Happ, Astros Shut Out Cardinals 3-0

by David Coleman on Aug 30, 2010 9:36 PM CDT in Events

JA Happ, Brett Wallace and Angel Sanchez have a big batch of haterade for all those people out there who doubted them.

Well, it may not be that extreme, but it was a nice piece of redemption in different ways for each of them as the Astros dominated the Cardinals Monday night to clinch the season series with them.

Happ threw the first complete game shutout of his Astros career, twirling a two-hitter. He only gave up singles to Yadier Molina and Randy Winn while striking out four and walking one. He only needed 114 pitches to get through the game and was helped out by some great defensive plays. For instance, Brett Wallace caught a hard-hit line drive just inside the first base bag and stepped on the base to double off Molina in the eighth.

Speaking of Wallace, his statement to the English pig dogs who doubted him was a little less subtle. He just went 3 for 3 with a double, an RBI and a run scored. Sure, it was against a right-hander, but it was still pretty damned dominant. One of his singles was lashed down the first base line in between Pujols and a second baseman who was played well over towards first. The double went to the opposite field and was well-hit. It could easily have been a home run had it been a few more feet over to the left. One game doesn't change anything in the scheme of things, but it's probably safest to avoid antagonizing Wallace in the future.

As for Sanchez, I don't know that anyone has come out and said he couldn't play second base. He has started there five times since Manzella came off the disabled list. But, just to prove any doubters wrong about his ability to slide across the diamond, Sanchez showed off sparkling range twice. The first time, he went deep into the hole to rob Yadi Molina of a hit, skidding to one knee to glove the ball at the grass and making a quick throw to beat the slow-footed catcher. He also ranged basically into right field to run down a looping fly ball for the second out in the ninth inning. Since Geoff Blum's play on Sunday caused such heartache, it was nice to see him show some range regardless of where he was positioned.

With that, the Astros are assured to finish at least 8-7 against the Cardinals this season. While some people don't think wins in the short-term are a good thing for Houston, I always like seeing the Cards lose. It never gets old.

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Comments

We hear the term “pitchability” a lot lately. Happ showed a bunch of pitchability in this game.

by clack on Aug 30, 2010 9:51 PM CDT reply actions

LaRussa’s reaction after the game is consistent with my comment. LaRussa said Happ provided “a great exhibition of pitching.” TLR was impressed that Happ could hit the edges and corners of the strike zone with 4 different pitches.

by clack on Aug 31, 2010 3:41 PM CDT up reply actions

Watching the highlights, I was impressed with the quality of some of his off-speed stuff, too. In this video, his second and third strikeouts were on very good off-speed pitches. Some kind of changeup or slider, and a filthy downer of a curveball.

It seems like his command and secondary stuff are still inconsistent… but there is potential here. I find myself less and less certain on him having a low ceiling. You never know with deceptive lefties.

by OremLK on Aug 31, 2010 3:57 PM CDT up reply actions

I agree. I also have second thoughts about my initial reaction to his ceiling. A key for Happ is improving his control/command. He had that in this game. If he can exhibit similar command and control to what he showed in this game, his ceiling could be quite high. If you look at Cliff Lee, his control gradually improved from bad to excellent over the course of his career. I don’t mean to say that Happ can become Cliff Lee, but Happ has the stuff which could dominate with better command.

by clack on Aug 31, 2010 4:22 PM CDT up reply actions

Love it

Watching the cardinals lose, sure they have a better record than us but not against us and as far as playoffs go they are going to be watching them just like the stros.

Good pitching will beat good hitting any time, and vice versa. ~Bob Veale, 1966

by CoolBreeze3 on Aug 30, 2010 9:58 PM CDT via mobile reply actions

i understand that winning in the short term will hurt our draft positioning, but if winning becomes contagious, and it can be,why not improve on the formula that works? there’s no sense in giving up the “now” for the sake of maybe 4 years from now. could we possibly improve in the offseason via draft, trade or free agency? absolutely. or not. still, i would rather see a team try to work out its kinks than sacrifice a little for a possibly smaller return.

"That's funny. You like Samurai Swords, I like Baseball!"
-Hatori Hanzo

by allphilla on Aug 30, 2010 10:05 PM CDT reply actions

I’m in the boat you play the game to win. You don’t play the game to improve draft position.

by StrosBro on Aug 30, 2010 10:43 PM CDT up reply actions 1 recs