Against the St. Louis Cardinals' AAA affiliate, the Red Birds,  the Express' talented trio of young starting pitchers took to the mound in successive days this past week. Polin Trinidad made his first start with Round Rock, while Bud Norris and Yorman Bazardo continued their strong 2009 seasons.

Sunday, July 5: Trinidad pitched effectively against Memphis, limiting the Red Birds to two runs on seven hits in 6.2 innings of work. He allowed both of his runs in the third inning, and left with the game tied at two runs apiece. Edwin Maysonet got Trinidad off the hook with a two run blast in the top of the fourth inning. Trinidad experienced a great deal of success for the AA Corpus Christi Hooks this season, impressing with his control having walked only ten batters in 82.2 innings.

Monday, July 6: If it were possible to sum up Bud Norris' season in one start, Monday would have been that start. Memphis shut out the Express, allowing the team just five hits. What's more frustrating was that Norris pitched a gem- shutting the Red Birds out in his six innings of work, while striking out seven. He lowered his PCL best ERA to a scant 2.45. While a bit older than many of his counterparts, Norris has performed better than any other starting pitcher this season in the PCL. In addition to leading the league in ERA, he is tops in strikeouts (99) as well. His propensity to allow walks seems to be one of the biggest impidiments to Norris being called up to the big league club.

Tuesday, July 7: Memphis took a broom to the Express, sweeping them right out of town after beating Round Rock 3-1. Yorman Bazardo did all he could though, pitching a complete game in the losing effort. In sum, Bazardo allowed two earned runs on eight hits. His 6:1 strikeout to walk ratio was nice to see as well. The Red Birds had big league pitcher Kyle Loshe on the mound making a rehab start, so I'm willing to bet that made the game a little more interesting for all the Express players, especially Bazardo. After bouncing around a few organizations, Yorman has fit in nicely with Houston.

Both Norris and Bazardo were selected to participate in the PCL/IL All Star Game on July 15th. Nice to see our guys get some national recognition.

 Polin Trinidad

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

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When I saw the lineup that the Pirates sent out on Monday, I was surprised to see many names I wasn't all that familiar with. Delwyn Young hitting third? Steve Pearce and Garrett Jones starting? This was no major league caliber lineup that Mike Hampton faced that night, and he responded by pitching quite well. The Pirates have basically waved the white flag on 2009. They have a fairly young roster though, who will be under their control for years to come. It's sort of the anti-Astros way of operating, but they seem to have a plan. Unless their no namers catch lightening in a bottle this is now a five team race in the NL Central. For what it's worth, Freddy Sanchez leads the Buccos in OPS at .832.

Beyond the fact that I didn't recognize some of the Pirates in their Monday lineup, the Astros past three series have been against some extremely inept offensive clubs: San Diego, San Francisco and now Pittsburgh. All three teams have their strengths, but putting together a fearsome lineup, or even 3-4-5 hitters, is not one of them.

For instance, the Padres' Adrian Gonzales is a home run hitter extraordinaire. His .588 SLG% is superb both in how high it is in and of itself, and in how much better it is than his next closest teammate. With Scott Hairston now gone, Tony Gwynn Jr. and his .405 SLG% is second on the team. I don't see Gwynn keeping that pace up given his prior seasons. He may be a poor man's Michael Bourn.

San Francisco is in the hunt thanks to a stellar pitching staff, not because of their bats. Pablo Sandoval is a young stud who is probably playing a bit over his head, but a .572 SLG% is nothing to sneeze at. Aaron Rowand is having a season that may justify his big contract, but he is slugging nearly one hundred points lower at .475. Corner outfield spots and first base offer the following SLG%: .330, .324, and .410. They beat us down last Friday and Saturday though, and the Giants are above .500 so pointing this out may just be sour grapes on my part...

I don't want to sound like Tim Kurkjian, but the Phillies beat the Reds 22-1 on Monday night. If nothing else, this should help people forget the Astros were outscored 22-0 by the Giants over the course of two games last week. With one loss, the Reds' pythag record fell back four games....

Mike Hampton may have beaten a not so great Pirates lineup on Monday, but it's not as if he didn't pitch well in doing so. He threw his slider as much as his four seamer, and did it with preciscion. What's more, his peripheral stats lead me to believe that his good play is sustainable. Last week we all loved what Felipe Paulino did against the Tigers. This week it's Hampton's turn to bask in adulation.

More photos » by Pat Sullivan - AP

We're going to St. Louis!!! Wait...we do that a lot.

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Here's the roster for your viewing pleasure. Not a whole lot of surprises on that list. Thirteen first timers on the Senior Circuit roster, so that's exciting. Two of which, Brad Hawpe and Jason Marquis, are on the surprising Colorado Rockies.

The Astros are represented by Hunter Pence and Miguel Tejada. Pence hasn't been himself of late but I can't really argue with his selection. The Hit Machine (hat tip to AstroAndy) himself, Miguel Tejada, is a big name and doesn't have a whole lot of compeititon at shortstop.

If the NL Central were decided by players selected to the All Star game, it would still be ridiculously close:

Overall, the divisions are split as evenly as possible: eleven players from both the NL East and West, and ten from the Central. Of the NL West players selected to the Mid Summer Classic, all eleven are reserve players. Although I would expect that the starter of the All Star Game will be either Tim Lincecum (SF) or Dan Haren (AZ).

One player who comes to mind as a snub is ATL pitcher, Javier Vasquez. He is second in the NL in FIP, K/9 and K/BB. A 5-7 personal record and playing on an average Atlanta team most likely doomed his cause.

Who else was snubbed this season?

Can you make a similar claim that Lance Berkman has All Star worthy peripherals statistics, but becuase of his slow start and low BA he didn't stand a chance?

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I didn't mention that Oswalt also collected two RBI today. Well, I guess I did now.

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Isn't this what an ace is supposed to do- stop losing streaks? Albeit the Astros had a modest skid at only two games, it felt like much, much more. Roy Oswalt took the ball and tossed a beatiful eight inning performance in which he allowed a scant three hits, while striking out six Giants.

Backing him were three home runs: two by our All Stars Tejada and Pence, and one by Jason Michaels. Jeff Keppinger didn't go yard, but he did go 3/4 at the dish, as he again pummelled a left handed starting pitcher. That left handed pitcher just happened to be sure fire Hall of Famer Randy Johnson. Today though, he wasn't able to make it through the fourth inning after being forced to leave after just 3.2 innings pitched with an injured left shoulder.

After bludgeoning the Astros pitchers for the first two games, the Giants offense left today injured as well. Their only extra base hit was Rich Aurilia's solo home run, and the team had only four base runners in total. In their defense, just as the Astros struggled to hit off Giants ace Tim Lincecum, Roy Oswalt was nearly as masterful this afternoon. He controlled all of his pitches well, throwing 69 of his 94 pitches for strikes. Economical for a second consecutive start, Oswalt was able to get through eight innings, needing only 94 pitches to do so.

For those keeping track, this is Roy's third consecutive start in which he has given up only one run. On June 6, his ERA was a pedestrian 4.66. A month later it stands at 3.81. How Roy goes, so goes this team. Today proved just how true a statement that is.

More photos » by David J. Phillip - AP

Paulino's on the bump tonight, folks.

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Felipe Paulino

#52 / Houston Astros

Height: 6-2

Weight: 180

Born: Oct 05, 1983

Ryan Sadowski

#56 / Pitcher / San Francisco Giants

Height: 6-4

Weight: 195

Bats: R

Throws: R

Born: Oct 04, 1982

 McCovey Chronicles

Here's a picture of the Giants' starting pitcher tonight, Ryan Sadowski:

 Looks like your average, ordinary youngster who has made one career major league start, and a fine one at that.

Nope. First of all, Sadowski is a lucky man. Not only to be a professional baseball player, but to be alive, after having brain surgery in 2003. At 26, I'm sure that he appreciates his time in the bigs more than most guys his age.

This is a nice story, and obviously it's awesome that Sadowski recoupperated to the point where he is healthy enough not only to resume a normal life, but to be able to pitch.

For three hours tonight though, the Astros are going to do everything they can to make his life miserable. I guess it's all relative- someone who's gone through what Sadowski has probably has a different perspective on "miserable".

Our own youngster, Felipe Paulino, will take the hill tonight. Backing him will be this lineup (per Alyson Footer's Twitter page):

Bourn

Tejada

Berkman

Lee

Blum

Pence

Matsui

Quintero

Paulino

How many times this season have the Astros been at/above .500? If you answered once, grab a gold star/piece of chocolate/handfull of goldfish crackers.

I wanted to give props to Joe in Birmingham for coming through with a gamethread yesterday. DQ wasn't able to post one, and I was not near a computer, nor was my cell phone with me so I could respond to DQ's text asking for help posting one. My bad, ladies and gentlemen. Let's get a win tonight!  - Evan

The Astros are moving up the California coastline today and making a stop in San Francisco for three games with the Wild Card leading Giants.

Last season we won three of four in San Fran, ending a seemingly never ending trend of losing a ton of games in northern Califormia. Darin Erstad hit a three run homer! Things were going good last May, that's for sure.

Youth faces off tonight, as Felipe Paulino and Ryan Sadowski take the mound. Multiple Cy Youngs stare the Astros in the face on Saturday and Sunday with Tim Lincecum and Randy Johnson pitching for the Giants.

What do the cities of Houston and San Franciso have in common? Disspointment, that's what:

David Carr, First Pick of the 2002 NFL Draft

First Selection of the 2004 NFL Draft, Alex Smith

Carlos Lee goes from sushi in SD, to heaping helpings of garlic fries in SF. Does Minute Maid Park have a signature food?

The last season that Astro batters and pitchers' average ages were both under 30? 2000. Overall, the team has gotten a year and a half older on both sides since 2004. We're getting to be so grown up!

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It's not a stretch to think the Astros can go into the All Star Break on a roll.

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 Winning the month of June was nice but it's going to take more than that to remain relevant in the NL Central and the NL Wild Card Races. The Astros have predominantly been a second half team which is both fun and exciting for those of us who follow the team closely. This season we don't know if Drayton will be willing to take on anymore payroll, or if players like LaTroy Hawkins or Jose Valverde will even make it past the trade deadline. In order to give Ed Wade an idea of where his team stands, and whether or not it would even be worth trading for a player at the deadline (and conversely not trading away a player from our current team), a strong July push is a must.

I wanted to do a quick run series by series rundown of the teams we'll be playing, as well as rating the components of each team. I'll assess the strength of our opponent's hitters, starting rotation, and closer. Here is a link to our July schedule. It's pretty much a tale of two halves, as I see it. Let's get to the analysis.

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Houston Astros' Russ Ortiz delivers a pitch in the first inning against the Kansas City Royals in a baseball game Tuesday, June 23, 2009, in Houston. (AP Photo/Pat Sullivan)

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With nearly three full months in the books, the Astros are trying their hardest to no longer merely tread water. This post is being made during the day on Tuesday, so I obviously don't know what will happen tonight in San Diego, but the Astros have at least guaranteed themselves of making up at least four games in the NL Central Race, from when they were nine games out on May 31st. Here's a rundown of their per month results:

Unless the Padres absolutely go off tonight against Mike Hampton and Co., the Astros will have held their opponents to approximately fifty less runs in June as compared to May. Run down the "W" column for our pitchers, and you will see eight wins were earned by the Astros starters, and eight by relievers. Roy Oswalt has three wins, Wandy Rodriguez a scant one win for the month. That means twelve wins were credited to guys like Ortiz, Moehler, Hampton, Wright, Fulchino, Paulino, Arias, Byrdak and Sampson. Jump in the time machine and set the date to March 1, 2009. If someone had told you that the Astros would have a winning percentage of above .600 in June, a June where Wandy struggled to just one victory, would you believe them? I'd hope not. I mean, optimism is great, but let's not be foolish.

Still, these pitchers have stepped up tremendously in June, more than I, or probably anyone could have hoped for. Let's not leave out LaTroy Hawkins either. The Yankee castoff has ten saves this season, and did great work to hold down the backend of our bullpen until Jose Valverde was able to return from the DL. His numbers are among some of the best of his career, and will be either a crucial bridge to Valverde for the reaminder of the season, or a potential trade chip if the opportunity presents itself.

Since being made a starting pitcher, Russ Ortiz has done as much as he can do at this point in his career, to justify being part of a rotation. On June 11th, his K/BB rate as a reliever was 28/26. In his four games as a starter, Russ has found himself a nice groove- walking only six, while striking out nineteen. Poor run support (ten runs scored total in those four starts) have prevented Russ from getting the credit that he deserves.

Wandy though, probably can't wait for June to be over. Heading into the month, he was on top of his game, and was among the best pitchers in baseball. Since June 1, his ERA has risen more than a run, due in no small part to HR rate finally adjusting. Eleven home runs allowed in just twenty nine innings pitched did much to retrun Wandy to the reality of where his talent level indicates he should remain for the rest of 2009. It's not just the homers that are troubling, his strikeout and walk totals are shifting in the wrong directions. I find myself marveling at his performances when good, but am left scratching my head when he pitches poorly. Wandy is thirty years old, and still seems to battle the sort of wildness, inconsistency, and youthful bouts of frustration that should rarely arise with a veteran starter. Still, if the Astros are to compete in earnest this season we need Wandy perhaps more than any other pitcher, to perform as well as they possibly can.

In terms of depth, Brandon Backe and Fernando Nieve are no longer with the Astros organization, and Jose Capellan has battled both injury and poor performance for AAA Round Rock. Instead, Felipe Paulino has shown flashes of brilliance that leave you wanting more. A blistering 97 MPH fastball and off spead/breaking pitches that leave hitters flailing- what more can you ask out of a 25 year old who has as little ML experience as Paulino? On the farm, Yorman Bazardo, Bud Norris and Polin Trinidad give the Astros something they've lacked in the recent past: options in the minor leagues. If one of our starters were to injure themselves, Bud Norris now seems ready to take on major league hitters. Yorman Bazardo has bounced around, but is putting together a nice AAA season. He may never be a top of the rotation starter, but he has a future with this team. Trinidad has made the leap from AA to AAA. Now we can see if arguably the most difficult leap will be too much, or if Trinidad too will be a major leaguer before too long.

Whatever scenarios play out, I can't say that I'm dissapointed with any one pitcher on our 25 man roster. Based on how much we know about their individual talent ceilings and pre season expectations, each has done what they can while healthy to help the Astros. If our offense can follow their lead, the Central is ripe for the taking. Time to get greedy.