Maig Lambbio

Mike Lamb - Craig Biggio

Combined . . . 2 for 6, 3 RBI, 3 R, 3 BB

This appears to have been a very workmanlike effort from the 'Stros, and that was certainly to be expected given the emotional highs of the last three or four days as this improbable sequence of events has coalesced. Beyond the effort from our starting second and third basemen, Pettitte appears to be particularly praiseworthy. At the very least he was struggling with his mechanics, at worst with his elbow, but the team so very desperately needed a starter to go deep that he sucked it up and pitched 6-2/3 effective enough innings.

So now, like the 'Stros, Andy is 1 over and has a season-high win streak going.

At this point, it makes sense to begin referring to the Astros' magic number, and that number stands at eight.

To say that I am surprised that the Cardinals lost with Chris Carpenter going is a major understatement. And if all that had happened before tonight wasn't bad enough for the Cards, the loss tonight for them may have been the worst yet. The Redbirds' ace was on the mound in the seventh with a three-run lead, and the team did not win. Going into tonight they needed to win 4 of 6 with Carp going twice to guarantee themselves the luxury of not having to play the game vs. San Fran. Now they need to win 4 of 5 with their ace going once.

Cards still hold the advantage, but it has become very very slim. Jason Hirsh tomorrow vs. Shawn Chacon. Whom we've ROCKED this year.