This Day In Astros History: Aug. 12, 2009

On this day, two years ago, Bud Norris and his Houston Astros roughed up the Florida Marlins 14-6 at Land Shark Stadium.

It's somewhat appropriate that this is a Bud Norris start, since that guy just wrote a whole article on how good Bud has been this season. He wasn't particularly great in this start, giving up 10 hits and five runs (four earned) in five innings of work. He also struck out six and walked one, throwing 98 pitches and earning a Game Score of 34. Hey, he did get the victory, though, running his record to 3-0 on the season.

For the Marlins, it was Ricky Nolasco getting the brutality treatment. Nolasco gave up 10 runs on eight hits and two walks in 3 1/3 innings of work. He struck out one and used 85 pitches, but not very many effectively. The Marlins then used five different relievers to finish out the game, including future Astros Matt Lindstrom and Brendan Donnelly (though he only played in Triple-A) along with the delightfully named Kiko Calero.

After Norris left, Tim Byrdak threw two scoreless innings before Alberto Arias gave up a run in his only inning. LaTroy Hawkins closed out the game with a scoreless ninth, dropping his ERA down to 2.27.

Michael Bourn did a good job in the leadoff spot, going 3 for 5 with three runs scored and stealing two bases to increase is season total to 44. Bourn also walked once, raising his OPS to .768. Hunter Pence also had a good day at the plate, going 2 for 5 with six RBIs, two home runs and a strikeout. Lance Berkman and Kaz Matsui each added two doubles while Geoff Blum hit a home run and Carlos Lee went 3 for 6.

Here's the graphic replay of the game, thanks to Back to Baseball. Here's the game recap from our own Stephen Higdon and the game thread with appearances by timmy, clack and Joe in Birmingham.