pitch.

"He rang me up on balls I thought were really low," said Arroyo. "So I went to the mound and test him out. He called those strikes, too, so I said, ‘Beautiful,’ and tried to stay way, way low with my pitches, down at the bottom of the zone, right at the knees. And those got me all those ground balls."

is a strike…

Earlier he said the pitches were too low when they were thrown to him. And he calls his pitches “way low” which doesn’t sound like a strike, but then he says they are at the knees. The only way I can reconcile what he said: either, umpires normally don’t call the ball at the knees as a strike, or Arroyo fudges his description by calling his pitches at the knees because he doesn’t want to admit they were balls.