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| Jason Lane |
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Since it was a team goal that was reached today, I was tempted to select the team as a unit for Game Hero for the fourth time this year. But in the end, Jason's home run meant so much, it was impossible not to go in that direction.
If you were watching, you know how it felt when, mostly through no fault of his own, Roy Oswalt had watchd the Cubs dink and deke their way into erasing Houston's early 3 - 0 lead. Philly by that time was obviously going to win their game, and it felt very bad for the Astros.
That bad feeling lasted one pitch, as Maddux left one up, and Lane did exactly what he needed to do with it.
And when he was done, you had a positive feeling again.
So since I can't really select Neifi Perez, Jason Lane it is.
While Roy Oswalt will not finish third in the league in ERA behind his teammates Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte, he did pick up his 20th win. Roy had so much adrenaline early, that it was probably not sustainable, and it was a combination of fatigue and bad luck that chased him. A happy confluence of good luck and Cubs' error came together to give him the win anyway.
| Year | Name | W | L |
| 1999 | Mike Hampton | 22 | 4 |
| 1999 | Jose Lima | 21 | 10 |
| 1979 | Joe Niekro | 21 | 11 |
| 1989 | Mike Scott | 20 | 10 |
| 2004 | Roy Oswalt | 20 | 10 |
| 2005 | Roy Oswalt | 20 | 12 |
| 1980 | Joe Niekro | 20 | 12 |
| 1969 | Larry Dierker | 20 | 13 |
| 1976 | J.R. Richard | 20 | 15 |
Credit to the Cubs, and to the Phillies. Especially the Phillies, who to be honest, played better down the stretch. The sweep that the Astros laid down upon them in Philly ended up determining the Wild Card, but it also spurred the Phillies into playing their best baseball of the season.
The Astros know a thing or two about finding your highest level within your greatest adversity, and the players, if you asked them, would probably say much the same thing as me.